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Title: Slow Violence and Environmental Resistance: A Postcolonial Eco-critical Study of Ronald Fraser’s Drought: A Novel
Authors: Muhammad Ijaz, Farah Hashmi
Journal: Human Nature Journal of Social Sciences (HNJSS)
Publisher: Human Nature Research Publisher
Country: Pakistan
Year: 2023
Volume: 4
Issue: 4
Language: English
Keywords: Global SouthSlow ViolenceEnvironmental ResistanceCultural HazardsEcological Degradation
Aim of the Study: This paper explores layers of slow violence inflicted upon working classes of the Global South. Transnational enterprises of the Global North inflict folds of slow violence upon the communities in which they operate. Such multinational syndicates indulge in maneuvering natural resources of Global South regions. Moreover, they create cultural and ecological hazards for communities in which they operate. Consequently, natives of such places raise voice against exploitation of their resources and ecological vandalism. However, this study, essentially, focuses on investigating slabs of slow violence inflicted upon working communities and their strategies of environmental politics to conserve environment and culture from further deformation. In this regard, it brings to the fore the gendered resistance strategies of affected communities.
Methodology: Theoretically, this study is premised on investigating existing relationship between imperial powers and recently decolonized world. In this context, theoretical underpinnings of postcolonial Eco-criticism seem plausible for this investigative study. The study consists of textual analysis of Ronald Fraser’s Drought: A Novel (2015) to explore layers of slow violence and strategies of environmental politics of impacted communities.
Findings & Conclusion: The study finds that transnational actors establish their syndicates in the Global South geographies to enhance their revenues. They exploit natural resources and inflict cultural and ecological degeneration upon these geographies. In addition, it unpacks that local authorities accomplice in exploitation, infliction of slow violence and de-escalation of environmental strategies.
To explore the layers of slow violence inflicted upon working classes of the Global South by transnational enterprises of the Global North, and to investigate the environmental politics and gendered resistance strategies of affected communities.
Theoretical approach based on postcolonial ecocriticism. Textual analysis of Ronald Fraser's novel "Drought: A Novel" (2015) to examine slow violence and environmental politics.
graph TD;
A["Theoretical Framework: Postcolonial Ecocriticism"] --> B["Textual Analysis of Ronald Fraser's 'Drought: A Novel'"];
B --> C["Identify layers of slow violence"];
C --> D["Examine environmental politics and resistance strategies"];
D --> E["Formulate Findings and Conclusions"];
The study argues that the concept of "Global South" can be applied to regions within wealthier countries, as seen in the novel's setting of Benalmar. Transnational corporations perpetuate colonial legacies by exploiting resources and causing environmental and cultural damage, leading to slow violence. The resistance of affected communities, particularly women, is highlighted as a form of environmental politics.
Transnational actors exploit natural resources in the Global South, causing cultural and ecological degeneration. Local authorities often collaborate in this exploitation. The novel depicts slow violence through events like land price inflation leading to suicide and a dam burst causing fatalities. Women, exemplified by Miguel's mother, engage in environmental politics to resist exploitation.
Global North nations exploit Global South resources through developmental projects, causing slow violence and ecological/cultural degradation. Women play a significant role in resisting this exploitation. Local governments and other societal elements often facilitate this exploitation for financial and political gain.
- The article is published in the Journal of Social Sciences, Vol. 4, No. 4 (December, 2023), pp. 18-27.
- The study analyzes Ronald Fraser's novel "Drought: A Novel" published in 2015.
- The theoretical framework is based on postcolonial ecocriticism, drawing on scholars like Rob Nixon.
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