Getting into the Game: The Trickster in American Ethnic Fiction

Trickster novels, especially those by Gerald Vizenor and Maxine Hong Kingston, can be used to destabilize and undermine ethnic stereotypes. As many studies show, the trickster him/herself cannot be stable and thus resists the limitations of definition as the embodiment of ambiguity. Both insider and outsider, s/he plays with the whole concept of sides so as to erase the distinction between them. The trickster plays the game, including the game of language, in order to break and exploit its rules and thus destabilizes linguistic markers. Kingston and Vizenor use their novels to subvert the rules of the linguistic game and free perception from stereotypic rigidity. Perceptions of race and ethnicity are frequently codified in the form of stereotypes with which we are all familiar. Once established, they, of course, prove remarkably difficult to dismantle however false or misleading they might be with regard to the race or ethnicity in question; and thus they continue to exacerbate the social tensions with which we are equally familiar. Ethnic American literature has frequently addressed this issue; in this essay I intend to look at one narrative strategy which is specifically designed to question, challenge, exploit, and even manipulate perception

[Review of] Lean\u27tin L. Bracks. Writings on Black Women of the Diaspora: History, Language, and Identity. Crosscurrents in African American History, Vol I

In her Preface to this study, Lean\u27tin Bracks describes her purpose as being to describe a model which may provide for today\u27s black woman a means to take control of her destiny by retrieving her Afrocentric legacy from the obscured past (xi). This model, which she applies through discussions of The History of Mary Prince, a West Indian Slave, Related by Herself (1831), Toni Morrison\u27s Beloved (1988), Alice Walker\u27s The Color Purple (1982, and Paule Marshall\u27s Praisesong for the Widow (1984), is tripartite: historical awareness, attention to linguistic pattern, and sensitivity to stereotypes in the dominant culture (xi)

George S. Schuyler, Black and Conservative

When George S. Schuyler published his autobiography Black and Conservative in 1966, its title was intended to be paradoxical, underscoring how the two adjectives were rarely used together, particularly in an era that had recently seen the passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1964 and the Voting Rights Act in 1965. When it came to political affiliation, the general assumption was that African Americans, more or less by definition, were not likely to be conservatives; rather, conservatism meant a desire to preserve the pre-existing status quo, making very little sense in Civil Rights era for a majority of African Americans to take a conservative stance

Yoruba Girl Dancing and the Post-War Transition to an English Multi-Ethnic Society

This paper exemplifies the insider/outsider binary in a nation\u27s shift towards a multi-ethnic society. The writer gives insight into the African Diaspora within England in her exploration of Yoruba Girl Dancing

[Review of] Jeff Karem. The Romance of Authenticity: The Cultural Politics of Regional and Ethnic Literatures

The romance of authenticity to which the title of Jeff Karem\u27s timely new study refers is the romance between the American reading public and the regional or ethnic writer who is viewed as providing an authentic cultural viewpoint, often to the extent of becoming regarded as the premier representative of that culture. Karem\u27s argument, however, is that too much symbolic weight (205) is often attached to the work of writers seized upon as representative. They are asked to bear the burden of providing a vicarious and definitive immersion in a particular culture, and therefore their work is judged mostly in anthropological terms, with regard to the authenticity of the experience delineated. Mainstream writers, however, are evaluated by much broader standards: they are freer to explore different genres, for example, without risking accusations that their culture is not being accurately represented. [M]uch criticism invested in authenticity and representation, says Karem, has reduced marginal authors to mere informants (209). Worse, in the academic arena the work of such authors (whose canonicity is often largely determined by publishers) is often used as a means of confronting ethnic issues purely symbolically in the classroom, precluding any real action beyond it

[Review of] Wendy S. Hesford. Framing Identities: Autobiography and the Politics of Pedagogy

Drawing on her experiences as a teacher of writing for six years at Oberlin College, Wendy S. Hesford in Framing Identities: Autobiography and the Politics of Pedagogy addresses important and timely questions, such as How do historically marginalized groups expose the partiality and presumptions of institutional histories and truths through autobiographical acts? (xx

Are discretionary referendums on the EU becoming ‘politically obligatory?’

Do governments call referendums on EU matters because contextual circumstances make them ‘politically obligatory’ or because ruling politicians believe they are the ‘appropriate’ decision-making mechanism? Aude Bicquelet-Lock and Helen Addison argue that, contrary to these suggested reasons, politicians have the freedom to choose whether and when to use referendums strategically to achieve their domestic and European policy objectives

Structures of Gold(I) and Silver(I) Thiolate Complexes of Medicinal Interest: A Review and Recent Results

We review the crystal structures, electrospray ionization mass spectra (ESI-MS) data and chiral HPLC data for the racemic and optically pure mononuclear AuL2 complexes, and for racemic [AuLI]n and optically pure [AgLII]n polymers (LI = thiomalate, LII = D-penicillamine). We postulate an equilibrium between polymeric, mononuclear and free ligand species for [AuLII]n (gold sodium thiomalate or GST). The ESI-MS results clearly show a tetrameric principal species in the 1:1 gold polymers, [AuLI]n. For the 1:1 silver: D-penicillamine complex, [AgLII]n, a non-molecular crystal of double helical structure, the ESI-MS results show multi-ligand-silver species, including tetramers, pentamers and hexamers. Other, relevant gold, silver and copper complexes are compared

The Impact of Working Beyond Traditional Retirement Ages on Mental Health: Implications for Public Health and Welfare Policy

Background: Many people now want or need to work longer due to increased life expectancy. In some countries statutory retirement ages deny older people free access to the labour market. It has been hypothesised that exclusion from employment may have negative effects on the mental health of older people. The global financial crisis has forced some countries to propose increasing the retirement age but the implications of this for population health are unclear. This paper reviews the evidence for the mental health impacts of working beyond retirement, and discusses the implications for future public health and welfare policy. Methods: A systematic literature review was conducted of studies that examined the effect of working or volunteering beyond traditional retirement ages on mental health outcomes. Results: Of the ten studies that met the inclusion criteria, none showed a negative impact of working beyond retirement age on mental health. Four studies showed that post-retirement working has a statistically significant positive effect on a range of mental health outcomes. Discussion: This review suggests that working beyond traditional retirement ages may be beneficial for mental health in some populations. The mechanisms by which this occurs are complex but are likely to be mediated by the maintenance of productive societal roles, continued income and social support. The benefits of post-retirement employment are unlikely to be universal as such factors will have varying effects depending on individual lifestyle, self-esteem and socioeconomic status. Although our research shows that allowing older people free access to the employment market may have important health benefits, flexible retirement strategies are needed to ensure that any national policy to increase statutory retirement age does not increase health and social inequalities in the elderly

How much priority is given to nutrition and health in the EU Common Agricultural Policy?

Agriculture in the European Union (EU) is strongly influenced by the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). There have been repeated calls for CAP to address nutrition-related health, particularly obesity and non-communicable disease (NCD) in the EU. However, aligning agricultural policy such as CAP with nutrition is complex, not least because the aims of agricultural policy are predominantly economic, presenting a challenge for developing coherence between agricultural trade and health policy. This research examined the political priority given to nutrition-related health concerns within CAP to date, and the solutions suggested by agricultural, trade and health policy-makers and public health nutrition advocates, via interviews of 20 high-level participants from respective sectors. The participants provided diverse perspectives, often varying by sector and institution, on the connections between agricultural policy and nutrition-related health, the extent to which nutrition concerns have "been addressed via CAP and whether CAP is an appropriate and effective policy approach to improve nutrition-related health in the EU in the future. The key findings suggest the need for communication and agreement of clear high-level nutrition guidelines, clarity on the EU mandate to address nutrition-related health concerns via policy, and stronger engagement of civil society in the issues if CAP is to address nutrition more than it is doing currently. The difference in worldviews between agricultural/trade representatives, and those from public health, also needs to be addressed. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.orgilicenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)