Narrative Strategies

Dr. Omer Sultan delivered a presentation at a seminar organized by the Language Research Center of King Khalid University held on November 08, 2017. His presentation was about his Ph.D. thesis, which was titled Reconstruction of the Colonial and Postcolonial Paradigms: A Study of the Major Works of Chinua Achebe. The aim of Dr. Omer’s study, he mentioned, was to view the recent history of Nigeria through the prism of traditional values, mores, and cultural ethos to explore colonial and postcolonial hegemonies. His study included four significant novels by internationally renowned author Chinua Achebe for analysis. Dr. Omer Sultan: Until the lions have their own historians, the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter. Dr. Omer emphasized that reconstruction of one’s identity is the prerogative of those whose ingenuity is related to its culture and mores, which, he said, had been jeopardized. The present study, he added, had evinced great enthusiasm in debunking the colonial paradigms and at the same time reconstructing the identity of his community. His study, Dr. Omer concluded, raised specific questions at the outset about the legitimacy of Reconstruction of the Colonial and Postcolonial Paradigms. The answers paved the way for a new understanding of four novels with a particular focus on the themes of the study of language and recognition. He concluded that Achebe vividly demonstrates the relationship between language and identity and the consequences that affect the sensibility of the colonizer and colonized. The King Abdullah Road Women's College also participated in this seminar online. The presentation was very interactive and overall a great success.   Date: 11/8/2017 Source: MD Adil Multimedia Contribution: Sayed Karim

The Faculty of Languages and Translation is pleased to announce the re-release of a book entitled Chinua Achebe: Hero in Quest (ISBN.978-81-88730-57-5) by Dr. Haseeb Ahmed who teaches at the Faculty of Languages and Translation. He has attended and presented research papers in many national and international seminars/conferences. In addition to a few pieces of creative writing, he has 12 research papers to his credit. Under postdoctoral studies, he accomplished two research projects. The book deals with the literary endeavors of the most celebrated Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe. Achebe has won many prestigious awards including the Man Booker Prize in 2007. He was also nominated for the Nobel Prize. Dr. Haseeb Ahmed explores the fictional world of Achebe with a particular focus on the cultural predicament of his heroes. He demonstrates how Achebe's heroes maintain a balance between the inner and outer, the social and psychological, the individual and communal, and the ideal and practical conditions of their existence. The author points out how these heroes, manifesting African ethos, confront the given adverse situations and present the psycho-dynamics of the self against the onslaught of the colonial authoritarianism, and how they resist and overcome the apparatus of appropriation inserted into the fabric of their consciousness. This book comprehensively deals with the issues of psychological bondage and liberation, cultural and psychic colonization and decolonization, slavery, and freedom in the backdrop of third world countries. Dr. Ahmed's publication is currently available at AbeBooks UK, a subsidiary of Amazon.com, Inc. Date: 10/2/2017 Source: FLT Media Center