The Journal of Studies in Language, Culture, and Society

Algorithmic Memory: How Recommendation Systems Reshape Collective Narratives Of Culture

Yasser Sedrati — 2026-05-24

This article examines how algorithmically driven recommendation systems on platforms such as YouTube, TikTok, and Facebook reshape the dynamics of cultural memory and collective narrative formation in contemporary digital environments. Building on scholarship in digital memory studies—particularly the notion of a “connective turn” proposed by Andrew Hoskins (2011)—the study approaches memory as a continuously circulating process whose visibility increasingly depends on platform infrastructures that prioritize engagement, data extraction, and algorithmic ranking. Within these environments, the circulation of narratives is structured by mechanisms of amplification and suppression that can generate forms of algorithmic silence, whereby certain histories and perspectives remain marginal within digital networks not through explicit censorship but through limited visibility, selective ranking, and uneven patterns of circulation—extending the dynamics of historical silencing described by Michel-Rolph Trouillot (1995) within algorithmically mediated communication systems. Drawing on illustrative examples—including the asymmetrical visibility of narratives surrounding Ukraine and Palestine in global digital media ecosystems and the viral remixing of cultural traditions in the Algerian context—the analysis identifies three interrelated mechanisms through which algorithmic memory operates: amplification and erasure, commodification and datafication, and the reconfiguration of identity and belonging. Taken together, these dynamics demonstrate that recommendation systems function not merely as tools for organizing information but as socio-technical infrastructures that actively participate in shaping collective memory, producing new forms of algorithmic silence that influence what is remembered, forgotten, and politically recognized in digitally mediated societies.

Internet Humor And The Normalization Of Stereotypes In The Arab Digital Landscape

Zakaria Erraziqi — 2026-05-24

This study investigates how humor on Arab social media contributes to the construction and normalization of stereotypes. Focusing on memes, jokes, and short videos circulating on Instagram, and Facebook, the research explores how people are represented in humorous digital discourse and aims to decode the different types of stereotypes circulating online. The study is grounded in three interrelated theoretical frameworks: social semiotics (Hodge & Kress, 1988), which interprets how visual and verbal signs create meaning within cultural contexts; multimodal discourse analysis (Kress & Leeuwen, 2006), which examines how multiple semiotic modes—text, image, and sound—work together to shape representations; and critical discourse analysis (Fairclough, 1995), which exposes the ideological dimensions of humor and its role in sustaining or contesting power relations. By integrating these frameworks, the study analyzes the interplay between linguistic, visual, and auditory signs in humorous content. Findings reveal that social media humor frequently exacerbates and normalizes prejudice, confirming that these platforms perpetuate a wide range of stereotypes.

Violent Values In Cartoon Content Production: "an Analytical Study Of A Sample Of Posts From The Cartoon Box Page On Facebook"

Aboubakr Abbassa — 2026-05-24

The rapid and pervasive circulation of brief, satirical cartoon content across major social media platforms, exemplified by the highly popular "Cartoon Box" page, necessitates a critical examination of its role in shaping contemporary social values. This phenomenon presents a significant and unexplored challenge in media studies, particularly concerning the hidden inclusion of negative social and cultural messages. Accordingly, the primary objective of this research was to analyze the nature and structure of the latent messages and value systems embedded in this content, with a specific focus on measuring its representation of symbolic violence and its promotion of negative values. The study adopted the descriptive analytical approach and utilized quantitative content analysis as the main research tool. The research sample consisted of 31 videos purposively selected from the "Cartoon Box" Facebook page, published between September 10 and March 10, chosen for their high levels of interaction and engagement. The analysis systematically revolved around two main axes: first, the manifest forms of symbolic violence (including verbal abuse, social marginalization, and psychological manipulation); and second, the types of harmful social values being promoted (such as excessive consumerism, radical individualism, and materialism). The main findings revealed a significant statistical presence of symbolic violence, with forms of physical violence (24.40%) and satire and ridicule of social values (23.70%) being the most frequently used. Furthermore, the quantitative analysis confirmed a clear tendency in the content towards the active promotion of negative values, especially those manifested in radical individualism and consumerism, often framed within humor or normalized behavior. The results also showed that the content relies excessively on gestures and bodily movements (42.68%) instead of dialogue. The study concludes that this type of cartoon content on social media, operating under the guise of light entertainment and satire, functions as a powerful "hidden curriculum" that is likely to undermine the ethical frameworks of its audience, which often consists of young people. The study strongly recommends the urgent development of media literacy and critical consumption programs specifically designed for educational application, coupled with a formal call for content creators and platforms to adhere to strict professional and ethical standards that prioritize the reinforcement of constructive social and cultural values.

Political Cartoon As A Means Of Vindication: A Semiotic Analysis Of Cartooning For Peace’ S Editorial Cartoon On The 2023/2025 Gaza War

Farid Metrouh — 2026-05-24

In the contemporary geopolitical context, the war in Gaza has sparked heated debate on the international stage, positioning itself as one of the most controversial events in global politics today. In the contemporary world, a significant number of artists specialising in humorous and satirical representation, commonly known as cartoonists, have recently used their talent to denounce the military actions carried out by Israel in the Gaza Strip, highlighting the disastrous humanitarian consequences of this conflict. As part of this study, a semiotic analysis of the illustrations produced by ‘Cartooning for Peace’ artists was conducted. This analysis focused on the key semiotic strategies and visual metaphors used by the artists in their works to depict the political controversy surrounding the war in Gaza. As part of this study, a qualitative content analysis was conducted as a research method. Semiotic theory is used as a theoretical framework for this study. Moreover, the meanings generated by political cartoons during the Israeli-Palestine conflict are analysed using Barthes’s model. The data for the semiotic analysis was taken from Cartooning for peace association web site. A total of 5 political cartoons are deeply analysed through the literal, denoted, and connoted meanings they show. The findings demonstrate the potential of cartoon to function as a medium for political resistance and vindication, effectively transforming conventional symbols into instruments of struggle and collective memory. This study makes a significant contribution to our understanding of the emotive power of cartoon in disseminating messages of resistance, and it opens doors for future research on drawing activism in times of conflict.

Deconstructing The “ideal Worker” Model: Labor Dignity And Gender Equality Reforms In East Asian Authoritarian Capitalism

Yun-Hao Chuang — 2026-05-24

This study aims to explore the practical dilemmas and legal reforms of gender equality as the core of morality and basic personality rights in contemporary society. Although global gender equality norms have been gradually established since the mid-20th century, and ESG (Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance) trends in recent years have regarded gender diversity as a key indicator of corporate sustainability, female workers still face deep statistical discrimination and glass ceiling effects, reinforcing the 'ideal worker' paradigm that marginalizes those with caregiving responsibilities. under the unique "authoritarian capitalism" and "patriarchy" structure in East Asia. On the basis of legal theory, it is argued that labor equality should not only be an instrumental economic consideration but should also resort to "equal care and respect" and the protection of "human dignity." The study points out that the gendered imagination of "ideal workers" in East Asian workplaces is essentially an infringement of workers' subjectivity and authenticity. Through an analysis of the International Labour Organization's (ILO) "Decent Work" framework, this paper criticizes the alienation caused by the excessive commodification of labor under capitalism. Finally, this article connects with the context of Taiwan's 2023 amendment to the "Three Gender Equality Laws," advocating for a two-pronged approach to "transnational constitutionalism" and South Korea's "4Rs" governance strategy (recruitment, retention, restart, and representation). This study believes that only by deconstructing the power hierarchy within the workplace and transforming the right to equality from "passive compliance" to "subjective dignity" can we implement a labor dignity environment with East Asian subjectivity and in line with universal values.

Vampire Capitalism: The Trope That Has Found Its Time

Tara Brabazon — 2026-05-24

There is no past in the history of ideas, but intellectual history reveals gaps, silences, and marginalization. Powerful tropes can be buried by scholarly shortcuts, academic fashions, and citation politics. Ten years ago, Paul Kennedy published a book titled Vampire Capitalism. Since it was published, it has received 45 citations. From this foundational impact, it has now found its moment of resonance, applicability and value. From the Epstein files to recurrent wars, from xenophobic invasions of cities to irrational and ephemeral decisions about Generative AI governance, scholars and citizens require a theoretical frame to understand this moment of oppression, abuse, and insularity. This theoretical article excavates Vampire Capitalism from the scholarly coffin to reveal the consequences of the collective thrall, and how to – perhaps – awaken the body politic. The main focus of this article is to move Vampire Capitalism from its reformist origins in cosmopolitan sociology and renest it in Claustropolitanism. This theory for the end of the world offers a way of thinking about fear, xenophobia, compression, deaths of despair and a (post) work era fuelled by a techbrologarchy. As life and living is outsourced to neoliberal-framed technologies, (metaphoric) vampires feed on a citizenship under the thrall of consumerism. By returning to the key moment of this transition from cosmopolitanism to Claustropolitanism – the Global Financial Crisis – my article demonstrates that it is too late for reformism. Citizens are voting against their interests to address the imaginary threats of race, gender, and sexuality. Vampire Capitalism feeds on these invented traditions of difference, fear and xenophobia. Instead, it is time for what Marx and Engels described as a ‘sober sense’ to see reality, rather than floating in fear through a cascading simulacrum. This article, in form and content, reveals the capacity for a Claustropolitan Cultural Studies.

Xenophobic Rhetoric In Trumps’ Madison Square Garden Speech: A Critical Discourse Approach To Global Citizenship Erosion

Djihed Messikh — 2026-05-24

This paper is submitted for publication in the special issue of March 2026 on “Global Citizenship” Abstract: This study situates Trump’s Madison Square Garden speech within the broader rise of far-right politics and challenges to global citizenship. Through a Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), the paper examines how Trump’s xenophobic populism undermines core ethics of global citizenship such as social equality, cultural respect, human dignity, solidarity, shared responsibility, and mutual understanding. Fairclough’s three-dimensional model (combining text description, discursive practice, and social practice) is used throughout the study to demonstrate how lexical choices and intertextual references are used to generate an anti-immigrant narrative that solidifies “us” versus “them”. Findings reveal that Trump mobilizes socio-economic anxiety among voters in his favor by redefining nationhood as a defensive identity against perceived destructive outsiders, transforming citizenship from a universal democratic right into an exclusionary national privilege.

Radio And French Colonial Power: Challenges In The Production Of Algerian Cultural Programmes

Hakim Hamzaoui — 2026-05-24

The genesis of Algerian cultural radio programmes can be traced back to the 1940s, when the French administration initiated Arabic and Kabyle language broadcasts. In the context of radio propaganda warfare linked to the Algerian war of national liberation, discursive objectivity was relative. The mechanisms of work organisation within this radio station had a tendency to reinforce the French vision of Algeria’s future. In addition, the presenters recognised the challenge of broadcasting this multidimensional issue, including the cultural aspect, in their programmes. The present contribution is thus concerned with the following questions: 1-How were the presenters of these programmes recruited? 2- What motivated them to get involved professionally? 3- Were there any cultural identity struggles in these programmes?. In order to address these questions, a qualitative study was conducted. The study is founded on the basis of interviews with approximately twenty presenters from these programmes, and it draws on both sound and bibliographic archives relating to the issue. The results of the data analysis demonstrated that firstly, networking constituted the primary factor in the recruitment of presenters; secondly, the presenters’ passion for their culture was a key factor in their professional involvement; thirdly, the production of these programmes was marked by a struggle for identity, highlighting Algerian cultural heritage in a context of war. This research, which falls within the field of general sociology of cultural media production, contributes to the reflection on this type of production during the colonial period. Furthermore, it extends an invitation to researchers to explore this perspective in greater depth.

The Fictionalization Of The Colonial Settlement Of Frantz Fanon In Edward M. Fortser's A Passage To India (1924)

Samir Ferhi — 2026-05-24

The paper examines Edward Morgan Forster’s representation of colonial space in A passage to India (1924), with a particular emphasis on the fictional settlement of Chandrapore, the Civil Station and the Marabar Caves. It argues that Forster’s spacial descriptions function as narrative structures through which the Manichean logic of British colonial power characterized by rigid binaries, is produced and sustained. Drawing on Frantz Fanon’s elaboration of the colonial zone in Black skin and white masks (1967) and The wretched of the earth (1968), the study reads Forster’s literary description of colonial space through postcolonial lens. By establishing a critical dialogue between Forster’s narrative form and Fanon’s critiques of the colonial zone, the paper demonstrates how spatial organization operates as an ideological and psychological instrument that maintains segregation, hierarchy and exclusion. The analysis reveals that Fanon’s conceptualization of the Manichean colonial world is embedded in A Passage to India, where spatial divisions simultaneously consolidate imperial authority and generate psychological alienation for both the colonizers and the colonized. The paper argues also that these spacial and psychological divisions render human reconciliations and cross-cultural friendships structurally impossible under colonial rule. Ultimately, the study contends that A Passage to India exposes the colonial settlement not merely as a socio-political system but as a Manichean structure that fragments identity, perpetuates psychic trauma and forecloses the possibility of true human connections within colonial order.

Between Cliché And Illumination: Rethinking Literary Tropes Through The Lens Of Perception, A Comparative Inquiry Into Linguistic Repetition, Fragmented Reality, And The Physics Of Light

Maria Bey-Boumezrag — 2026-05-24

This article examines the intersection between literary tropes and perceptual theory, with particular emphasis on the function of the cliché as a residual yet dynamic linguistic structure that operates as a conduit for thought. Drawing on analogies from the physics of light, especially the phenomenon of flicker fusion, whereby discontinuous flashes are perceived as continuous illumination, the study proposes a conceptual and analytical framework for re-evaluating literary clichés beyond their conventional dismissal as signs of banality. Rather than inert expressions, clichés are approached here as perceptual stabilisers embedded in cultural memory. To move beyond metaphor, the paper develops a three-step analytical framework (fragment identification, fusing agent, and perceptual continuity) which is systematically applied to sustained close readings of selected literary texts. Through an analysis of works by Virginia Woolf and Albert Camus, the study demonstrates how literary narratives activate, withhold, or destabilise clichés in order to reorganise fragmented experience and interrogate inherited modes of understanding. Rooted in the defamiliarization strategies used by Russian Formalism, refined by poststructuralist understanding of interpretation and cultural saturation, and shaped by affect theory’s definition of language as force rather than mere representation, this study places the cliché within a reimagined poetics of perception. It suggests a re-placement of clichés within literary criticism as lenses rather than signs of aesthetic exhaustion, enabling access to an expanded spectrum of narrative and perception nuances.

Intersecting Race, Class, And Identity Through Satirical Resistance: A Critical Reading Of Paul Beatty's The Sellout

Raed Nafea Farhan — 2026-05-24

In the present paper, The Sellout (2015) by Paul Beatty has been interpreted intersectionally to elaborate on how satire can indicate how race, class and identity are interrelated in contemporary American society. Even though the growing literature on the novel focuses on these types of analysis, the majority of researches are performed concerning them separately, obscuring their structural interdependence. The novel herein is placed in the context of Critical Race Theory, the study of satire, and the sociology of class and symbolic capital developed by Bourdieu to examine how Beatty is using grotesque humour and parody to criticise the post-racial and neoliberal arguments on class. The research takes a qualitative interpretive approach that is geared towards intensive reading of the short passages that highlight social contradictions that are dramatized in the text. Three overall lessons can be made out of the findings: (1) racism as a systemic aspect exists under liberalisms of racial development; (2) class as an economic order is also a symbolic capital, which forms identity formation; and (3) identity manifests itself as an unsteady and performative entity that is exposed through exaggerated forms of satire. Taken as a whole in one analytical prism, the study provides a more in-depth insight into Beatty as a satire as a form of cultural resistance and preconditions the development of further intersectional studies of modern African American satire. In addition, the study emphasizes the relevance of literary satire as a critical methodological lens for interrogating contemporary power relations, ideological discourse, and cultural representation within late-capitalist societies, thereby extending the analytical value of interdisciplinary literary research.

Post-apocalypse As Ecological Palimpsest In Katie Hale’s My Name Is Monster (2019): From Collapse And Ashes To Resurgence And Continuance

Ahcene Cherifi — 2026-05-24

This academic paper has sought to delve into Katie Hale’s My name is monster (2019) as a work of fiction that might be interpreted within the conventions of the post-apocalyptic literary genre. This endeavour, thus, while framed with the formal, thematic and linguistic boundaries of the latter, is meant to study the end of the human civilisation the way the novel has envisioned it in a relevant parallel with the current planetary ecological crises which threaten life in a multitude of ways. There is also appeal, in a significant deflection, to nature’s capacity to resurge, at various proportions, back to life after being the subject of anthropogenic despoliation, either minor or major, with the ongoing, pervasive and tangible environmental catastrophes. The theoretical foundations upon which this article has rested, in the first position, encompass a wide range of insights connected to the post-apocalyptic genre borrowed from theorists including Claire P. Curtis, Heather J. Hicks and Mathias Clasen; furthermore, there is a conspicuous reliance, in the second, on C. S. Holling’s concept, he has dubbed ecological resilience showcasing that the novel’s delineated apocalypse is not perhaps the end, but rather a new beginning. Underpinned by these notions, I argue, that Hale’s text has confronted the twenty-first century readers and the author’s contemporaries with the ecological calamities humans have engendered on a planetary level while maintaining a positive outlook for the future if environment-oriented practices, modes of action and ways of life, both at individual and community dimensions, are to be fostered and implemented.

Surveillance And Resistance: Navigating Panopticism In Basma Abdel Aziz’s The Queue

Tajudeen Akanbi Kolapo — 2026-05-24

Violence serves as a stark reflection of the social, political, and economic dystopia that defines many African states, manifesting in systemic and structured oppression. These oppressive structures subject citizens to perpetual hardship, often under the guise of governance and the rule of law. This paper examines the use of surveillance techniques by capitalist and autocratic rulers in Basmal Abdel-Aziz’s The Queue, where constant observation becomes a mechanism for maintaining control. Surveillance functions as an invisible tool of power that not only disciplines but also punishes, reinforcing a system in which citizens unknowingly exist under perpetual scrutiny and subjugation. However, despite being prisoners of their societies, individuals devise ingenious mechanisms to resist the authority imposed upon them, challenging systemic oppression in creative and often subtle ways. This study examines the dialectic of surveillance and resistance, analysing how rulers utilise surveillance as a tool of oppression while citizens engage in acts of defiance to reclaim their autonomy. The study employs Bentham’s “panopticon” theory, which Foucault later expanded into “panoptism”, a concept that examines how surveillance, internalised discipline, diffuse power, and bureaucratic control ensure compliance. The theory suggests that inmates (citizens) are watched without knowing whether they are being observed, thereby reinforcing self-regulation through fear. The paper argues that Panopticism operates as an alternative repressive state apparatus, enabling despotic rulers to perpetuate structural violence against their citizens. The study concludes that while authoritarian regimes manipulate bureaucratic control to maintain dominance, citizens resist through protests, boycotts, and psychological defiance.

Whispers Through The Warrior’s Thread: Cognitive Dissonance, Magical Realism, And The Power Of Healing Self In Kingston's The Woman Warrior: Memoirs Of A Girlhood Among Ghosts

Mohamed Elamine RABIA — 2026-05-24

The present research probes into the way magical realism constitutes a therapeutic paradigm from cognitive dissonance in Maxine Hong Kingston's The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts. In this creative nonfiction, Kingston opens a narrative window into her readers evoking the Chinese myths, family stories and events of her California childhood that have shaped her identity as the inbetweener. While other studies have done much to examine this work from feminist, postcolonial, or cultural identity perspectives, almost no research has gone far to put under a literary microscope the intersection of magical realism with cognitive dissonance symptom. Through a reference to Cognitive Dissonance Theory, the research explores the protagonist's psychological journey and identity malaise as she endures to resist the conflicting demands for maintaining the traits of her Chinese sense of belonging as met by a demanding quest for asserting an American identity. Methodologically, the study undertakes a literary scrutiny that is succinctly backed up by a psychological framework. Precisely, it serves the textual analysis of Kingston’s narrative, reading the protagonist demeanor through the lens of psychological theory and narrative strategies. This narrative therapy, infused with narrative strategies borrowed from magical realism, blurs the lines between reality and imagination in such a way that enables the reader to explore the protagonist's cultural and personal identities. Categorized under literary psychology, the research aims to bring to view the vitality of narrative techniques: myth writing and storytelling, as therapeutic potential for individuals who have to grapple with the syndromes of cognitive dissonance. The study comes to a conclusion that myth and storytelling serve as a compelling mode of psychological therapy from personal and cultural dissonance.

“satire And Social Decay In Elnathan John’s Be(com)ing Nigerian And Adamu Usman’s Bivan’s House”

Mohammed El-Nasir Al-Amin — 2026-05-24

Nigerian literature has historically functioned as a tool for political protest and social commentary, but contemporary writers continue to grapple with enduring crises of corruption, insecurity, and moral decay. This study interrogates how satire serves as a literary weapon against these socio-political distortions in Elnathan John’s Be(com)ing Nigerian (2019) and Adamu Usman Bivan’s Bivan’s House (2011). The research aims to examine how both authors deploy satirical aesthetics to expose systemic corruption, religious hypocrisy, and moral degeneration in postcolonial Nigeria. It also seeks to reveal how satire not only mirrors societal contradictions but also envisions moral reform and social justice. The study adopts a qualitative textual analysis, drawing on both primary texts and critical secondary materials to unravel the thematic and stylistic operations of satire. Anchored on Marxist literary theory, the analysis situates the texts within broader ideological and class struggles that shape Nigerian society. Through this lens, the research interprets the writers’ humorous yet incisive portrayals of political elites, bureaucratic corruption, and public complicity as reflective of structural contradictions inherent in Nigeria’s postcolonial experience. Findings indicate that John satirizes political absurdities through parody and irony, exposing the manipulation of religion and media as tools of exploitation, while Usman dramatizes the despair and resilience of ordinary citizens entrapped in corrupt systems. Both writers ultimately project ethical consciousness and civic responsibility as potential routes toward national renewal. The study concludes that satire in contemporary Nigerian prose remains a potent medium for social critique and moral interrogation, reaffirming literature’s role as a transformative agent in national discourse.

Appraisal Theory Analysis Of Comments On Nigeria's Controversial 2025 Utme On Facebook And Nairaland

Joel Iyiola Olaleye — 2026-05-24

Comments on Facebook and Nairaland in Nigeria constitute a distinct genre of online discourse providing unique data sources for multi-thematic and multi-methodological linguistic inquiries. Nigeria’s 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculations Examinations (UTME) faced significant controversies, resulting in a mass re-sit for many candidates, widespread complaints, protests, and constituting a subject of debates on social media. This study is an appraisal theory analysis of selected comments on Facebook and Nairaland on the subject. It explores how discussants convey attitudinal evaluations of targeted agencies perceived to be responsible for the glitches surrounding the examinations; investigates how discussants utilise monoglossic and heteroglossic engagement resources to construct positions towards targeted agencies; and examines how discussants deploy graduation resources to reinforce their rhetorical attitudes and stances. The data comprises 400 purposively selected from Facebook and Nairaland (200 each) on news reports relating to the controversial examinations between May and June 2025, posted on each medium for public discursive purposes. The analysis shows that attitudinal evaluations are conveyed through affective expressions of sadness and disappointment, underscoring critical judgements and negative appreciation of agencies like JAMB, the Registrar, and others. Through engagement resources, discussants predominantly construct antagonistic positions towards targeted agencies using monoglossia and heteroglossia, without considering alternative opinions. They also predominantly employ graduation resources of high force and sharpening focus to intensify the attitudes and positions they construct. The study concluded that Nigeria’s 2025 UTME is a highly emotive and contentious topic presenting a veritable resource for linguistic scholarship.

On Absolutism In Nigerian Drama: The Asphyxiated Freedom In Irobi’s The Other Side Of The Mask And Abba’s The Blood Price

Nkiru Doris Onyemachi — 2026-05-24

Nigerian drama reflects the intrinsic human struggles experienced in everyday life. The quest for freedom is a continuous human struggle, fundamental to human existence and often enshrined in revolutionary activities. This study aims to analyse and assess the critical ideas of absolute freedom in Esiaba Irobi’s The other side of the mask and Abba A. Abba’s The blood price. It presents freedom as a double-edged sword – for liberation or destruction – and these two degrees of freedom occur at separate times. The negative side of freedom, which emerges in its excessiveness (entrapping liberty), manifest as absolute freedom. This foregrounds that absolute freedom incubates in its over-ambitiousness; the outcome of this transcended freedom is its destructiveness. Adopting a qualitative method and distinguishing itself from previous studies on these two plays, the study explores the Marxist and Postmodernist ideas of Terry Eagleton as presented in his book, Holy terror, to analyse absolute freedom in these plays by answering questions such as: At what point can freedom lead to destruction? What actions or events propel such a transition, and how are characters spurned into consciousness? In answering these questions, freedom becomes an effect and a cause, with absolute freedom as an effect that causes ruin to its possessor. While Eagleton’s Marxist ideas dwell on conflicts that emerge from the pursuit of freedom and the need to maintain equilibrium in human interactions, his postmodernist ideas reflect a return to the endless state of the creator’s concept of freedom and a change from modernist ideas that constrict human existence. In the plays, the two protagonists, Jamike and Agunwanyi, become victims of the freedom which they sought in their revolt against conservative practices that suppress humanity; instead of gaining freedom in its objective form, the seekers submerge into absolute freedom that leads to their destructive bondage. The paper concludes that absolute freedom constricts freedom and destroys the mind’s rationality; self-destruction becomes the outcome of these characters’ overambitious quest.

Women, Ritual, And Modernity: The òsé (ìjesu) Festival Of òkèmèsí-èkìtì As Cultural Heritage

Oladiran Peju Damilola — 2026-05-24

This study probes the central role of the aya-owa (royal wives) in the Òsé-Ijesu (New yam) festival in Òkèmèsí-Èkìtì, showing how the women sustained and adapted to changes owing to the influence of modernity. Substantial scholarly energy has been expended on festivals in Africa, with scholars focusing on the audience-performer interactions, dramatic elements, performative aesthetics and the ritualistic aspects. There is limited scholarship on women’s roles and the implications of contemporary changes in the Òsé-Ijesu festival. The study adopts a qualitative ethnographic research method; data is drawn from participant observation, detailed note-taking and unstructured interviews with participants during the 2013 Òsé (New yam) festival in Òkèmèsí-Èkìtì. The data was subjected to coding and interpretative analysis to determine women's agency and the modern changes in the patterns in the Òsé-Ijesu festival. The study reveals that some indices of the new yam festival have experienced a constant flux of modern culture, like Western hair attachment, dress styles, etc., due to the mobile nature of culture and its nexus with other cultures around the globe. The study concludes that women’s strategic adaptation in the festival can lead to both social integration and potential cultural tensions.

Empowerment Or Dependency? A Socio-anthropo-linguistic Analysis Of Ngo Advocacy And The Decolonial Struggle In African Development Discourse

George Ezekiel Aberi — 2026-05-24

Africa’s development trajectory is increasingly defined by the tension between structural vulnerabilities and the rising influence of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) acting as sovereign intermediaries. This paper interrogates the "discursive architecture" of NGO activism, exploring how these entities leverage linguistic and cultural capital to negotiate the boundary between emancipatory empowerment and systemic dependency. Utilizing a systematic analysis of policy reports and advocacy literature (2015–2025) across the Anglophone-Francophone divide, the study employs Critical Discourse Analysis and Frame Analysis to decode the "translation" of global development icons. By tracing the trajectory of terms such as empowerment, capacity-building, and sustainability, the research reveals a process of semantic mutation. As these concepts transition from donor frameworks to local lifeworlds, they are frequently stripped of their radical potential, reinforcing asymmetrical power relations through a technocratic register. The findings uncover a "participation paradox": while NGOs ostensibly advocate for local agency, their reliance on exclusionary, "expert" language often enacts a form of symbolic violence. This re-positions community members as passive consumers of developmental truth rather than active political agents, inadvertently perpetuating neo-colonial power structures. By synthesizing socio-anthropo-linguistic insights with post-development theory, this study proposes a decolonial semiotics of engagement that prioritizes linguistic hospitality and interpretive sovereignty as essential foundations for a truly empowered African future.

Speaking Luxury: Sociolinguistic Dynamics In London's Elite Shopping Districts

Amina Babou — 2026-05-24

In this article, we probe the sophisticated linguistic mechanisms employed by sales associates at Harrods luxury retail environment in London to reinterpret commercial transactions as experiences of cultural differentiation and social positioning. Drawing on Bourdieu's concepts of linguistic and cultural capital (1991), Veblen's conspicuous consumption theory (1899), and Fairclough's critical discourse analysis framework (1989, 1992), this study delves into the socio-semantic functions of luxury retail discourse that go beyond the mere description of a product, but include various complex operations of identity construction and symbolic meaning production. The methodology integrates content analysis, conversation analysis, and critical discourse analysis to analyze recorded interactions from the perfume and watch departments of Harrods, purposively chosen to denote two different ways of luxury storytelling. The analysis identifies sales associates as practicing what may be described as linguistic alchemy where they selectively transmute material goods into cultural emblems through specific discursive strategies such as gatekeeping discourse, heritage discourse and technical mystification. The research illustrates how luxury retail communication extends verbal dialogue into multimodal mechanisms of authentication, in which haptic, olfactory, and visual dimensions become entangled with linguistic representations of the luxury story to craft phenomenological corroboration of luxury claims. Ultimately, the scrutiny unveils that the discourse of luxury retail functions as cultural pedagogy, educating consumers in the social meanings and cultural competences required for luxury consumption. The findings makes a substantial contribution to critical sociolinguistics by demonstrating that commodified spaces function as sites of cultural reproduction facilitated through consumption practices. There are significant implications of the findings for understanding consumer culture in Western society and the role that retail discourse plays in shaping social identities in capitalist cultures.

Investigating The Association Between Critical Thinking And (inter) Cultural Intelligence Among Algerian Efl Undergraduates

Lamia Elmechta — 2026-05-24

Critical thinking and cultural intelligence have become essential skills in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) instruction that enable learners to function effectively in both academic and intercultural settings. Despite their theoretical overlap, limited research has been directed to the association between the constructs, mainly in EFL classrooms. This study aims to examine the level of critical thinking and cultural intelligence among Algerian EFL students. The work purports to measure the degree of interrelationship between these constructs. A quantitative correlational design was adopted, and data were collected from thirty undergraduate students at the department of English, university of Constantine 1 through the administration of three standardized instruments: a Critical Thinking Scale (CTS), a performance-based Critical Thinking Test (CTT), and the Cultural Intelligence Scale (CQS). The findings of descriptive statistics revealed from moderate to high critical thinking and cultural intelligence capabilities. Pearson correlation results indicated significant positive relationship between critical thinking dispositions and cultural intelligence (r = .48, p < .05), and between cultural intelligence and critical thinking performance (r = .63, p < .001). Further findings showed that communication and metacognitive reflection were the strongest predictors of cultural intelligence, while behavioral cultural intelligence significantly predicted critical thinking performance. These findings highlight the significant role as well as the reciprocal effect of critical thinking and cultural intelligence in EFL instruction. The study, therefore, underscores the need for integrating instructional approaches that simultaneously foster critical thinking and intercultural intelligence in EFL curricula.

Institutional Bureaucracy In Algeria: A Study Of The Interaction Between Human Resources Policies And The Production Of Organizational Culture

Belkacem Boumaza — 2026-05-24

This ethnographic study aims to explore the intricate relationship between formal HR policies and the ongoing creation of organizational culture within Algerian institutions. Through in-depth interviews and participant observation across multiple sites, the research analyzes how employees actively engage with and interpret bureaucratic frameworks, revealing a fundamental dialectic at work, as while policies provide an official script, organizational members consistently perform sophisticated “everyday making,” whereby they artfully blend procedural mandates with deeply rooted, localized social logics and practical understandings. This dynamic interaction generates a distinct, hybrid cultural order, characterized not by the dominance of one logic over the other, but by their pragmatic coexistence; the formal and the informal are continuously woven together through daily practice. Consequently, the very mechanisms designed to standardize and control behavior become central, albeit unintended, instruments for forging unique and context-grounded organizational identities; thus, culture is not merely shaped by policy but is produced through the ongoing, nuanced enactment of it.

Western Research On Islamic Sufism Through The Work Of Annemarie Schimmel

Mohamed Amine Tahir — 2026-05-24

Islamic Sufism is among the branches of Islamic knowledge that have exerted a profound influence on European intellectuals and Orientalist scholars, owing to the elevated spiritual values it embodies. As one of the most significant Islamic traditions, Sufism attracted sustained attention in Orientalist studies because of the intellectual role it has played in the historical development of Islam. Many Western scholars were influenced by prominent Sufi figures within Arab and Islamic mysticism, engaging with their thought through research and translation. The German scholar Annemarie Schimmel represents an important figure within this scholarly tradition due to her extensive engagement with Islamic mysticism and Sufi poetry. She has drawn considerable academic interest and may be regarded as a genuine exemplar of an Orientalist scholarship that attempts to reflect Islamic values and Muslim ethics. Therefore, this research aims to investigate how Western thinkers, particularly German Orientalists, have approached Islamic Sufism, and to examine the extent of Schimmel’s interaction with Sufi mysticism and Arabic Sufi poetry. To do so, the study adopts a critical textual and interpretive approach based on Orientalist scholarship and selected Sufi poetic texts as mediated through Schimmel’s readings. The analysis focuses on identifying the interpretive framework underlying her engagement with Sufi poetry of Ibn ʿArabī, Rūmī, and Ibn al-Fāriḍ. The findings reveal that Annemarie Schimmel’s scholarship is characterized by a strong emphasis on symbolic, objective and aesthetic interpretation, privileging experiential and metaphorical dimensions of Sufi poetry, while engaging less extensively with doctrinal and exegetical contexts within classical Islamic tradition

Reception As An Interactive Practice In Educational Theatre For Children And Its Role In Meaning Construction

GUELLIL SARA — 2026-05-24

Reception plays a significant role in educational theater, especially when it comes to children, those young beings who are like blank slates upon which everything is easily written. The process of theatrical reception involves education, culture, environment, and personal experience in artistic practice. Therefore, this process in theater is based on two elements: what the theater presents to us through its actors, director, and playwright, and what we decipher through our interaction and engagement with the symbols and allusions of the performance. Theater is an art form that greatly captivates children. Educational theater, one of many types, is an important medium that can be used to develop and activate children's scientific, educational, and artistic abilities during their formative years. It is characterized by several functions and objectives that play a vital role. The process of reception in theater is not limited to simply watching the performance or being entertained and amazed by its effects. Rather, it extends to shaping the interaction between the audience and what is presented on stage, creating a broader space for reception and comprehension. This study examines the role of reception in educational theater, particularly in relation to children.

Preface: Special issue—Cultures under negotiation: Discourse, identity, and the reconfiguration of meaning inglobal contexts

Nadia Idri — 2026-05-26

Introductory Paper: Cultures Under Negotiation: Discourse, Identity, And The Reconfiguration Of Meaning In Global Contexts

Philippe Viallon — 2026-05-26

This special issue brings together rich contributions that collectively interrogate the conditions under which cultures are produced, sustained, contested, and reconfigured in an increasingly mediated and interconnected world. Situated at the intersection of literary studies, discourse analysis, sociolinguistics, cultural heritage, media studies, and political economy, the papers assembled here share a fundamental concern: How do global forces—technological, colonial, ideological, and economic—interact with local cultural practices, narrative traditions, and social identities? Drawing on diverse theoretical frameworks, including critical discourse analysis, appraisal theory, semiotics, feminist theory, postcolonial thought, sociology of cultural expressions, cognitive linguistics, and ecocriticism, and engaging with textual, digital, visual, and ethnographic data from Africa, Asia, Europe, the Arab world, and the Americas, these studies resist any singular account of cultural change. Instead, they show that culture is always changing, with people negotiating between authenticity and adaptation, continuity and rupture, and resistance and co-optation. This introduction maps the thematic and methodological architecture of the issue across four interconnected tracks: (1) representation and power in literary and media discourse; (2) identity, satire, and resistance in postcolonial and diasporic contexts; (3) technological and algorithmic mediation of cultural memory; and (4) institutional, ritual, and sociolinguistic dimensions of cultural practice. In doing so, it argues that cultural reconfiguration is neither a passive response to globalization nor a straightforward assertion of local resistance but a dynamic, contradictory, and politically charged process that demands sustained interdisciplinary scrutiny.