The Stepmother Tongue

Abstract

Indifferent language of an alien shore, the journey was troubled but I am here: register me among your stepchildren

What Rendered Ancient Tyrants Detestable: The Rule of Law and the Constitution of Corporate Power

“…individuals or of communities can be undermined. 100 I will argue that both paths are relevant to corporate investment power.…”

Creole in the Caribbean: How Oral Discourse creates Cultural Identities

“…Linguistics, cultural studies, history and literary theory are just some of those disciplines that delve into the rich cultural arena where oral and written modes collide, merge, overlap and, at the same time, exhibit a set of traits specific to each of them (Halliday, 1989;Hymes, 1974). Different ages, cultures and places present new and unpredictable combinations of oral and written modes in different texts, so that theoretical models require constant adjustment (Tannen, 1982). Until quite recently, oral literatures suffered from academic prejudices for a number of reasons: first of all, so-called "Third-World" cultures were studied using Eurocentred literary paradigms based on writing that marginalised genres belonging to oral-based cultures.…”

“…Postcolonial areas were, in fact, faced with several issues under the pressure of diverging forces: questions of cultural identity formation, controversial cultural affiliations with the mother country, resistance against cultural hegemony and positioning at the margins of the former Empire. Language was recognized by a number of intellectuals across the postcolonial world as the arena where conflicting cultural influences were brought to the fore and where indigenous forms of resistance could be articulated (Skinner, 1998).…”

Understanding the Present through the Past? Quentin Skinner and Pierre Rosanvallon on the Crisis of Political Representation

“…For him, the historian can contribute to present-day debates by excavating answers from older, often forgotten, sources which differ from today's dominant visions such as 'liberal theory' which has today risen 'to a position of hegemony in modern political philosophy'. 3 Skinner himself has convincingly demonstrated how one such older vision, namely the neo-Roman tradition, represented by thinkers like Sallust, Livy, Machiavelli, Parker or Harrington, has been repressed by this liberal vision of politics. 4 Liberals assume that maximising our individual freedom to pursue our own chosen ends means minimising service to, and interference by, the state.…”

“…3 Skinner himself has convincingly demonstrated how one such older vision, namely the neo-Roman tradition, represented by thinkers like Sallust, Livy, Machiavelli, Parker or Harrington, has been repressed by this liberal vision of politics. 4 Liberals assume that maximising our individual freedom to pursue our own chosen ends means minimising service to, and interference by, the state. For them, fewer duties or less laws means more individual freedom.…”