This paper delves into the reimagining of cultural identity through the corpus of a prominent Mal... more This paper delves into the reimagining of cultural identity through the corpus of a prominent Malaysian novelist, K.S. Maniam. By exploring Maniam’s novels within the framework of cosmopolitanism, which challenges traditional notions of exclusive and divisive cultural identities, this paper unravels the complex interplay between colonial legacies and contemporary cultural narratives in this Malaysian novelist’s canon. Maniam’s literary contributions as the finding indicates subvert historical constructs of race-based cultural identities in Malaysia, offering a compelling critique of the entrenched divisions perpetuated by colonial cultural projects. In addition, Maniam’s portrayal of characters navigates the complexities of identity beyond the rigid race-based categorizations of Malay, Chinese, and Indian found in many Malaysian works. Maniam’s works, as this paper illustrates, transcend the limitations imposed by colonial-era segregation, urging readers to incorporate a more inclusive and nuanced understanding of identity that draw parallels with the cosmopolitan ethos. We also extend the discussions further by positing that readers globally might explore Maniam’s profound reinterpretations of cultural identity, showcasing the enduring impact of his work in reshaping cultural narratives and advocating a cosmopolitan perspective on identity in our interconnected world.
Jurnal Komunikasi: Malaysian Journal of Communication
This is a review paper on the apparent force of commercial success and social media presence bein... more This is a review paper on the apparent force of commercial success and social media presence being a key in the changes of female representation in popular culture using The Hunger Games dystopian trilogy’s global commercial success and its impact as case in point. It argues that the trilogy’s commercial success is valuable in helping normalise the flipped gender roles or subverting the stereotypical gender primes. While dystopian literature supposedly features worlds and societies beyond typical real-life rules, many parts of that fictional world will still exhibit traits and beliefs contemporary to its author and resonate with its audience. The normalisation of gender stereotypes can often be seen in characters and social dynamics portrayed repeatedly throughout other forms of media communication. These and other literary works carry within it these stereotypical traits or behaviours a shorthand frame of reference which are called tropes. In this paper, the tropes are viewed throu...
This paper delves into the reimagining of cultural identity through
the corpus of a prominent Ma... more This paper delves into the reimagining of cultural identity through the corpus of a prominent Malaysian novelist, K.S. Maniam. By exploring Maniam’s novels within the framework of cosmopolitanism, which challenges traditional notions of exclusive and divisive cultural identities, this paper unravels the complex interplay between colonial legacies and contemporary cultural narratives in this Malaysian novelist’s canon. Maniam’s literary contributions as the finding indicates subvert historical constructs of race-based cultural identities in Malaysia, offering a compelling critique of the entrenched divisions perpetuated by colonial cultural projects. In addition, Maniam’s portrayal of characters navigates the complexities of identity beyond the rigid race-based categorizations of Malay, Chinese, and Indian found in many Malaysian works. Maniam’s works, as this paper illustrates, transcend the limitations imposed by colonial-era segregation, urging readers to incorporate a more inclusive and nuanced understanding of identity that draw parallels with the cosmopolitan ethos. We also extend the discussions further by positing that readers globally might explore Maniam’s profound reinterpretations of cultural identity, showcasing the enduring impact of his work in reshaping cultural narratives and advocating a cosmopolitan perspective on identity in our interconnected world.
Manga as a cultural art form delves into various sociocultural issues and narratives, and the rep... more Manga as a cultural art form delves into various sociocultural issues and narratives, and the representation of diverse cultural contexts in manga has increased over the years. The role of Japanese manga as a site for intercultural understanding and engagement is worth further investigation, and research in this area is still growing. This article explores intercultural dialogue through a case study of the Japanese manga Satoko and Nada Volume 1 by Yupechika, which narrates the friendship between Satoko, a young Japanese woman, and Nada, her Saudi Muslim roommate. It adopts a literary approach to the analysis of the manga and employs textual analysis as the methodology. The manga is analysed through the lens of interculturalism and deep dialogue focusing on the themes of food, fashion and faith. Through the analysis, readers are exposed to the narrative of intercultural engagement as portrayed by the mangaka. Yupechika incorporates pre-existing prejudices in the engagement between t...
Abstract of Business Strategy and Social Sciences, 2016
Since the turn of the 21st century, popular TV fiction in Malaysia has been thriving, popular, an... more Since the turn of the 21st century, popular TV fiction in Malaysia has been thriving, popular, and critically-acclaimed due to their extensive local, national reach. Drawing more than one million viewers including staggering online reruns, this sheer popularity of some popular TV fiction has led to the questioning of issues that viewers can relate to. In this paper, we contextualize popular TV fiction within a space of cultural identities, focusing on audience-response analysis. Specifically, we argue that these popular TV fiction permit audience to communicate with images of alternative modernities as seen in Julia, Adam & Hawa, and On Dhia, articulating issues related to controversies and taboo such as alcoholism and cohabitation. Through consenting, dissenting, ambiguous, and ambivalent voices of audience captured from interviews and personal narratives, we will show how their reactions reveal the intricacies of dealing with Malay subjectivities as manifested in these popular TV fiction. By telling their stories, we also show how these audience responses may reflect cracks and fractures, between what is supposed to be shown and the reality in which these expectations are translated in popular TV fiction.
Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) are among the skills that teachers at school are expected to ... more Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) are among the skills that teachers at school are expected to develop. In a language class, this can be a challenging task especially for teachers who are not trained in this area. Yet, many may not opt for a formal face-to-face training for various reasons. Time is usually one of the constraints. In-service training programmes are also impossible to arrange for all teachers in the country. In a survey conducted on English teachers in Malaysia, it was found that they preferred to have this kind of training conducted both on-site and online. Majority of them preferred to have the bulk of the course to be run online. This paper discusses the strategies and approaches that can be adopted by English language teachers to develop their students’ critical thinking skills when teaching literary texts. The paper also highlights how these are shared with the teachers using MOOC platform. The platform helps to make the content accessible to more teachers. keywords: hots, language teaching, mooc.
This paper presents the problems of a lost identity in My Place, an Australian aboriginal autobio... more This paper presents the problems of a lost identity in My Place, an Australian aboriginal autobiography by Sally Morgan. Albeit literary critics have questioned the 'indigeneity' and 'reality' concerning the narration of stolen generation, this paper situates the reading of My Place within the issue of (un)making and recuperation of sociocultural consciousness of the self. Through the lens of rememory as an exercise of recollection and rediscovery of the past, the analysis focuses on the triangulation of the themes of self, culture, and consciousness as represented in My Place. The findings indicate that rememory as illustrated in My Place, is evident in the protagonist's exploration of her personal history, her discovery of cultural/racial history, and her realisation of the double consciousness that comes with being a member of the aboriginal community.
Pertanika journal of social science and humanities, 2016
This paper examines the estranged father-son relationship in the 2014 American drama film The Jud... more This paper examines the estranged father-son relationship in the 2014 American drama film The Judge and explores how the protagonist, Judge Palmer, and his son, Hank, negotiate between their remorse at failing to form filial attachment and their continued defiance towards reconciliation. Both characters appear to mirror one another’s emotional disconnection as each isolates himself in a cocoon of invisibility and lack of interaction. This mirroring gesture is a motif that recurs throughout the film, making evident the internal and external conflicts of the narrative. The finding of the study indicates that the judge’s fear and shame i.e. his inner conflict, is rooted in the numbing of his emotions towards his second son. The finding also indicates that only by accepting the aspect of fear and shame does the protagonist learn to admit both his past failure and his current estrangement from his son. This recognition of his fear and shame, as the investigation illustrates, leads to a r...
Pertanika journal of social science and humanities, 2016
Throughout the more than 50 years of Pablo Neruda's poetic career, natural places were a ... more Throughout the more than 50 years of Pablo Neruda's poetic career, natural places were a fundamental component of his poetry. Neruda was a major 20th century Latin American and Nobel Prize winning poet who was famous as a political poet. This paper examines the concept of 'place' in Neruda's selected poems to reveal his experiences and emotions connected to specific places. 'Place' is an essential component of ecopoetry. In this paper, we utilise the conceptual framework of ecopoetry, which is a sub-theory of ecocriticism. Ecopoetry is a genre of poetry that explores how human beings are connected to their habitat or home, how 'home' is defined and built, and how a sense of 'place' is invoked. In this paper, we scrutinise the relationship between man and place (nature) with an emphasis on ecological awareness. Therefore, the paper will illustrate how the environment is closely associated with the concept of place. Based on the evidence presented, we propose that Neruda was very much an ecopoet and a 'place maker'. Through his poetry, he establishes his poetic goal to achieve 'topophilia' or love of places by illustrating that the knowledge of spiritual belonging is the result of the knowledge of one's physical roots.
As one of the prominent literary figures in the United States, Don DeLillo (2001) urged novelists... more As one of the prominent literary figures in the United States, Don DeLillo (2001) urged novelists to produce a counter-narrative in response to September 2001 attacks. Falling Man (2007) was published six years after the watershed event. This paper aims to investigate DeLillo’s exemplification of Islam and Muslims in the light of post-9/11 discourse on Islam and Muslims. It also seeks to situate the novelist’s depiction of Islam and Muslims within due geopolitical implications. By means of architectures of enmity, the other is deliberately crafted into a discriminated entity whose enemy- like attributes are highlighted and reiterated to serve geopolitical interests in the other and justify violence against him/her. DeLillo’s architected enemies will be studied through three constructs, specifically, ‘difference,’ ‘Islamic agency’ and ‘clashing Islam.’ The first construct, ‘difference,’ inspects how contrast between Muslims and non-Muslims operates within the novel’s architected enmi...
The grand narratives of Mother India posit women’s emancipation as the central concern, insisting... more The grand narratives of Mother India posit women’s emancipation as the central concern, insisting on her public participation in the educational and economic sectors. The relegation of the archetypal motherhood to the national periphery is strictly rooted in the Hindu traditional culture. The schisms of caste, class, and religion in contemporary society are normalised whilst the gendered undercurrents of domestic violence, chauvinism and religious sensibilities are ignored. Such polished idealisms are, in fact, far from the living reality of most women and girls across all spheres in the country. By reviewing notable texts from past and present, this research problematises the position of Muslim women in India, specifically during the nationalistic discourse and post-independent era. The national freedom struggle movement assured a democratic constitution, which primed Mother India as the figurative Indian woman encrypting ideologies from socio-religious discourses. The grand narrat...
This paper delves into the reimagining of cultural identity through the corpus of a prominent Mal... more This paper delves into the reimagining of cultural identity through the corpus of a prominent Malaysian novelist, K.S. Maniam. By exploring Maniam’s novels within the framework of cosmopolitanism, which challenges traditional notions of exclusive and divisive cultural identities, this paper unravels the complex interplay between colonial legacies and contemporary cultural narratives in this Malaysian novelist’s canon. Maniam’s literary contributions as the finding indicates subvert historical constructs of race-based cultural identities in Malaysia, offering a compelling critique of the entrenched divisions perpetuated by colonial cultural projects. In addition, Maniam’s portrayal of characters navigates the complexities of identity beyond the rigid race-based categorizations of Malay, Chinese, and Indian found in many Malaysian works. Maniam’s works, as this paper illustrates, transcend the limitations imposed by colonial-era segregation, urging readers to incorporate a more inclusive and nuanced understanding of identity that draw parallels with the cosmopolitan ethos. We also extend the discussions further by positing that readers globally might explore Maniam’s profound reinterpretations of cultural identity, showcasing the enduring impact of his work in reshaping cultural narratives and advocating a cosmopolitan perspective on identity in our interconnected world.
Jurnal Komunikasi: Malaysian Journal of Communication
This is a review paper on the apparent force of commercial success and social media presence bein... more This is a review paper on the apparent force of commercial success and social media presence being a key in the changes of female representation in popular culture using The Hunger Games dystopian trilogy’s global commercial success and its impact as case in point. It argues that the trilogy’s commercial success is valuable in helping normalise the flipped gender roles or subverting the stereotypical gender primes. While dystopian literature supposedly features worlds and societies beyond typical real-life rules, many parts of that fictional world will still exhibit traits and beliefs contemporary to its author and resonate with its audience. The normalisation of gender stereotypes can often be seen in characters and social dynamics portrayed repeatedly throughout other forms of media communication. These and other literary works carry within it these stereotypical traits or behaviours a shorthand frame of reference which are called tropes. In this paper, the tropes are viewed throu...
This paper delves into the reimagining of cultural identity through
the corpus of a prominent Ma... more This paper delves into the reimagining of cultural identity through the corpus of a prominent Malaysian novelist, K.S. Maniam. By exploring Maniam’s novels within the framework of cosmopolitanism, which challenges traditional notions of exclusive and divisive cultural identities, this paper unravels the complex interplay between colonial legacies and contemporary cultural narratives in this Malaysian novelist’s canon. Maniam’s literary contributions as the finding indicates subvert historical constructs of race-based cultural identities in Malaysia, offering a compelling critique of the entrenched divisions perpetuated by colonial cultural projects. In addition, Maniam’s portrayal of characters navigates the complexities of identity beyond the rigid race-based categorizations of Malay, Chinese, and Indian found in many Malaysian works. Maniam’s works, as this paper illustrates, transcend the limitations imposed by colonial-era segregation, urging readers to incorporate a more inclusive and nuanced understanding of identity that draw parallels with the cosmopolitan ethos. We also extend the discussions further by positing that readers globally might explore Maniam’s profound reinterpretations of cultural identity, showcasing the enduring impact of his work in reshaping cultural narratives and advocating a cosmopolitan perspective on identity in our interconnected world.
Manga as a cultural art form delves into various sociocultural issues and narratives, and the rep... more Manga as a cultural art form delves into various sociocultural issues and narratives, and the representation of diverse cultural contexts in manga has increased over the years. The role of Japanese manga as a site for intercultural understanding and engagement is worth further investigation, and research in this area is still growing. This article explores intercultural dialogue through a case study of the Japanese manga Satoko and Nada Volume 1 by Yupechika, which narrates the friendship between Satoko, a young Japanese woman, and Nada, her Saudi Muslim roommate. It adopts a literary approach to the analysis of the manga and employs textual analysis as the methodology. The manga is analysed through the lens of interculturalism and deep dialogue focusing on the themes of food, fashion and faith. Through the analysis, readers are exposed to the narrative of intercultural engagement as portrayed by the mangaka. Yupechika incorporates pre-existing prejudices in the engagement between t...
Abstract of Business Strategy and Social Sciences, 2016
Since the turn of the 21st century, popular TV fiction in Malaysia has been thriving, popular, an... more Since the turn of the 21st century, popular TV fiction in Malaysia has been thriving, popular, and critically-acclaimed due to their extensive local, national reach. Drawing more than one million viewers including staggering online reruns, this sheer popularity of some popular TV fiction has led to the questioning of issues that viewers can relate to. In this paper, we contextualize popular TV fiction within a space of cultural identities, focusing on audience-response analysis. Specifically, we argue that these popular TV fiction permit audience to communicate with images of alternative modernities as seen in Julia, Adam & Hawa, and On Dhia, articulating issues related to controversies and taboo such as alcoholism and cohabitation. Through consenting, dissenting, ambiguous, and ambivalent voices of audience captured from interviews and personal narratives, we will show how their reactions reveal the intricacies of dealing with Malay subjectivities as manifested in these popular TV fiction. By telling their stories, we also show how these audience responses may reflect cracks and fractures, between what is supposed to be shown and the reality in which these expectations are translated in popular TV fiction.
Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) are among the skills that teachers at school are expected to ... more Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) are among the skills that teachers at school are expected to develop. In a language class, this can be a challenging task especially for teachers who are not trained in this area. Yet, many may not opt for a formal face-to-face training for various reasons. Time is usually one of the constraints. In-service training programmes are also impossible to arrange for all teachers in the country. In a survey conducted on English teachers in Malaysia, it was found that they preferred to have this kind of training conducted both on-site and online. Majority of them preferred to have the bulk of the course to be run online. This paper discusses the strategies and approaches that can be adopted by English language teachers to develop their students’ critical thinking skills when teaching literary texts. The paper also highlights how these are shared with the teachers using MOOC platform. The platform helps to make the content accessible to more teachers. keywords: hots, language teaching, mooc.
This paper presents the problems of a lost identity in My Place, an Australian aboriginal autobio... more This paper presents the problems of a lost identity in My Place, an Australian aboriginal autobiography by Sally Morgan. Albeit literary critics have questioned the 'indigeneity' and 'reality' concerning the narration of stolen generation, this paper situates the reading of My Place within the issue of (un)making and recuperation of sociocultural consciousness of the self. Through the lens of rememory as an exercise of recollection and rediscovery of the past, the analysis focuses on the triangulation of the themes of self, culture, and consciousness as represented in My Place. The findings indicate that rememory as illustrated in My Place, is evident in the protagonist's exploration of her personal history, her discovery of cultural/racial history, and her realisation of the double consciousness that comes with being a member of the aboriginal community.
Pertanika journal of social science and humanities, 2016
This paper examines the estranged father-son relationship in the 2014 American drama film The Jud... more This paper examines the estranged father-son relationship in the 2014 American drama film The Judge and explores how the protagonist, Judge Palmer, and his son, Hank, negotiate between their remorse at failing to form filial attachment and their continued defiance towards reconciliation. Both characters appear to mirror one another’s emotional disconnection as each isolates himself in a cocoon of invisibility and lack of interaction. This mirroring gesture is a motif that recurs throughout the film, making evident the internal and external conflicts of the narrative. The finding of the study indicates that the judge’s fear and shame i.e. his inner conflict, is rooted in the numbing of his emotions towards his second son. The finding also indicates that only by accepting the aspect of fear and shame does the protagonist learn to admit both his past failure and his current estrangement from his son. This recognition of his fear and shame, as the investigation illustrates, leads to a r...
Pertanika journal of social science and humanities, 2016
Throughout the more than 50 years of Pablo Neruda's poetic career, natural places were a ... more Throughout the more than 50 years of Pablo Neruda's poetic career, natural places were a fundamental component of his poetry. Neruda was a major 20th century Latin American and Nobel Prize winning poet who was famous as a political poet. This paper examines the concept of 'place' in Neruda's selected poems to reveal his experiences and emotions connected to specific places. 'Place' is an essential component of ecopoetry. In this paper, we utilise the conceptual framework of ecopoetry, which is a sub-theory of ecocriticism. Ecopoetry is a genre of poetry that explores how human beings are connected to their habitat or home, how 'home' is defined and built, and how a sense of 'place' is invoked. In this paper, we scrutinise the relationship between man and place (nature) with an emphasis on ecological awareness. Therefore, the paper will illustrate how the environment is closely associated with the concept of place. Based on the evidence presented, we propose that Neruda was very much an ecopoet and a 'place maker'. Through his poetry, he establishes his poetic goal to achieve 'topophilia' or love of places by illustrating that the knowledge of spiritual belonging is the result of the knowledge of one's physical roots.
As one of the prominent literary figures in the United States, Don DeLillo (2001) urged novelists... more As one of the prominent literary figures in the United States, Don DeLillo (2001) urged novelists to produce a counter-narrative in response to September 2001 attacks. Falling Man (2007) was published six years after the watershed event. This paper aims to investigate DeLillo’s exemplification of Islam and Muslims in the light of post-9/11 discourse on Islam and Muslims. It also seeks to situate the novelist’s depiction of Islam and Muslims within due geopolitical implications. By means of architectures of enmity, the other is deliberately crafted into a discriminated entity whose enemy- like attributes are highlighted and reiterated to serve geopolitical interests in the other and justify violence against him/her. DeLillo’s architected enemies will be studied through three constructs, specifically, ‘difference,’ ‘Islamic agency’ and ‘clashing Islam.’ The first construct, ‘difference,’ inspects how contrast between Muslims and non-Muslims operates within the novel’s architected enmi...
The grand narratives of Mother India posit women’s emancipation as the central concern, insisting... more The grand narratives of Mother India posit women’s emancipation as the central concern, insisting on her public participation in the educational and economic sectors. The relegation of the archetypal motherhood to the national periphery is strictly rooted in the Hindu traditional culture. The schisms of caste, class, and religion in contemporary society are normalised whilst the gendered undercurrents of domestic violence, chauvinism and religious sensibilities are ignored. Such polished idealisms are, in fact, far from the living reality of most women and girls across all spheres in the country. By reviewing notable texts from past and present, this research problematises the position of Muslim women in India, specifically during the nationalistic discourse and post-independent era. The national freedom struggle movement assured a democratic constitution, which primed Mother India as the figurative Indian woman encrypting ideologies from socio-religious discourses. The grand narrat...
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Papers by Raihanah Mydin
the corpus of a prominent Malaysian novelist, K.S. Maniam. By
exploring Maniam’s novels within the framework of cosmopolitanism, which challenges traditional notions of exclusive and divisive
cultural identities, this paper unravels the complex interplay
between colonial legacies and contemporary cultural narratives in
this Malaysian novelist’s canon. Maniam’s literary contributions as
the finding indicates subvert historical constructs of race-based
cultural identities in Malaysia, offering a compelling critique of the
entrenched divisions perpetuated by colonial cultural projects. In
addition, Maniam’s portrayal of characters navigates the complexities of identity beyond the rigid race-based categorizations of
Malay, Chinese, and Indian found in many Malaysian works.
Maniam’s works, as this paper illustrates, transcend the limitations
imposed by colonial-era segregation, urging readers to incorporate
a more inclusive and nuanced understanding of identity that draw
parallels with the cosmopolitan ethos. We also extend the discussions further by positing that readers globally might explore
Maniam’s profound reinterpretations of cultural identity, showcasing the enduring impact of his work in reshaping cultural narratives
and advocating a cosmopolitan perspective on identity in our
interconnected world.
the corpus of a prominent Malaysian novelist, K.S. Maniam. By
exploring Maniam’s novels within the framework of cosmopolitanism, which challenges traditional notions of exclusive and divisive
cultural identities, this paper unravels the complex interplay
between colonial legacies and contemporary cultural narratives in
this Malaysian novelist’s canon. Maniam’s literary contributions as
the finding indicates subvert historical constructs of race-based
cultural identities in Malaysia, offering a compelling critique of the
entrenched divisions perpetuated by colonial cultural projects. In
addition, Maniam’s portrayal of characters navigates the complexities of identity beyond the rigid race-based categorizations of
Malay, Chinese, and Indian found in many Malaysian works.
Maniam’s works, as this paper illustrates, transcend the limitations
imposed by colonial-era segregation, urging readers to incorporate
a more inclusive and nuanced understanding of identity that draw
parallels with the cosmopolitan ethos. We also extend the discussions further by positing that readers globally might explore
Maniam’s profound reinterpretations of cultural identity, showcasing the enduring impact of his work in reshaping cultural narratives
and advocating a cosmopolitan perspective on identity in our
interconnected world.