American Journal of Literature Studies

Helon Habila and the Trauma of Disposable People in Oil on Water

Uchenna Ohagwam, Ndubuisi Ogbuagu — Fri, 14 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0300

Trauma studies is no doubt a burgeoning area of discourse that has captured the literary imagination of academic scholars for a few decades running. This study examined the complex relationship between socio-cultural influences and intimate personal relations portrayed in a trauma fiction as Helon Habila’s Oil on Water. Specifically, how does these depictions in Habila’s fiction direct the awareness of the catastrophic effects of war, poverty, hostage taking, domestic abuse on the individual psyche? How do traumatised people respond? To what extent can one theorize trauma studies and ecocritical studies? How traumatized is the physical landscape portrayed in Habila’s fiction? The study concludes by insisting that government of nations and relevant international organisations, owe the people the responsibility of intentionally committing to rearticulating and rehabilitating the social conditions, voices; indeed, the lives of marginalized people.

Effects of Intergroup Contact in an Official Bilingual Language Teaching Context on Mutual Stereotypes

Melvis Njualem Ngum, Tangie Evani, Ayu’nwi N. Neba — Wed, 21 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0300

Purpose: This paper reports findings of an investigation of the effects of intergroup contact in a bilingual language teaching context on stereotypes of each group towards each other. The pre and post intergroup contact attitudes of Cameroonian Anglophone Bilingual Teachers (ABT) and those of Francophone Bilingual Teachers (FBT) towards each other were determined and compared.

Methodology: A mixed method research design that relied on a two-phase explanatory sequential strategy was employed to collect the data. It comprised an anonymous self-report survey of 97 bilingual teachers and a follow-up interview of 6 of these teachers. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the quantitative data and content analysis was used to explore the textual data.

Findings: The study revealed that while ABT indicated negative attitudes towards FBT, prior to starting their training, FBT on their part, expressed positive considerations of Anglophones (they saw them as polite, hospitable and hardworking people). In the end, ABT moved from seeing FBT as arrogant to calling them simple and assiduous learners. Nevertheless, they scorned the FBT’s insolence. The contact reinforced FBT’s prior training positive attitudes towards ABT whom they found to be friendly, convivial and courteous.

Recommendations: The study concludes that intergroup contact positively influenced ABT attitudes towards FBT, while FBT maintained their pre-training positive attitudes towards ABT. Intergroup contact in an official bilingual teacher training classroom, therefore, can be a fertile ground for the elimination of stereotypes and promotion of the spirit of living together.

Representation of Human Rights Violations by the Security Agents in Agyei-Agyiri’s Unexpected Joy at Dawn, Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus and Ellison’s Invisible Man

Eze Chidiebere Chukwuemeka — Mon, 16 Jan 2023 00:00:00 +0300

Purpose: Human rights violation is a universal phenomenon, a constant presence in the news and in daily lives. Such violations are occasioned by the powerful lording it over the powerless, infringing upon the victims’ unalienable rights. Human rights violations by the security agents seem to be pervasive in the recent time, resulting in the ubiquity of protests against the security agents for their wanton violations of human rights. Just recently, there were protest against police security bill in Paris, the protest against the killing of Eyad al-Hallaq by Israeli police, the protest against the jailing of Kremlin Foe of Russia, the protest against the murder of George Floyd of America and the recent EndSARS protest in Nigeria. The purpose of this study was to explore the civil and political rights in the selected novels and how such rights have been violated by the security agents.

Methodology: The research adopted literary analysis, deploying the Marxist critical discourse which concerns itself with the struggles between classes. The reason for this choice is that literature as a major part of the superstructure is determined by the forces that make up a society’s base.

Findings: Drawing from the selected texts and from the different reviews of literature, the research finds out, among other things, that the security agents are among the most active violators of human rights. The study also found that human rights violations are everywhere, and not an exclusive reserve of any nation, civilized or uncivilized.

Recommendations: Giving the importance of security agents in safeguarding lives and property of citizens, the governments should include courses on human rights issues in the curriculum/training of the security agents. Different governments of the world should strengthen the aspects of fundamental human rights entrenched in their constitutions and give that hallowed section its pride of place to avoid chaos, anarchy, violent protests or even war that could result from violating the citizens’ rights. Governments should set up independent and impartial judicial bodies to adjudicate on the cases of human rights violations by the security agents. The citizens need to be sufficiently sensitized on the operative mechanisms of the security agents to make them know when they are crossing their boundaries or initiating actions capable of compelling the security agents to violate their rights. Literature should be made a compulsory subject in schools and colleges.

Revamping Strategies for Teaching English Language to Meet the Challenges of 21st Centuries Classroom in Nigeria

Joy Aladi Obera, Anthony Ugboja, Emah Sunday Sule — Thu, 20 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0300

This paper examines revamping strategies for the teaching and learning of English language to meet the challenges of the 21^st century’s classroom. It demonstrates the need to improve the teaching strategies especially the innovative strategies that can aid the teaching and learning of English in the 21^st century’s classroom. Revamping these innovative strategies such as; creative task-based, blended learning, collaborative, flipped learning etc can help to resolve the challenges involved in the teaching and learning of English in the 21st century’s classroom. The paper draws attention to the new trends in the 21^st century’s classroom that will bring about the desired change for effective teaching and learning of English language. The paper through the literature finds out that revamping the strategies will enable learners to be independent; it enhances the students’ centered classroom which is a desired strategy in the 21^st century’s classroom. The paper concludes with the following suggestions: English teachers should blend the innovative teaching strategies with the conventional teaching methods so as to enhance learners’ effective participation in the learning of English. Strategies that can increase learners’ interest be adopted into the teaching of English language in other to overcome the challenges of teaching English in the 21st century’s classroom. For effective revamping of the strategies for teaching and learning of English, there should be training and workshop for teachers in other to meet the challenges of teaching English in The 21^st century’ classroom.