International Journal of Transformation in English & Education [ISSN: 2581-3951(online)]

Satire of Homosexuality in Nigerian, South African and African-American Stand-up Comedies

2021-04-10T13:28:21+00:00

Stand-up comedy, a new subgenre of comedy, is largely a product of the sociological realities of national and global societies. Its lucrativeness and patriotism by its audiences reveal its popularity among its audiences over other forms of theatrical performances across the globe. Its dramatic shows bring succor and mirth to its target audience. When it is performed before its live audience, the stand-up comedians stylistically draw the attention of their audiences to social realities. Previous studies have drastically examined its entertaining significance and theatrical shows without considering its deeper satirical significance. Therefore, this paper deeply investigates how the selected stand-up comedians from Nigeria, South Africa and United States of America use their stand-up performances to lampoon inordinate ambition of homosexuality in their various societies. This is a bid to significantly show how stand-up comedy plays other social functions of social criticism besides its entertaining and theatrical functions in the given societies. The selected stand-up comedians are Godwin Komone (Gordons), Ayo Makun (AY), Nigeria; Trevor Noah, South Africa; Richard Pryor, United States of America. Schechner’s Performance, Freudian and Jungian psychoanalytic theories were used to analyse the embodied behaviours of the stand-up comedians. The data were subjected to performance and literary analyses.

COVID-19 and its Influence on Academic Performance and Health Status of Tertiary Level Students in Jamaica

2021-05-11T08:19:40+00:00

The Covid-19 pandemic has negatively influenced academic performance and the health status of students in Jamaica. The current study is a national cross-sectional survey, which revealed that almost 14 out of every 25 students in this study indicated having health issues due to online learning (i.e., back and eye problems). The challenges of online learning are not limited to health issues as 26.0% per cent of the sampled students cited that poor internet connectivity has influenced and contributed to their poor academic performance compared to 33.3% of NCU students. The area of residence even compounds the internet connectivity issue. Those who dwelled in rural zones are at a disadvantage compared to their urban counterparts in city-like communities. Another challenge experienced by students is that 11.3% have to travel long distances to use internet service (i.e., internet café, relatives and friends outside of their homes). The matter is even worse among NCU students, as 28.7% have to commute to access internet services. Some 27.0% of NCU students expressed a significant challenge to focus on schoolwork, and 54.1% stated that they are experiencing difficulties grasping the lessons on the virtual platform. The new era of online (virtual) learning has changed the landscape of teaching and learning. It has brought many challenges that some students neither have the resources or intellectual capabilities to cope with the litany of social dislocation which the pandemic has predicated. The students have to cope with this newness and should incorporate their concerns into the decision-making process at the highest levels, where they can be effectively addressed.

The Siege that lead to the fall of the Empire in J. G. Farrell’s The Siege of Krishnapur

2021-05-11T08:26:38+00:00

The present paper deals with the fall of the British Empire. The novelist J. G. Farrell brings about the reasons for the fall of the Empire. The local people who were fed up of the British rule started rebelling against the colonial masters. The Siege of Krishnapur which was taken easy by the British leads to the fall of the empire. The ignorance of the British leads to their own downfall. The Colonial masters neglected the local customs and traditions which were very important to the colonized. The paper brings out how vain was the rule of the British in India and also how their own policy of divide and rule became a boomerang to them.

The University Aims to Establish a Relationship between the Concept of Specific Educational Leadership and Cultural Perspectives

2021-05-31T13:13:02+00:00

This article aims to identify the concept of specific educational leadership and cultural perspectives of the university in the field of education, to establish connections between self-learning organizations, concepts of culture, an organization in a cross-cultural context, and university "organization Culture "examines the essence of the concept of" culture ", and also analyzes the problems associated with it. Since any university has distinctiveness, the cultural dimensions are the activities of universities as organizations, mainly related to studies, including teaching, academic Leadership, and research are included.