Native Spiritual Appropriation : Words of Power, Relations of Power - Creating Stories & Identities

L'appropriation culturelle possède une diffusion très large et est un phénomène essentiellement intemporel. L'appropriation culturelle est définie comme «the taking- from a culture that is not one’s own- of intellectual property, cultural expressions or artifacts, history and ways of knowledge» (Ziff et Rao 1997: 1). Cela comprend tous les aspects de la spiritualité, les objets sacrés, des valeurs, des histoires et des rites. L'appropriation est étroitement liée aux relations de pouvoir et à la politique. Avec la montée de la popularité du chamanisme et du néo-chamanisme dans la société occidentale, les peuples amérindiens de l'Amérique du Nord (ou d’Australie) expriment leurs inquiétudes et leur désapprobation en ce qui concerne l’appropriation de leurs cérémonies, rituels et croyances sacrées par les Occidentaux. Par le discours contre l'appropriation, les populations autochtones (re)gagnent et (re)créent une identité qui avait été négligée, supprimée et assimilée au cours de la colonisation. Cette création identitaire s’effectue par l'intermédiaire de l'écriture, dans les milieux universitaires, aussi non-académiques, et le partage des pratiques rituelles avec d'autres autochtones (pan amérindianisme). Les auteurs autochtones contestent le statu quo et désirent contribuer à faire avancer le débat concernant l'appropriation spirituelle, les relations de pouvoir et le néo-colonialisme. Les arguments et les opinions concernant l'appropriation spirituelle présentés ici traitent de génocide culturel, d’abus sexuels, de néo-colonialisme, de non-respect et d'inquiétude face aux dangers liés à une mauvaise utilisation des rituels et autres pratiques sacrées. Ce débat est lié au processus de guérison en contexte amérindien (Episkenew 2009). En participant à ce débat sur l'appropriation spirituelle, les peuples autochtones sont activement engagés dans la (re)définition de leur identité. C'est cet engagement actif qui permet à la guérison d’avoir lieu. Ce mémoire aborde quelques-uns des auteurs autochtones contemporains et examine leurs écrits. L'importance de l'histoire et du mot dans la création identitaire est explorée. L’analyse de certains textes portant sur la médecine, la sociologie, la religion et la culture de consommation rend explicite le lien entre identité et politique.

Les minorités (in)-visibles au sein de la sphère politique française

Cette étude porte sur la représentation politique des minorités visibles en France. Près de 10% au sein de la société française, moins de 2% au sein de la sphère politique, les Français de la diversité sont sous-représentés, aussi bien au Gouvernement qu’au Parlement. Adoptant une double perspective structurelle et culturelle, nous essayons de suggérer plusieurs pistes de recherches qui expliqueraient la sous-représentation politique des minorités visibles en nous concentrons sur les trois étapes du processus électoral, soit le recrutement, la sélection et l’élection. Le dessein de cette étude est double. D’une part, il s’agit de mettre en lumière les principaux obstacles qui semblent affecter la sous-représentation politique des minorités visibles, sans pour autant prétendre à l’établissement de liens de causalité directs entre les obstacles évoqués et la sous-représentation des minorités visibles dans la sphère politique françaises. D’autre part, il s’agit de déblayer un terrain d’étude encore trop peu appréhendé en France afin de permettre une opérationnalisation et une évaluation des hypothèses articulées dans d’éventuelles études futures.

Neocolonialism and international law, with specific reference to customary counterterrorism obligations and the principle of self-defence

Has international law ever, and, if it has not, can it ever, truly freed itself from the strictures of neocolonialism and the drive by a privileged elite to dominate the world scene? This article begins by inquiring into the nature of neocolonialism and, in so doing, pays particular attention to the writings of former Ghanaian President Kwame Nkrumah. It then proceeds to determine how neocolonialist designs surface in international law today by briefly looking at two aspects of international law in particular, namely customary international law, with specific reference to the counterterrorism context, and the principle of self-defence. In the final analysis, this article argues for a necessary and eternal scepticism of international law and the agendas of its privileged gatekeepers. Like classic State power, it opens itself to, and often operates as, neocolonial overreach, and to quote Nkrumah, “[t]he cajolement, the wheedlings, the seductions and the Trojan horses of neo-colonialism must be stoutly resisted, for neo-colonialism is a latter-day harpy, a monster which entices its victims with sweet music.”

Class Struggle, Elitism and Social Collectivism in Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s Devil on the Cross : A Marxist Approach

Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s Devil on the Cross represents both an insightful interpretation and a scathing critique of Kenyan politics and society during the period of neo-colonialism. The present thesis aims to explore, with the help of Marxist ideology and criticism, the relevance of the issues of class struggle, elitism and social collectivism in the novel. At the same time, this study will attempt to define Devil on the Cross as a "national allegory" depicting situations that are common to almost all post-colonial societies, and in particular, how the novel's ideological and political commitment is an important feature as it reflects Ngugi’s effort to draw attention to how Kenya and Africa as a whole suffered from imperialism, neo-colonialism, and a corrupt and greedy capitalist society.

Whistleblower protection: Is Africa ready?

The article critically examines propositions driving the exportation of western whistleblower concepts into the developing world.(1) Specifically it attacks the prevailing view that public interest disclosure is somehow a culture-free, or at least a culture-muted phenomenon, governed by a set of rules and conventions detached from local histories and practices. The article concludes that this exportation is in the spirit of neo-colonialism and issues a note of warning about the dangers of dispersing western conceived forms of corruption reporting to Africa. Copyright (c) 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

L'Australie et la Nouvelle-Zélande:deux puissances régionales contraintes à l’action

Somehow, almost despite themselves, Australia and New Zealand have become regional powers. First burdened with colonial duties then abandoned by their mother country, Australia and New Zealand had little choice but to ensure their own security and development, a goal necessarily founded on regional action, although their geostrategic environment would sometimes impact differently on each power. However, growing instability in the South Pacific from the end of the 1990s constrained both to seek new and stronger roles in the region. Between neo-colonialism and the imperatives of regional security, Australia and New Zealand were left with no other choice but to react.

Latina Super-heroines: Hot Tamales in Tights vs. Women Warriors, Wrestlers and Guerrilla Fighters of La Raza

The year 1977 saw the making of the first Latino superhero by a Latino artist. From the 1980s onwards it is also possible to find Latina super-heroines, whose number and complexity has kept increasing ever since. Yet, the representations of spandexed Latinas are still few. For that reason, the goal of this paper is, firstly, to gather a great number of Latina super-heroines and, secondly, to analyze the role that they have played in the history of American literature and art. More specifically, it aims at comparing the spandexed Latinas created by non-Latino/a artists and mainstream comic enterprises with the Latina super-heroines devised by Latino/a artists. The conclusion is that whereas the former tend to conceive heroines within the constraints of the logic of Girl Power, the latter choose to imbue their works with a more daring political content and to align their heroines with the ideologies of Feminism and Postcolonialism.

English and the discourses of colonialism

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Cytogenetic molecular delineation of a terminal 18q deletion suggesting neo-telomere formation

Deletion of the long arm of chromosome 18 is one of the most common segmental aneusomies compatible with life and usually involves a deletion of the terminal chromosomal region. However, the mechanisms implicated in the stabilization of terminal deletions are not well understood. In this study, we analyzed a girl with moderate mental retardation who had a cytogenetically visible terminal 18q deletion. In order to characterize the breakpoint in the terminal 18q region, we used fluorescence In situ hybridization (FISH) with bacterial artificial chromosomes (BACs) and pan-telomeric probes and also the array technique based on comparative genomic hybridization (array-CGH). FISH with pan-telomeric probes revealed no signal in the terminal region of the deleted chromosome, indicating the absence of normal telomere repeat (TTAGGG)n sequences in 18q. We suggest that neo-telomere formation by chromosome healing was involved in the repair and stabilization of this terminal deletion. (C) 2010 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Embodied women at work in neo-liberal times and places

In this article five women explore (female) embodiment in academic work in current workplaces. In a week-long collective biography workshop they produced written memories of themselves in their various workplaces and memories of themselves as children and as students. These memories then became the texts out of which the analysis was generated. The authors examine the constitutive and seductive effects of neoliberal discourses and practices, and in particular, the assembling of academic bodies as particular kinds of working bodies. They use the concept of chiasma, or crossing over, to trouble some aspects of binary thinking about bodies and about the relations between bodies and discourses. They examine the way that we simultaneously resist and appropriate, and are seduced by and appropriated within, neoliberal discourses and practices.

Book review of: 'Textual traffic: Colonialism, modernity and the economy of text' by S. Shankar

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