A Study on the Mainstream’s Gaze in the Works from Margin

The imagery of ‘eyeing’,’ gazing’ and ‘re-visioning’ recurrently occur in the works of the writers who belong to the marginalized (in terms of race, sex, and class) communities. They examine their images in American literature and society as well and feel to re-construct identy that has so far been constructed in the ‘gaze’ of the mainstream. Their essential selves have been castrated and essentialized within some stereotypes by the racist and phallocentric culture. So, after a long period of subjugation, they look back afresh with a view to gain sovereignty over their own sense of identity. This paper seeks to study those marginalized writers’ view over the gazing proceess of the dominant groups. To persue the study I have concentrated upon some works by the writers who belong to the marginalized communities in America. These are the novels, The Native Son (1940) by Richard Wright and The Bluest Eye (1970) by Tony Morrison, and some poems of Adrienne Rich. In their writings, each writer has explored the functioning of the mechanism of ‘gaze’ leading to the internalization of the hegemonic ideology and inferiority. Thus, they dismantle the dominant ‘gaze’ and reconstruct identity in a fictional world which result in en-visioning  a new world to come. Keywords: Gaze, Revision and Reconstruction of Identity, Mainstream, Marginalized in terms of Race and Sex, Ideology

Promoting student engagement by strengthening the link between research and teaching in Higher Education: an early career researcher perspective

Having the opportunity to teach is a valuable experience to those starting out in the world of academia. In this article, the authors cast a reflective lens on their experiences of teaching and their participation in a structured programme York Learning and Teaching Award (YLTA), designed for new and aspiring academics and working towards becoming an Associate Fellow of The Higher Education Academy (AFHEA). They consider how research and teaching could be more closely linked in Higher Education and suggest benefits that could be gained from this link. In particular, they explore how strengthening the link between research and teaching in Higher Education could promote positive student engagement