January 2015

I-Chun Wang, Asun López-VarelaPages 7-16DOI: 10.5840/cultura20151211 ABSTRACT Originating from the Latin word imperium, the concept and practice of imperialism, like that of empire, is a bio-political production (Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri, 2001: 29) that refers to the “polity of extend- ing a country’s power and influence through colonization, use of military force, or other …

Allegories of Imperialism: Barbarians and World Cultures Read More »

David LeaPages 17-29DOI: 10.5840/cultura20151212 ABSTRACT The events of 9/11 have underlined the relevance of the thought of Georgio Agamben in so far as he attempts to explain the genesis of an authoritarianism that increasingly implements extraordinary measures and enhanced surveillance. This can be understood in terms of the expansion of a biopolitical regime. Biometric analysis: …

Sovereignty, Linguistic Imperialism and the Quantification of Reality Read More »

Abobo KumbalonahPages 31-43DOI: 10.5840/cultura20151213 ABSTRACT This essay situates the debate on the philosophy of indigenous thought systems within the context of postcolonial theory. I argue that postcolonialism is a reinvention of preexisting indigenous philosophy. Beginning from the late 1960s into the early 1970s a seemingly new wave of thinking was theorized by scholars as postcolonialism. …

The Invention of a Philosophy: Postcolonialism in the Context of Akan Proverbs Read More »

Shiuhhuah Serena ChouPages 71-84DOI: 10.5840/cultura20151216 ABSTRACT This essay examines the persistent engagement with cosmopolitan inclusivity through the endorsement of indigenous sacredness in works of ethnographic fiction. I focus on Ursula K. Le Guin’s Always Coming Home, James Cameron’s Avatar, and Taiwanese writer Ming-yi Wu’s science fiction The Man with the Compound Eyes, three iconic environmental …

Claiming the Sacred: Indigenous Knowledge, Spiritual Ecology, and the Emergence of Eco-cosmopolitanism Read More »

Stephen JoycePages 85-98DOI: 10.5840/cultura20151217 ABSTRACT Although most colonisations have been invasions of territory by neighbouring peoples with similar appearances, languages, and customs, postcolonial theory is dominated by cases of inter-civilizational imperialism between the West and the non-West. This article argues that a new theoretical framework is needed to describe intra-civilizational colonial encounters because the psychological …

The Fearful Merging of Self and Other: Intra-civilizational and Inter-civilizational Colonial Cultures in Richard E. Kim’s Lost Names Read More »

Oxana KarnaukhovaPages 99-114DOI: 10.5840/cultura20151218 ABSTRACT In this paper, I focus on the idea of identity hybridization, assuming that multicultural models, relevant for each type of state, depend on complex historical, socio-cultural, and political contexts. This hypothesis directs my inquiry into Russia’s colonial and postcolonial past, contemplated in relation to European development as well as with …

Tracing the Roots of Colonial History and Orientology in Russia Read More »

Michaela KeckPages 115-128DOI: 10.5840/cultura20151219 ABSTRACT This article investigates Madison Smartt Bell’s Haitian trilogy as a neocaptivity narrative that combines in new ways the conventions of the slave (captivity) narrative and the Barbary captivity narrative. Furthermore, it examines the culture-crossing of the character of Doctor Hébert in the course of the successful slave uprising of Saint …

Culture-Crossing in Madison Smartt Bell’s Haitian Trilogy and Neo-Captivity Narrative Read More »

Antonia PeroikouPages 45-55DOI: 10.5840/cultura20151214 ABSTRACT In his 1987 novel Foe, J. M. Coetzee re-introduces the figure of Friday, a speechless cannibal, who is Robinson Crusoe’s slave and who allegedly had his tongue severed by slave-traders. Evidently, Friday’s bestialization and his peculiar position within the narrative are inextricably linked to his status as a nonspeaking character. …

Speaking (of) the Unspoken: Exploring the Mystery behind Friday’s Severed Tongue in Coetzee’s Foe Read More »

Temisanren Ebijuwa, Adeniyi Sulaiman GbadegesinPages 57-69DOI: 10.5840/cultura20151215 ABSTRACT In recent times, African states have experienced multiple challenges. The most disturbing one is the inability to evolve a sustainable culture of dialogue that is suitable for the mitigation of ethnic conflicts in contemporary Africa. It is this failure that has generated many other problems in other …

Mediating Ethnic Identities: Reaching Consensus through Dialogue in an African Society Read More »

Mary TheisPages 129-143DOI: 10.5840/cultura201512110 ABSTRACT Given the increasing complexity of living in a global village, countries and regions that are parts of larger political entities frequently have considered the option of separating or seceding an ideal solution to their problems with a larger center of power. Isolation, a form of “freedom from,” has the potential …

Ideal Isolation for the Greater Good: The Hazards of Postcolonial Freedom Read More »