Manasi Joshi's blog

Blog is given by Barad Sir Teacher's Link:  Click here   Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein: A Cultural Studies Perspective on Revolutionary Births Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818) is not merely a Gothic tale of horror and science gone wrong—it is a profound cultural text that mirrors the political, philosophical, and scientific anxieties of its time. Written during a period of revolutionary upheaval in Europe, the novel reflects debates surrounding class struggle, imperial power, and the limits of human reason. When examined through the lens of cultural studies, Frankenstein reveals itself as both a critique of Enlightenment rationality and a prophetic meditation on modernity. This analysis explores three key dimensions of Shelley’s revolutionary imagination: the Creature as a symbol of the proletariat, the racial and imperial anxieties reflected in the figure of the “Other,” and the transformation of natural philosophy into the technological and biotechnological discourses of the...

Blog is given by Barad sir Teacher's Link  Click here Introduction In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are minor characters who are manipulated by the monarchy and ultimately destroyed by the system they serve. In Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, these same figures are reimagined as confused, powerless individuals trapped in a meaningless world. Both texts examine how social hierarchies and power structures marginalize “little people.” When seen through the lens of Cultural Studies, especially theories by Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, and Antonio Gramsci, the two plays reveal how individuals are controlled by ideology, power, and institutions—ideas that also parallel the modern corporate world, where workers are often treated as replaceable. 1. Marginalization in Hamlet In Hamlet, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are childhood friends of the prince, summoned by King Claudius to spy on Hamlet. Their role is not shaped by their own will but by r...

  Blog is given by Dilip Sir Teacher's Link:  Teacher's Link Step 1: Reading and Thematic Understanding After reading this insightful blog post “Cultural Studies: Media, Power and Truly Educated Person”, three central themes emerge that form the foundation of his argument: 1. The Role of Media in Shaping Culture and Identity This explains that in contemporary society, media plays a central role in creating and shaping culture. It has become a major force that influences what people think, how they behave, and how they identify themselves. He notes that media is not a neutral or independent institution; rather, it is an instrument of power that controls human perception and subjectivity. Blog references Noam Chomsky and Edward Herman’s Propaganda Model, which explains how media is filtered through ownership, advertising, political interests, and ideology. This process determines what kind of knowledge is circulated in society. Media thus becomes a space where cultural meanings ...

 Blog is given by Megha ma'am Comparative and Critical Analysis of Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe and J. M. Coetzee’s Foe Introduction Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe (1719) is one of the earliest English novels, often considered a story of adventure, survival, and self-reliance. It reflects the spirit of European colonialism and individualism of the eighteenth century. In contrast, J. M. Coetzee’s Foe (1986) is a postmodern and postcolonial rewriting of Robinson Crusoe. Coetzee revisits Defoe’s tale to question issues of voice, power, gender, race, and colonialism. Through this rewriting, Coetzee transforms Defoe’s imperial narrative into a text of resistance and silence. This blog explores the key similarities and differences between Robinson Crusoe and Foe, highlighting how Coetzee critically reinterprets Defoe’s story from a modern, postcolonial, and feminist perspective. Defoe’s Colonial and Religious Vision In Robinson Crusoe, Defoe presents the story of a man shipwrecked on a...

 Blog is given by Prakruti ma'am  1.Caribbean Cultural Representation in Wide Sargasso Sea Jean Rhys’s Wide Sargasso Sea (1966) is a powerful reimagining of Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre, which reclaims the voice of Bertha Mason—the “madwoman in the attic.” Rhys, herself a Dominican-born writer of Creole descent, uses the novel to portray the complexity of Caribbean culture and identity in the aftermath of colonialism. The novel reflects the plural, hybrid nature of Caribbean society, where African, European, and indigenous influences coexist and conflict within a single cultural space. Caribbean cultural representation in Wide Sargasso Sea can be seen through its setting, language, characters, and spiritual beliefs. The West Indies, particularly Jamaica and Dominica, are not presented as exotic backgrounds but as living, breathing worlds of historical and racial tension. The tropical landscape—lush, sensual, and sometimes threatening—mirrors the emotional and cultural turmoil ...

 Blog is assigned by Megha Ma'am The Role of Violence in Colonialism with Reference to  The Wretched of the Earth Introduction Frantz Fanon’s  The Wretched of the Earth  (1961) is one of the most powerful texts on the psychology and politics of colonialism. Written during the Algerian war of independence against French rule, the book presents a revolutionary argument about how colonialism functions through violence—and how decolonization, in turn, requires violence to break free from the colonizer’s control. Fanon, a psychiatrist and revolutionary thinker from Martinique, used his experience in Algeria to study the mental and social damage caused by colonial domination. In his view, violence is not only a tool used by the colonizer to oppress but also a means through which the colonized reclaim their humanity. Thus, violence plays a double role in colonialism: it is both the method of oppression and the method of liberation. Main Body 1. Violence as the Foundation of...