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A Critique of Neo-Imperial Interpellation in Tariq Ali's writings. ABSTRACT Thesis Title: A Critique of Neo-Imperial Interpellation in Tariq Ali’s Writings This dissertation critiques the neo-imperial interpellation in fictional and non-fictional writings of British-Pakistani author Tariq Ali while focusing on the creation of hailed subjects interpellated by neo-imperial Western powers, particularly the United States of America. The study also examines Tariq Ali’s standing in relation to the Marxist and Postcolonial theories using the lens of Althusserian notions of Interpellation, Ideology, and Ideological State Apparatuses. The study analyzed three fictional and six non-fictional works of the author. Significance of this study lies in the fact that Tariq Ali’s fictional and non-fictional works were previously not analyzed using the postcolonial-Althusserian notions of interpellation and ideology. The Althusserian notion of interpellation and ideology in context of Marxist and Gramscian notions of ideology has provided new insights into postcolonial discourse and added significant knowledge to the realm of contemporary postcolonial literary theorization. The study has utilized qualitative textual analysis technique in order to reach to the answers it raised in the beginning. Content analysis technique, taken from the domain of textual analysis was applied which helped in analyzing huge amounts of textual content present in the nine books used for the study. A categorizing matrix was prepared, using the model proposed by Polit and Beck (2004), based on the themes and concepts present in the books, in line with the theoretical framework of the study. The text was then coded and analyzed while the analysis led to the findings of the study. The study concludes that Tariq Ali’s nonfiction necessarily positions him as a postcolonial critic who sees the contemporary imperialism of the West as violent, exploitative and interpellative. He sees the neo-imperial design and hegemonic nature of the US Empire and its ideological and interpellative impact on the world as one of the most significant issues that need to be defied by the forces of dissent. A dire need of subverting the neo-liberal, anti-social, and neo-imperial approach of the Western thought and politics is prevalent in his non-fiction. He establishes himself as a Marxist-Socialist critic who view of Ideology is more in line with the Gramsci as he criticizes the hegemonic designs of the neo-imperial America and Europe while believing in the Gramscian view of existence of multiple ideologies sees/encourages all forms v of dissent against the neo-colonialism in the contemporary world. His works subvert the interpellated and hailed images of the Muslims and Islam in an anti-colonial, subversive strain of thought. In the fictional works of the Islam Quinter, Tariq Ali has successfully disrupted the neo-colonial allegorical representations and Eurocentric versions of history by appropriating the neo-imperial allegory and using it to respond to the allegories of hegemony. The Islam Quintet is an attempt to replace the Eurocentric, monolithic cultural traditions with cross cultural pluralism. The erased or (mis)represented history of the Muslims and Islam through colonial and neo-colonial allegory and palimpsest has been subverted by Ali through presentation of certain vital historical moments of the Islamic history where followers of different religions lived with peace and cultural harmony. He subverts the colonizing gaze of the West by presenting grandeur of the Islamic culture during various historical epochs when Islam was the epitome of learning and cultural advancement. He persistently reverses the binary of civilized/barbaric to reveal the historic truth that there was a time when the Muslims were learned, scholarly and civilized while the Christians were barbaric, illiterate, barbaric and extremists. Ali uses the subversive strategies of appropriation, orality and disruption of allegorical images. Ali’s post-coloniality in the fiction resides in his presentation of the Islamic version of history. He repetitively disrupts the myths and allegories of colonial hegemony by recovering the re-inscribed identities and representations in the cultures of Jerusalem and Moorish Spain at carefully and meaningfully chosen points of time in history.
CORPORATE IDEOLOGIES: A LINGUISTIC AND SEMIOTIC ANALYSIS OF MANIFESTOS AND LOGOS OF CELLULAR NETWORKS IN PAKISTAN This study aims to explore ideologies in written and visual corporate discourses of cellular corporations operating in Pakistan. These companies include Mobilink, Telenor, Ufone, Warid and Zong. It is a qualitative research that employs thematic content analysis of written discourse and semiotic analysis of visual discourse. Manifestos (vision, mission statement and values) and extracts of CSR(Corporate Social Responsibility) reports on social developments have been analyzed using FDM (Foundational Document Model) approach proposed by Holland (2014). Logos have been studied using semiotic framework of Penn (2000). FDM is a semantic grammatical model that identifies ideologies using its six distinct categories which are roles, folklores, utopias, ethics, motivations and strategies. It involves intertextual analysis and categorizes text into these distinct social strands. In first round coding, selected four categories namely strategies, utopias, ethics and roles have been identified in text. In second round coding, categories are tabulated into subcategories to observe dominant themes. Narrative fidelity has been explored by comparing ideologies in manifestos with those in CSR texts to check if CSR texts are truthful to ideologies presented in manifestos. Penn‟s (2000) denotational and connotational inventories as well as Goethe‟s (1982) theory of colors are used for semiotic analysis of logos. The online software Fount is used to determine the typeface and font of texts in logos. The ideologies in logos have been uncovered using cultural knowledge. To study flow of ideologies, the ideologies embedded in logs and manifestos have been compared. The results of analysis show that four ideological strands of FDM have been identified in both manifestos and CSR texts. Visual and linguistic elements of logos convey embedded ideologies. Narrative fidelity is evident in strategies, ethics and roles of all corporations except Warid where narrative fidelity is absent in strategies of CSR text. Utopian ideas in CSR texts display no faithfulness to manifestos. The ideologies in logos are thematically similar to dominant ideologies in manifestos. Recommendations for future are given at the end.
DEFORMING TENDENCES IN THE URDU TRANSLATION OF THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA In this study the researcher has explored the manifestations of deforming tendencies in Ibne Saleem’s Urdu translation of The Old Man and the Sea. For this purpose, the researcher has used Antoine Berman’s theorizations on the twelve deforming tendencies in translation. The researcher has found instances of deformation in terms of semantics and syntax while analyzing the target text in comparison with the source text. These deformations are the result of a wide range of domesticating techniques such as inclusions, exclusions, rationalizations, etc. For translations, it is inevitable to be deformed due to an excessive concern for ‘sophistication’ and ‘readability’ on the part of translators. As many as forty five instances of deformation have been pinpointed and analyzed by the researcher while employing the textual analysis in an interlingual way. It has been shown as to how these instances dislocate the source text and how its linguistic and cultural specificities fail to translate in the target text. The researcher has found that Ibne Saleem’s translation is considerably deformed, if not altogether marred, with reference to cultural allusions and syntactic complexities. Usually the translator handles the translation with perceptiveness and competence but mostly when the source text acquires complexity, semantic density or cultural distancing, the deforming tendencies come into play.
INTERCULTURAL PRAGMATICS AND ITS IMPACT ON STUDENTS’ READING COMPREHENSION The purpose of this study was to find out a connection between intercultural pragmatics and students’ reading comprehension. The topic was selected to investigate the loopholes in our traditional way of teaching English as a second language (ESL), which does not take into account the importance of culture in language teaching. The researcher used the experimental design in order to conduct the current study. The researcher selected 50 students of 8th grade employing random sampling technique in a local school in Peshawar and divided them into two equal groups. Both the groups were treated differently in the experimental study, i.e., the control group was taught a culturally neutral text and the experimental group was given exposure to culturally rich text (Pashtun & English Cultures). Pre- and Post-tests were conducted at the start and the end of the experimental study respectively to check out the improvements made by the students. Since it was quantitative research, the data were statistically analyzed using t-test. The study was helpful in finding out a significant connection between intercultural pragmatics and reading comprehension. The findings of the study showed that incorporation of culture in language learning process improves students’ ability to comprehend a text effectively. The study suggests that inclusion of intercultural pragmatics in language curricula will help students in learning and comprehending the second/foreign language.
INTERPLAY OF RELIGIOUS AND MEDIA DISCOURSES: ANALYSIS OF ADVERTISEMENTS BY COMMERCIAL COMPANIES ON TV CHANNELS This research study is based on the day to day customer and buyer relationship that is manipulated several times by marketing tricks. After religion, media is considered as one of the mainstream sources of authentic information and it has a great impact on the way people think and act. Due to the easy access nowadays, media is also thought to be one of the main platforms to sell products through advertisements. Media has been creating a noticeable effect on the cultural and social life of mankind. Due to the information given or transmitted by media, people change their attitude towards certain occasions, things, ideology and life .Some advertisement companies use social and political issues as their tools to sell products while a new trend has been set up in the recent past that religion is being manipulated in the television advertisements for marketing benefits. Religion has always been a sensitive tool in trade and in the modern world women have also been portrayed in a hyper real manner in the virtual world. Qualitative research methodology is adopted in research. The theory of Hyperreality and Compositional Interpretation are used to analyse the data. A result of this study suggests that there is a significant relationship between emotional appeals and customer purchase intentions. Intrinsic and extrinsic religiosity influence customer purchase intentions and it has a moderating impact on the relationship between emotional appeals and customer purchase intentions. Overall, this research is also beneficial for citizens as awareness and this may help as a useful guide for media personal to design their advertisements more carefully and sensibly without exploiting or manipulating any religious affiliation of common people. Keywords: Religion; Media; Advertisements; Composition; Interpretation; Hyper reality; Pakistani advertisements; Manipulation; Colour, Images, Discourse, Visuals, Television.
Neo-Orientalist Dimensions in Harold Bergsma’s Fiction This research presents a postcolonial critique of Harold Bergsma’s fictional work by exploring the existent neo-orientalist perspectives in the selected narratives. His novels about the Pakistani culture have been approached to identify the stereotypical and prejudiced misrepresentations of the Muslim social patterns present in the country. For this purpose, his trilogy— that includes One Way to Pakistan (2007), An Oath of Vengeance (2008), and The Opium Eaters (2009)—has been taken to be analyzed to develop the critique and generate the argument. The study explains the concept how the Neo-Orientalist representation distorts and over-generalizes the Muslims societies and Islamic teachings. Specifically, it proposes and proves that being a Neo-Orientalist and Islamophobe, how Bergsma pretends to have the insight knowledge of Muslims and Islam to demonize them. The qualitative methodological design has been used to prosecute the research, that is, the selected texts have been analyzed according to the close textual analysis technique. The theoretical framework for the analysis of the text has been taken from the Orientalism (1995) by Edward Said. Especially, his ideas about the nature of neo-orientalist developments have been focused. The selected novels have been found to be replete with the Neo-Orientalist and Islamophobic misrepresentations of Pakistani society and Islam. A variety of the textual strategies present in the narratives has been brought forth to establish the biased nature of narration. The research is going to be a significant one for the students that will help them to understand the current socio-political precipitations and the ideological agenda behind the literary works.
THE INTRIGUING MATRIARCHY: ANALYSIS OF QUADRUPLY SILENT AND SHADOWED WOMEN IN HOW IT HAPPENED AND This research work has been carried out to analyze the novel How it Happened by Shazaf Fatima Haider and A Terrible Matriarchy by Easterine Kire in order to determine the role of matriarchy in creating a quadruple suppression of silent and shadowy characters in South Eastern countries. The pertinent methodology for this research has been qualitative: the required text has been gathered from text books, research journals, encyclopedia and online resources. The gathered text has been analyzed according to the close textual analysis technique: the data was gathered in the relevant chapters under juxtaposed categories. The theoretical framework for the analyses of the text has been Daniz Kandiyoti’s concept of Bargaining with Patriarchy and from Gayatri Spivak’s feminist assumptions. The matriarchs in the selected texts formulate the fourth layer of oppression of their own gender in a specific familial context. They do this as a strategy to win and secure particular focus and accommodation in the patriarchal system system and in this way become the accomplices to it. The study also sheds light how these suppressed and shadowy characters reformulate the meaning of their existence in the course of the time.
Cultural Identity in The Global-Age: A Study of The South Asian Diasporic Narratives ABSTRACT Thesis title: Cultural Identity in the Global-Age: A Study of the South Asian Diasporic Narratives This qualitative study is aimed at tracing cultural identity of the South Asian diaspora communities from the perspectives of the postcolonial cultural theory and globalisation using textual analysis as a research method. Texts of three novels by the South Asian diaspora writers; Brick Lane by Monica Ali, Home Boy by H.M. Naqvi and The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri are analysed in the light of postcolonial cultural theories presented by Homi K. Bhabha, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak and Stuart Hall. Globalisation theories by Aijaz Ahmed, John Tomlinson and William I. Robinson are also considered here. Ali’s novel delineates the experiences of the Bangladeshi community in London while Naqvi has portrayed the life of Pakistani immigrants in America. Lahiri, on the other hand, has presented the immigrant life experiences of the Indians in the US. The characters of these novels exhibit different cultural identity issues in their respective phases of life in the immigrant land and use various strategies to resolve these issues. Bhabha’s ideas of mimicry, hybridity, the Third Space, cultural creativity and cultural productivity; Spivak’s concepts of moving culture and culture alive; and Hall’s view of transformative cultural identity are reflected in the lives of these characters. Global world event of 9/11, American pop culture, cultural imperialism, hybrid identity and racial discrimination are at the core of these novels. Immigrants from the postcolonial South Asian societies of Pakistan, Bangladesh and India as narrated in these novels face many problems in their life at the metropolitan centres of the world: the UK and the US. Nostalgia, alienation, cultural imperialism, cultural diversity, racial discrimination, war on terror, Islam-o-phobia, distorted self-image, rootlessness, loneliness, displacement, and foreignness are the problems faced by the characters of these novels. Immigrants in these novels make use of various strategies to form their cultural identity including assimilation, absorption, adaptation, acculturation, hybridity, rejection, resistance, and going back to roots. The South Asian literary works are also contributing to the formation of the South Asian cultural identity through raising voice, personal experiences, and addressing the centre through the centre.
Cultural Identity in The Global-Age: A Study of The South Asian Diasporic Narratives ABSTRACT Thesis title: Cultural Identity in the Global-Age: A Study of the South Asian Diasporic Narratives This qualitative study is aimed at tracing cultural identity of the South Asian diaspora communities from the perspectives of the postcolonial cultural theory and globalisation using textual analysis as a research method. Texts of three novels by the South Asian diaspora writers; Brick Lane by Monica Ali, Home Boy by H.M. Naqvi and The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri are analysed in the light of postcolonial cultural theories presented by Homi K. Bhabha, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak and Stuart Hall. Globalisation theories by Aijaz Ahmed, John Tomlinson and William I. Robinson are also considered here. Ali’s novel delineates the experiences of the Bangladeshi community in London while Naqvi has portrayed the life of Pakistani immigrants in America. Lahiri, on the other hand, has presented the immigrant life experiences of the Indians in the US. The characters of these novels exhibit different cultural identity issues in their respective phases of life in the immigrant land and use various strategies to resolve these issues. Bhabha’s ideas of mimicry, hybridity, the Third Space, cultural creativity and cultural productivity; Spivak’s concepts of moving culture and culture alive; and Hall’s view of transformative cultural identity are reflected in the lives of these characters. Global world event of 9/11, American pop culture, cultural imperialism, hybrid identity and racial discrimination are at the core of these novels. Immigrants from the postcolonial South Asian societies of Pakistan, Bangladesh and India as narrated in these novels face many problems in their life at the metropolitan centres of the world: the UK and the US. Nostalgia, alienation, cultural imperialism, cultural diversity, racial discrimination, war on terror, Islam-o-phobia, distorted self-image, rootlessness, loneliness, displacement, and foreignness are the problems faced by the characters of these novels. Immigrants in these novels make use of various strategies to form their cultural identity including assimilation, absorption, adaptation, acculturation, hybridity, rejection, resistance, and going back to roots. The South Asian literary works are also contributing to the formation of the South Asian cultural identity through raising voice, personal experiences, and addressing the centre through the centre.
VISUAL REPRESENTATION OF MUSLIM WOMEN ON THE MAGAZINE COVERS OF US WEEKLIES POST 9/11 SCENARIO: A SOCIAL SEMIOTIC ANALYSIS The thesis studies the Iconic Representation of Muslim Women in the post 9/11 US weeklies, Time and Newsweek, with the purpose of determining the utilization of various social semiotic resources in disseminating specific messages to a given audience. The cover pages of US Weekly magazines have been selected as the visual texts sources for this study. These sources were discerned as being of considerable impact in narrative building and the discourse they generate, as presented in this research. With the purpose of conducting a semiotic analysis based on visual representations of Muslim women, Visual Discourse Analysis has been selected as the main framework for the analysis. The model of Kress & Leeuwen has been employed for the interpretation of visual representations and text analysis of the captions accompanying the visuals. Peirce’s theory of signs was employed as an investigative tool to understand meaning making through visual signs in the context of feminism. The manner in which visual representations create meaning are interpreted in the social semiotic context is described at length as the main topic of this research. The manner through which the speech, keeping in mind its linguistic function, demands a response from the recipients has also been explored according to explanations of Halliday. Data for the research is collected through ‘Convenient Sampling Technique.’ Fifteen cover pages of two prominent US weeklies, TIME and Newsweek, have been selected on the basis of their influence in opinion making of the masses and presentation of Muslim women. This research, during the course of its investigation, established what variable messages expressed by means of these visual representations, in a way; influence the onlookers to respond significantly, in addition to stimulating emotions of sympathy with ‘cry for help’ in them. Finally, the messages divulged in the course of this research propounds that the visual representation of the Muslim women in US magazines is not only stereotypical but there is some specific political purpose behind these visual representations.
Visual and Verbal Practices in New Media: A Study of Implicature in Cellular Network Companies' Slogans in Pakistan
Decoding Religious Content : A Comparative Analysis of 5th Grade English Textbooks in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa
STRATEGIZING VIOLENCE: AN ANARCHIST PERSPECTIVE ON OMAR SHAHID HAMID’S THE PRISONER AND THE SPINNER’S TALE Omar Shahid Hamid’s novels, The Prisoner and The Spinner’s Tale, represent a meteoric surge in terrorist violence in Pakistani society after the catastrophic event of 9/11. In the backdrop of scenes of violence and terrorism, Hamid highlights the possible nexus between centralized state authority and violence by non-state players. The selected novels portray the recurring antagonism between multiple forms of authority (such as state, ideology, and capitalism) and the individual and political agency of the citizens of Pakistan. Along with this, Hamid depicts the use of subjective violence by terrorist entities in society as potential means to secure political, ideological and capitalist interests. This study applies the anarchist theory of Mikhail Bakunin who advocates the use of violence as a necessary tool to defy oppressive state authority. It invokes his perspective in order to analyze the role of state and its subordinate institutions as far as the situation of violence and anarchy is concerned. It further explores how, on the one hand, violence by anti-state elements destabilizes society and endangers the ordinary state subjects, and how, on the other hand, it is used as a potent tool by peripheral voices of dissent to dismantle the centralized state authority. In order to analyze the role of state institutions in a more elaborate manner, this study makes use of Louis Althusser’s theory of state as a repressive state apparatus. To avoid a one-sided take on violence by the dissident groups as purely an act of subversion, this thesis investigates how the state uses repression as a strategy to ensure social, economic and political stability. It also examines how violence is employed by the state institutions as a way to eliminate existential threat by terrorist elements to the state of Pakistan. This research is exploratory and interpretive in nature therefore, the research approach followed in this thesis is qualitative. The research method used in the thesis to interpret the selected works is textual analysis.
COMMON SYNTACTIC ERRORS IN ENGLISH COMPOSITION COMMITTED BY PAKISTANI LEARNERS OF VARIOUS LINGUISTIC BACKGROUNDS Writing in a foreign language is a troublesome task for the learners. Pakistani learners come across a number of difficulties while creating composition in English. One of such areas of difficulty is English syntax. Even after completing twelve academic years, the Pakistani learners find writing in English hard because of being poor at English grammar though writing is inevitable as they have to write assignments and take examinations in English throughout their academic career. The aim of the present research was to categorise and analyse syntactic errors made by the Pakistani learners from different regions who speak a variety of mother tongues. These errors were gathered through evaluation tests given to the students enrolled in the language programme at Diploma level, at FC Department of NUML, Islamabad. Mixed method research design comprising quantitative and qualitative research methods was used to explore the research questions. Pit Corder's theory of Error Analysis and Larry Selinker's theory of Inter Language were used as theoretical framework to explore these questions. The findings revealed that some of these errors occur due to the mother tongue interference but this is not the only factor behind these errors.