European Studies
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Item Religio-cultural and poetic constructions of the Subaltern African woman(Faculty of Arts, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria, 2012) Sanusi, R.; Olayinka, W.The colonial experience, particularly the introduction of Christianity and Islam in Africa, altered the African socio-cultural equation and ways of life. European and Arab missionaries diligently spread their religious beliefs which fused with some African cultural practices and subsequently determined the status of African women, in particular. Suffice it to say that colonialism, Christianity and Islam masculinised any territory upon which they inflicted themselves and dismantled the matriarchal system that mutually coexisted with patriarchy in some pre-colonial African societies. They also provided an ideological framework for the social roles of women, which subordinated them to their male counterparts. Besides, the poetic constructions of African women on the literary platform of Negritude largely contributed in reinforcing this subaltern image and secondary roles ascribed to African women, heightened by colonialism and promoted by new religious doctrines and practices. The textual representation of African women as mothers, in terms of their nurturing capabilities, placed them in an essentially problematic position, and conferred on them a purely domestic role. It is quite cheering to note, however, that this unhealthy subordination of the African woman is rapidly giving way to the notion of gender equity, founded on new religio-cultural principles, and facilitated by women’s access to western education, modernization, and the systematic ‘eboulement ’ or dismantling of the African patriarchal culture.Item Blind devotion, violence and trauma in the works of Ka Maiga, Bassek and Mpoudi-Ngolle(The Linguistics Association, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria, 2012) Sanusi, R.; Olayinka, W.African women, for too long, have been made to exist in the shadow of African men. Their subordination to men has been mostly achieved by the enactment of societal laws in pre-colonial, colonial and neocolonial African settings which categorize them (women) as the other. The consequence of this subjugation is women’s dependence on/and blind acceptance of their inferiority to men. To change the status quo, African feminist writers and critics alike have raised awareness in women about the obduracy of (oppressive tendencies of some African cultural mores. These cultural (ethos /practices are those that spring from essentially controlling woman’s body that practically translate into controlling her mind in order to make her believe the myth that she is inferior to her male (counterpart; The reification of the female body invariably leads to African women’s blind devotion to their husbands, children and most often, the extended family. Besides, women are also victims of male violence and trauma as evidenced in the works of Philomene Bassek, Aminata Ka MaTga and Evelyne Mpoudi Ngolle.Item Madness and free association in Evelyne Mpoudi Ngolle's sous la cendre le feu(Department of English, University of Ibadan, 2007-04) Olayinka, W.Psychoanalytic insight facilitates the analysis of works of art through which literary analysts are able to access the psyche of authors and their characters. (M.M. Schwartz and D. Willbem: 1982). One of such psychoanalytic devices is free association. Free association technique applied during psychotherapy sessions provides a royal road into the psyche of humans as can be observed in Mina's case in Mpoudi Ngolle's Sous la cendre lefeu. This paper concludes that repression of negative and unpleasant experiences lived within patriarchal limitations, as promoted by African male hegemonic traditions, subjects women-victim of oppression to anxiety disorder which may occur in the form of depression, schizophrenia, obsessive disorders, depersonalisation, derealisation among others.Item Gender inequality: African feminist fiction reflecting scientific data(Gender Mainstreaming Office, University of Ibadan, 2013) Olayinka, W.When one mentions the situation of women anywhere in the world today, certain issues inevitably come to mind. Issues such as oppression of women, feminism and women's struggle for liberation, woman as liberated-subaltern in organisations, sexuality and sexism, among others. These are issues that have often trailed humanity. Available answers do not yet adequately address the woman question. Weare in a complex situation, a complex world that smacks of gender war in the midst of gendered rhetoric. The matter of Sub-Saharan African women 's evolution calls to mind immense, complex and culturally multifarious questions that surround women in the region and the fast changing world of African culture, relating to issues of family, education, work and lifestyle. The compass of women development in the region is therefore multidirectional. This necessitates knowing her pre-colonial past, her colonial status and her post- or neo-colonial condition. This paper therefore looks at the African woman under the three stages above, with particular attention on the Nigerian woman of today.Item Religio-cultural and poetic constructions of the subaltern African woman(Faculty of Arts, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria, 2012) Sanusi, R.; Olayinka, W.The colonial experience, particularly the introduction of Christianity and Islam in Africa, altered the African socio-cultural equation and ways of life. European and Arab missionaries diligently spread their religious beliefs which fused with some African cultural practices and subsequently determined the status of African women, in particular. Suffice it to say that colonialism, Christianity and Islam masculinised any territory upon which they inflicted themselves and dismantled the matriarchal system that mutually coexisted with patriarchy in some pre-colonial African societies. They also provided an ideological framework for the social roles of women, which subordinated them to their male counterparts. Besides, the poetic constructions of African women on the literary platform of Negritude largely contributed in reinforcing this subaltern image and secondary roles ascribed to African women, heightened by colonialism and promoted by new religious doctrines and practices. The textual representation of African women as mothers, in terms of their nurturing capabilities, placed them in an essentially problematic position, and conferred on them a purely domestic role. It is quite cheering to note, however, that this unhealthy subordination of the African woman is rapidly giving way to the notion of gender equity, founded on new religio-cultural principles, and facilitated by women’s access to western education, modernization, and the systematic ‘eboulement’ or dismantling of the African patriarchal culture.Item Blind devotion, violence and trauma in the works of Ka Maïga, Bassek and Mpoudi-Ngollé(2012) Sanusi, R.; Olayinka, W.African women, for too long, have been made to exist in the shadow of African men. Their subordination to men has been mostly achieved by the enactment of societal laws in pre-colonial, colonial and neocolonial African settings which categorize them women) as the ‘other’. The consequence of this subjugation is women’s dependence on / and blind acceptance of their inferiority to men. To change the status quo, African feminist writers and critics alike have raised awareness in women about the obduracy of oppressive tendencies of some African cultural mores. These cultural athos / practices are those that spring from essentially controlling woman's body that practically translate into controlling her mind in order to make her believe the myth that she is inferior to her male counterpart. The reification of the female body invariably leads to African women’s blind devotion to their husbands, children and most often, the extended family. Besides women are also victims of male violence and trauma as evidenced in the works of Philomene Bassek, Aminata Ka MaYga and Evelyne Mpoudi Ngolle.