5 research outputs found
A Sinful Reaction to Capitalist Ethics in No quiero quedarme sola y vacĂa (2006)
In her article âA Sinful Reaction to Capitalist Ethics in No quiero quedarme sola y vacĂa (2006)â Celina Bortolotto analyzes how Lozadaâs characterization of the main character, La Loca, questions the ideals of free agency offered by consumerist capitalism and the urban gay male ideal under the promise of a liberating gay lifestyle in a social context defined by identity politics. The novel is a fictionalized autobiographical account of Puerto Rican author Angel Lozadaâs misadventures in the early 2000s gay scene in New York. This essay plays with the punitive sense of the word âcapitalâ in the seven capital sins as a thematic thread to invite a reflection on the concepts of virtue and value constructed under U.S. Protestant capitalism: the former as emancipatory guilt; the latter as the specific status society grants to objects, practices and people creating, in turn, subjects whose value is purely economic versus those whose lives are deemed (morally) valuable in themselves
Te HÄ o Te Reo: teaching the beauty of the mÄori language
Drawn from a talk presented at the 2019 Viva Lingua Viva indigenous languages event in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, this article presents the findings of a qualitative case study focused on a 10-week MÄori language programme, Te HÄ o te Reo (âthe essence of the languageâ) offered to staff at a New Zealand university. The article reports on the pedagogical practices employed in the course through a discussion of qualitative interview data collected for a wider study on the experiences of non-MÄori students of Te Reo MÄori as a second language. The analysis presents insights from a sample of adult student participants and by the coursesâ chief designer and teacher. A focussed consideration of four key classroom practices suggests a teaching approach based on three MÄori culture-specific pedagogical principles (Whanaungatangaârelationship-based learning; Koakoaâjoy, humour; Kaupapa MÄoriâMÄori principles and worldview), which are found to shape both course content and classroom management in ways that are well aligned with studentâs needs and expectations.
 
Blushing to Be: Shame and the Narration of Subjectivity in Contemporary U.S.-Caribbean Fiction
This study engages shame/affect (mostly psychoanalytical) theory in an interdisciplinary approach that traces narratives of resistance from invisible subjectivities within dominant U.S.- Caribbean discourses in contemporary fictional texts. It consists of an introduction, four chapters, and a conclusion. The introduction provides a precise theoretical background for the study. It defines key terms making a detailed reference to the prevailing discourses in the Caribbean and the U.S. The first chapter reveals examples in the fiction of the complex relationship between shame and visibility/invisibility as embodied in the figure of the secret/closet, in relation to prevailing identity discourses. The second chapter analyzes the relationship of shame with narcissistic and masochistic tendencies as presented in the fiction, evaluating the weight of narratives in the dynamics of such disorders. The third chapter considers the performative powers of shame, particularly with regards to its powerful connection to both humor and writing. The conclusion offers a reflection on the pain that inevitably accompanies shame experiences, as well as the possibilities this suffering may offer for the reconfiguration of social categories and their relationships