Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

This thesis develops a biopolitical perspective on Western states’ longstanding opposition to the formation of a Tamil state (Tamil Eelam) in the northeastern parts of the island of Sri Lanka (Ceylon). It does so by adopting and applying the concept of biopolitics as developed by Michel Foucault in the 1970s. Foucault used the idea of biopolitics to explain power relations and to consider peace through the matrix of war. He was especially interested in using this to understand power relations that emerged in the eighteenth century and especially in terms of the tensions between military confrontation and commercial expansion. This thesis adopts and applies the idea of biopolitics to the concept of liberal peace and its core principle, the security of global commerce, to offer a new interpretation of the rationale behind the opposition of Western states to the Tamil demand for political independence and their collaboration in Sri Lanka’s biopolitical transformation of the island into a Sinhala-Buddhist ethno-theocracy. As practitioners of the biopolitics of liberal peace, Western states have waged wars and collaborated in the wars of their Southern counterparts, allowing populations, including liberalised ones, to be killed, condoning the subversion of civil liberties, human rights and other democratic freedoms, including the right to selfdetermination of nations, that they simultaneously promote. The thesis explores the extent to which the collaboration of the West with the Sri Lankan state’s racist policies and counterinsurgency efforts is a continuation of the colonial policies of the British Empire in Ceylon. In developing a biopolitical perspective on the liberal state-building practices of the British Empire in colonial Ceylon, Sri Lanka’s adoption of the same practices, and the West’s own efforts to neutralise the Tamils’ armed struggle, the thesis explores the ways that power relations produce the effects of battle, and thus the way that peace becomes a means of waging war. When the power relations of law, finance, politics, and diplomacy produce the effects of battle, they become ways of waging war by other means. As well as being a thesis on Western policy in the war in Sri Lanka, the work is therefore also to some extent an attempt to see how far Foucault’s work on biopolitics might be pushed and developed and thus, at the same time, an attempt to turn the Foucauldian focus to an area thus far unexplored by those who have sought to engage with Foucault’s work.

Developing the idea of an ‘object biography’, as defined by Kopytoff (1986), this thesis challenges a fixed, static concept of antiquities and their present meanings by focusing on the routes they travel through space and time as they circulate through the hands of unauthorised finders, dealers and collectors. The research has been carried out in India, focusing on the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. As a non-Western country with a period of colonial history, India is an ideal location to explore not just the diversity and mutability of these meanings but also the tensions between authorized and divergent viewpoints regarding the value and management of the past. My methodology has drawn on theoretical models from the social sciences that approach the production of meaning in and through material culture as an organic and on-going process of human-object relations. Through a process of qualitative surveying using purposive sampling and semi-structured interviews, two distinct object case studies have been devised and investigated: the circulation of structural and household antiques from the 19th and 20th century houses of the Nagarathar Chettiars, and the excavation of coins, beads, jewellery and figurines in the riverbeds of Tamil Nadu and their subsequent sale, collection and circulation. In the course of fieldwork I have recorded over 55 hours of interactions with 107 respondents in locations across Tamil Nadu, as well as Bangalore, Mumbai, Jodhpur and London. I have supported this data with photographs, fieldnotes, and internet sources. In my analysis of this data I have argued that many people in Tamil Nadu and South India feel a sense of distance and alienation from the world of ‘heritage’ as defined and managed by the government, while at the same time people are engaged in their own processes of meaning-making through the old objects they engage with and circulate on a daily basis. The objects studied in this thesis are not seen as pertaining to the ‘sleeping’ realm of antiquities and authorized heritage, but to the ‘waking’ realm of active circulation, use and transformation. Furthermore, in the variety of ways that people engage with and transform these objects we can see the negotiation of relationships with the past and identities in the present at a time of rapid social and economic change in India.

Lui, Hong Yee Kelvin. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2011. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 169-178). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / ABSTRACT (English) --- p.i / ABSTRACT (Chinese) --- p.iii / ACKNOWLEDGMENTS --- p.v / TABLE OF CONTENTS --- p.vi / LIST OF TABLES --- p.xi / Chapter CHAPTER 1 --- INTRODUCTION / Chapter 1.1 --- Rationale of the Study --- p.1 / Chapter 1.2 --- Context of the Study --- p.2 / Chapter 1.2.1 --- India as a Multilingual Country --- p.3 / Chapter 1.2.2 --- The Language Situation in Hong Kong - a Macro-Sociolinguistic Perspective --- p.5 / Chapter 1.3 --- The Indian Community in Hong Kong --- p.6 / Chapter 1.4 --- Research Questions --- p.8 / Chapter 1.5 --- Organisation of Thesis --- p.10 / Chapter CHAPTER 2 --- LITERATURE REVIEW / Chapter 2.1 --- Introduction --- p.11 / Chapter 2.2 --- "Globalisation, Migration and Multilingualism" --- p.11 / Chapter 2.2.1 --- Conceptualising Globalisation --- p.12 / Chapter 2.2.2 --- Mapping Theories of Transnational Migration --- p.13 / Chapter 2.2.3 --- "Globalisation, Multilingualism and English as a Lingua Franca" --- p.15 / Chapter 2.3 --- Language and Identity --- p.17 / Chapter 2.3.1 --- Conceptualising Identity --- p.18 / Chapter 2.3.2 --- Different Approaches to Identity --- p.18 / Chapter 2.3.2.1 --- The Variationist Approach to Identity --- p.19 / Chapter 2.3.2.2 --- The Sociopsychological Approach to Identity --- p.20 / Chapter 2.3.2.3 --- The Poststructuralist Approach to Identity --- p.21 / Chapter 2.3.3 --- Types of Identity Ascriptions and Affiliations --- p.22 / Chapter 2.3.3.1 --- National and Ethnic Identities --- p.23 / Chapter 2.3.3.2 --- Language identity --- p.24 / Chapter 2.3.3.3 --- Migrant identity --- p.25 / Chapter 2.3.4 --- Identity in Discourse: Analytical Frameworks --- p.26 / Chapter 2.3.4.1 --- The Positioning Theory --- p.27 / Chapter 2.3.4.2 --- The Stancetaking Theory --- p.28 / Chapter 2.4 --- Language Ideology --- p.30 / Chapter 2.5 --- Previous Research on Negotiation of Identities in Multilingual Context---- --- p.32 / Chapter 2.6 --- The Problematic Concept of Mother Tongue --- p.34 / Chapter 2.7 --- Summary --- p.35 / Chapter CHAPTER 3 --- METHODOLOGY / Chapter 3.1 --- Introduction --- p.37 / Chapter 3.2 --- Restatement of Research Aims --- p.37 / Chapter 3.3 --- Research Design --- p.39 / Chapter 3.4 --- Pre-Study Fieldwork --- p.42 / Chapter 3.5 --- Participants --- p.44 / Chapter 3.6 --- Data Collection --- p.45 / Chapter 3.6.1 --- Questionnaire Survey --- p.45 / Chapter 3.6.1.1 --- Piloting for Questionnaire Survey --- p.47 / Chapter 3.6.2 --- Semi-Structured Interviews --- p.48 / Chapter 3.6.2.1 --- Selection Criteria for Participants in Semi-Structured Interviews --- p.49 / Chapter 3.6.2.2 --- Piloting for Semi-Structured Interviews --- p.50 / Chapter 3.6.3 --- Multiple-Case Study --- p.52 / Chapter 3.6.3.1 --- Selection Criteria for Focal Participants --- p.53 / Chapter 3.6.3.2 --- Language-Diary Study and Diary-Focused Interviews --- p.55 / Chapter 3.6.3.3 --- Unstructured Interviews --- p.56 / Chapter 3.6.3.4 --- Piloting for Language-Diary Study and Diary-Focused Interviews --- p.57 / Chapter 3.7 --- Data analysis --- p.58 / Chapter 3.8 --- Validity and Triangulation --- p.60 / Chapter 3.9 --- Summary --- p.61 / Chapter CHAPTER 4 --- GROUNDWORK FOR CASE STUDIES / Chapter 4.1 --- Introduction --- p.63 / Chapter 4.2 --- Demographic Data --- p.63 / Chapter 4.3 --- Mapping the Terrain - Analysis of Survey Results --- p.66 / Chapter 4.3.1 --- Language Repertoire --- p.67 / Chapter 4.3.2 --- Language Competencies --- p.69 / Chapter 4.3.3 --- Language Choice Patterns --- p.72 / Chapter 4.3.4 --- Identity and Sense of Belonging --- p.78 / Chapter 4.4 --- Synopsis of Focal Cases --- p.82 / Chapter 4.4.1 --- Profiling Takesh --- p.82 / Chapter 4.4.2 --- Profiling Santhosh --- p.83 / Chapter 4.4.3 --- Profiling Rishaana --- p.83 / Chapter 4.5 --- Summary * --- p.84 / Chapter CHAPTER 5 --- INDIA AT HEART - THE CASE OF TAKESH / Chapter 5.1 --- Introduction --- p.85 / Chapter 5.2 --- Overview of Takesh's Life History and Sociolinguistic Background --- p.85 / Chapter 5.3 --- """I've been living in Hong Kong but I still consider myself an Indian"" - Maintenance of Indian Identity" --- p.87 / Chapter 5.4 --- "Self Identification as Chinese in Relation to the Non-Cantonese Speaking Ethnic Minority ""Other""'" --- p.93 / Chapter 5.5 --- """Home is already the place I use Tamil for 24 hours"" - Compartmentalisation of Language Choice" --- p.100 / Chapter 5.6 --- Takesh: At Home in India and Hong Kong --- p.105 / Chapter CHAPTER 6 --- "INDIAN NATIONALITY, HONG KONG IDENTITY? THE CASE OF SANTHOSH" / Chapter 6.1 --- Introduction --- p.106 / Chapter 6.2 --- Overview of Santhosh's Life History and Sociolinguistic Background --- p.106 / Chapter 6.3 --- """I'm not into ancestors' stuff'-Negotiating Distance from Heritage" --- p.108 / Chapter 6.4 --- """My Putonghua is Better than my Tamil"" - Ideology and Identity in Construction of Self-" --- p.115 / Chapter 6.5 --- Simultaneous Construction of an English Speaking Identity --- p.120 / Chapter 6.6 --- Santhosh: Only At Home in Hong Kong --- p.127 / Chapter CHAPTER 7 --- INDIAN IDENTITY WITHOUT AN INDIAN LANGUAGE? THE CASE OF RISHAANA / Chapter 7.1 --- Introduction --- p.129 / Chapter 7.2 --- Overview of Rishaana's Life History and Sociolinguistic Background --- p.129 / Chapter 7.3 --- "Construction of a Monolingual, Multicultural Identity - School and Individual Ideologies" --- p.131 / Chapter 7.4 --- """Tamil is important when it is considered with a bunch of other things"": Negotiating Proximity with Heritage With or Without Language" --- p.136 / Chapter 7.5 --- """Without it, I'd be less Indian"" - Classical Arts Substituting Tamil as Symbolic Marker of Tamil/ Indian Identity" --- p.141 / Chapter 7.6 --- "Mother as the ""Other"" - Discursive Construction of a Transnational Youth Identity in Interaction" --- p.145 / Chapter 7.7 --- Rishaana: Interpreting an Alternative Indian Identity --- p.149 / Chapter CHAPTER 8 --- CONCLUSION / Chapter 8.1 --- Overview --- p.150 / Chapter 8.2 --- Findings to Research Questions ´Ø --- p.150 / Chapter 8.2.1 --- Findings to Research Question (1) - Language Repertoire and Choice --- p.151 / Chapter 8.2.2 --- Findings to Research Question (2) - Identity Negotiation in a Transnational Context --- p.153 / Chapter 8.2.3 --- Findings to Research Question (3) - Language Ideology --- p.158 / Chapter 8.3 --- Empirical Significance of the Study --- p.161 / Chapter 8.4 --- Methodological Significance of the Study --- p.164 / Chapter 8.5 --- Limitations and Directions for Future Studies --- p.165 / References --- p.169 / Chapter Appendix A - --- Questionnaire Survey --- p.180 / Chapter Appendix B - --- Interview Guide for Semi-Structured Interview --- p.185 / Chapter Appendix C - --- Language-Diary Entry --- p.190

Cervical cancer is the single most common cancer in India, affecting an estimated 134,420 women in 2008. With access to early detection and basic treatments, most cases of cervical cancer are preventable. Moreover, if treatment is administered during the earliest stages of cervical cancer, 5-year survival rates can be increased to higher than 90 percent. Unfortunately, despite the availability of methods for prevention, more than 95 percent of women in India have never been screened for cervical cancer. Consequently, women in India are most often diagnosed during later stages of cervical cancer, significantly reducing survival prognosis. The objective of this study was to explore the role of awareness and knowledge of cervical cancer as a barrier to screening participation among urban women in Tamil Nadu; and further to identify the potential impact of increased cervical cancer awareness and knowledge on screening attitude. Quantitative and qualitative methods were used to characterize existing levels of awareness and knowledge of cervical cancer and screening among 207 women from the metropolitan area of Chennai. The results suggest that the majority of women (69.6%) were not aware of cervical cancer and very few (16.4%) were aware of screening. Demographically, women with secondary levels of education or higher were significantly more likely to have heard of cervical cancer and screening. Of the women that were aware of cervical cancer screening, most reported receiving information through television (33%) or a healthcare provider (28.6%). To describe the potential benefit of providing women with basic information about the secondary prevention of cervical cancer, levels of knowledge, measured before and after an educational session, were compared. This study further explored changes in associations between awareness, knowledge, perceived susceptibility, and screening attitude. It was observed that an overwhelming majority of women were receptive to participating in free cervical cancer screening, independent of previous knowledge of cervical cancer. Results also suggest that although lack of awareness appears to be a major barrier to participation in cervical cancer screening, providing women with information about cervical cancer has the potential to change the attitude of a significant proportion (58.3%) of women who were previously unreceptive to screening. Further, perceived susceptibility to cervical cancer appeared to be strongly associated with a positive screening attitude before and after receiving information. Finally, we examined and compared the socio-demographic characteristics of three subgroups of women: those who were receptive to screening without information, those who were receptive to screening after receiving information, and those who were not receptive to screening at either point. We found that younger, more educated women were receptive to screening without information. In addition, previously unscreened women who were less educated and illiterate in Tamil were most likely to acquire a positive attitude toward screening after receiving information. It also appeared that women who were most likely to be unreceptive to cost-free cervical cancer screening were more likely to be older and previously screened. These findings from our exploratory research with insights from additional comments made by several participants who were unreceptive to cost-free screening suggest that perceptions of free versus private healthcare may have influenced responses in this study.

Thesis (M.S.)--Naval Postgraduate School, 2002. / Thesis advisor(s): Anna Simons, David Tucker. Includes bibliographical references (p. 153-157). Also available online.

“Sabha theater” is a genre of Tamil language comedy theater that started in Madras (Chennai) in the period following India’s 1947 independence. Its name comes from the fact that the amateur drama troupes rely on cultural organizations known as sabhas for patronage, but the theater also has a very specific aesthetic and narrative style. Sabhas are known for their patronage of classical music and dance, but many also support amateur theater troupes. These organizations, along with the press and academics, create a notion of “good” taste in Chennai, India. All three fields are dominated by the high caste Brahmin community, which thus both constructs and embodies the idea of good taste in the city. The identity of Brahmins, as the taste-makers of the city, is influential in shaping middle-class culture in Chennai. I argue that this identity is not best visible in tradition, because performances of the classical arts and the response of connoisseur audiences to them reveal an ideal that is frozen in time. I look instead to something spontaneous: humor. The fact that elite Tamil Brahmins choose to join sabhas or attend sabha dramas is not to say that the plays are ideal representations of Tamil Brahmin culture or good taste. In actuality, the discourse about the plays has created two factions within the Tamil Brahmin community, the most vocal of which dismisses them as “just comedy.” I engage with both voices through case studies of plays that have remained popular with audiences over the years. I also consider such things as how the contemporary political climate and development of mass media have affected live theater in Chennai in terms of aesthetics, personnel, scripts, production, and patronage. / text

This study examines the language choices of Tamil immigrants, part of a South Asian diasporic community, in Austin, Texas. The researcher posits reasons why Tamil language maintenance/shift occurs for this Tamil community in the United States English-dominant macrosociety. The study also examines the domains in which Tamil and English are used and the various sociolinguistic factors which influence the language maintenance/shift of Tamil. Tamil immigrant participants were selected by snowballing, a non-probability purposive sampling technique. This multi-modal study used both quantitative (a questionnaire) and qualitative data (participant interviews and participant observations). One hundred and nineteen questionnaires were collected of which 90 were used for this study. In addition, twelve first or second generation Tamil individuals were interviewed. Background for the study included reasons for emigration from the home country, Tamil diglossia, diaspora issues, identity issues, and language as a site of struggle. The theoretical framework included language as power, language as investment, and linguistic imperialism. Examining the language of instruction, participants interestingly evidenced a kline in English use from 67.1% in elementary grades, to 84.8% in the middle and high/secondary school, to 95.3% at the university level. Also, comparing language use as a child versus language use as an adult, there was a kline (continuum) moving from 'always using Tamil' in all domains as a child to 'equally in Tamil and English' in all domains as an adult. Participants were split as to why they used Tamil with some using it for privacy/secrecy and some using it for pride. A much smaller percent used Tamil for intimacy. Finally, with regard to language proficiency, participants evinced a declining kline from understanding, speaking, and reading, writing colloquial Tamil. The participants' proficiency in literary Tamil was also a declining kline with only 16.7% understanding, 17.8% reading, and even less speaking (8.9%) or writing (7.8%) literary Tamil. The results of this research study and an analysis of Moag’s 31 factors for maintenance/loss of Tamil, showed that the prospects for the continued maintenance of Tamil in Austin were limited. Finally, this study provided valuable sociolinguistic insight into this little-studied South Asian diasporic community in Austin, Texas. / text

No description available.

The Indian diaspora has now more than ever before exported the inhabitants of the sub-continent to very many countries in the world. They are presently to be found settled in far-off places like Alaska, Norway, Denmark, New Zealand, the Unites States of America, England, Canada and elsewhere. By far the largest group that had emigrated under the tri-partite patronage of South Africa, India and Britain between 1860 and 1911 to South Africa were a mixture of Hindus, Christians and Muslims representing the four major Indian language groups of Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Gujarati. The indentured, in no small measure, played a significant part in drastically uplifting the economy of Natal as efficient and hardworking labourers in the sugarcane farms, the coalfields of Northern Natal and in the wattle farms of the mist belt of the Midlands of Natal. No doubt in some cases their working conditions were extremely trying and painfully difficult; but they triumphed. They were not willing to remain in their immigrant servitude. After their contract, as is now, patently well known that in about 140 years they have reached against all odds. They are world recognized in nearly all fields where human endeavour calls for the best. They have produced renounced academics and artisans and are visible wherever excellence is the benchmark. After 1994 they have integrated with ease within the South African plural society without abandoning their language, culture, traditions, belief systems, dietary habits and the distinct dress of the women in particular and the men in general. Undoubtedly their inborn patience and tolerance and the ability to change and adapt within a multi-religious and multi-ethical milieu is a humble credit to their forbearance. / Thesis (M. A.)-University of Durban-Westville, 2003.