Journal of Research in Humanities

From Impairment to Disability: Exploring Social Constructs in Cristina Henriquez’s The Book of Unknown Americans

2025-01-01T11:20:38+00:00

The research study investigates the concepts of impairment and disability, and identifies techniques employed by capitalism to produce disability in the society by analyzing Cristina Henriquez’s The Book of Unknown Americans through the lens of Marxist Disability Studies. In the light of the framework presented by Michael Oliver, the research paper inspects as to how impairment is a biological deficiency and disability is a social construct, in order to explore the ways by which the society renders an able individual as disable. The research challenges the established belief about disability being a problem of the body and delves into the social model. It aims to highlight how the capitalist power structure builds its capital through human exploitation and various other means, which ultimately creates disability in society. The paper inquiries about the impacts of capitalism through the analysis of characters in the novel. This research is delimited to a character study in the light of the themes of Marxism and Disability Studies; the characters and situations pertaining to this sphere are intricately analyzed through Michael Oliver’s theoretical framework, paving way for institutions to understand the exploitative measures exercised by the capitalist power structure to produce disability in the society. This research arises at the conclusion that the capitalist structure indeed paves a path for suppressing the people with disabilities.

Decolonizing Post-Truths in Mediatic Encounters for Farha (2021) and Half Widow (2017)

2025-01-01T11:28:55+00:00

While Zionism may argue for the purity of Hebrew Labor “Avodah ‘Ivrit” in the context of Palestine, and Kashmir The Story (2019) may be staging a narrative in the context of Kashmir, the historical facts about Palestine and Kashmir state a different perspective. Therefore, some critics have sought the implications of films like Exodus (1960) and programs like Bharat Ek Khoj (1988) playing a pivotal role in shaping our recent history. Subverting some dominant tropes depicted in such media depictions and engaging with McIntyre’s book post-Truth (2018), Alterman’s discussions in his works, What Liberal Media? (2003) and We are not One (2023), and Santos’ theorizing about decolonizing history, this paper studies two contemporary filmic depictions of Farha (2021) and Half Widow (2017). In this age of increasing implonialism, a phenomenon comprising the elements of colonialism, imperialism, fascism, and despotism, the paper discusses some decolonial options to read the politics of mediatic supremacist standards set to prioritize some mediatic depictions over others.

Child Apologue: Mahmoud Darwish & the Palestinian Childhood

2025-01-01T11:35:24+00:00

This research explores Darwish’s thematic topography to understand how he inscribes the experiences of children throughout his poetic career. Basing this exploration on a corpus of 15 selections of his poetry (2000 pages long), this study traces all the verses about children in Darwish’s works. Data collection led to searching for the key words in the context of the relevant verses, followed by thematic mapping of the ideas and literary interpretations. In delimiting itself to children in Darwish’s poetry, this paper takes a different route from the previous research which consider Darwish “a propagandist for his country's cause, a guerrilla fighting with pen and ink, rather than a serious poet whose prime subject-matter happens to be the tragedy of his country” (Johnson-Davies viii-ix). But the theoretical stance of this paper is that “childhood is constructed by social forces, political interests, cultural phenomena, and macro-societal and political changes” (Diana 4-5), “it participates in the processes of generating meaning and institutional practices” (Nashef 160). The findings of the research establish that children were a lifelong concern with Darwish who highlighted the implications of armed conflict for the Palestinian children. It shows his increasing pessimism regarding the possibilities of a national structure of the Palestinian nation if Palestinian children are deprived of peaceful life. The findings have relevance to the present afflictions committed against Palestinian children in the Israel- Gaza war and their effects on the budding generation of Palestinians.

Individuality: “Third World Woman” in Nadia Anjum’s Poetry Collections

2025-01-06T20:57:15+00:00

The following study traces the re-incarnation of female individuality through selected poems from Nadia Anjum’s poetry collections Disquietude and Woman.Woman@Pk. The aim is to present an alternate view of a third world woman’s identity and experiences by a female poet belonging to Pakistan. Through the analysis of Anjum’s poetry the reader becomes familiar with the multitude of aspects contributing to the formation of Pakistani woman’s identity. The objective of this research is to observe the diversity of experiences reflected upon in Anjum’s poetry in the light of Mohanty’s Third World Women and the Politics of Feminism to enable countering the stereotypes most associated with women from third world countries. The theoretical framework of third world feminism is supported by the post-colonial backdrop. The rationale behind this research is to pave way for the re-contextualization of Pakistani women hence, refuting their mainstream representation. Disquietude and Woman.Woman@Pk have enticed the interest of young readers as well as working women due to their honest and witty subject matter.

Socio-Cultural Panopticon: A Foucauldian Exploration of Traditional Surveillance in Saadat Hasan Manto’s Short Stories

2025-01-14T16:50:33+00:00

This study explores the omnipresence of surveillance in mid-twentieth-century society by analyzing Saadat Hasan Manto’s selected short stories through Foucault’s concept of Panopticism. Manto, vividly, portrays the power dynamics of his time, reflecting deeply ingrained surveillance mechanisms rooted in cultural norms. By examining the societal structure, politics, and class, the study not only uncovers traditional surveillance techniques but also highlights how such dynamics reinforce the sociocultural gaze of the era. Through a New Historicist approach, the qualitative study shows that the surveillance mechanisms portrayed in Manto’s stories are not only restricted to mere physical institutions, as ascribed by Foucault, but have far-reaching impacts on the contemporary issues of privacy, power, and social control. Thus, this study underscores Manto’s portrayal of surveillance and its significance in today’s digitally mediated socio-cultural landscape.