In refusing to fight, what is Arjuna calling into question? Arjuna is troubled by various facets of his war mission. The first and foremost is the killing of his kin and kith. Across the battle line in Kurukshetra stand his cousins, uncles and former gurus. How heartless one needs to be to be able to…
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Mise-en-scene in The Red Shoes (1948)
The Red Shoes, directed by the marquee team of Michael Powell and Emeric Presssburger is an important film of British Cinema. One of the early exponents of Technicolor brilliance, the film is an exposition on use of light and colour for cinematic effect. Cinematographically the film is quite brilliant and a rich source for studying…
The conflict between religious fundamentalism and methods of science
Ever since the ushering of the Enlightenment in the early 18th century, religious dogma has increasingly been questioned. In the contemporary era scientists offer clear and logical explanations for the evolution of life, the formation of the solar system, etc. In the face of such indisputable scientific evidence, it is no longer possible to accommodate…
Do characters in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird construct their own identities?
To Kill a Mockingbird is a masterpiece of American fiction. One of the reasons for this success is its handling of a pressing social issue, namely, racial prejudice. Secondly, the work is structurally layered, allowing readers numerous interpretations. For example, the book can be studied for its socio-economic indications under the Marxist critical framework. It…
Hamlet by William Shakespeare: A short overview
The play Hamlet is one of the most enduring and psychologically complex of Shakespeare’s oeuvre. The title in full is The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark and it indicates the profound mental turmoil and loss that the protagonist experiences through the play. Over the centuries, various interpretations have been offered for describing Hamlet’s mental…
The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri: An expository essay
The Divine Comedy is a classic Christian theological text that uses strong poetic imagination and allegorical allusion. Though originally written in Italian between 1308 and 1321 AD, the book is widely translated and its themes are drawn upon by generations of writers since. Written in first person narrative, the comedy is about the imaginative events…
Book Review: Dust Bowl, USA: Depression America and the Ecological Imagination, 1929-1941 by Brad Lookingbill
During the 1930s, the American Midwest region witnessed one of its most acute agricultural droughts in the history of the nation. But this tragic event does not get as much attention as it deserves in history textbooks. The main reason for this is its coincidence with the Great Depression that precipitated in 1929 with the…
What is the problem with education in the United States today?
It is fair to claim that the state of education in the United States today is symbolic of the state of the nation. The biggest concern is the falling of scholastic standards. It is believed that programs such as No Child Left Behind may have actually undermined the quality and parity in education. There is…
What evidence is there in support of Khayr Al-Din’s reform agenda in 19th Century Tunisia? How does he try to harmonize Islam and Western ideas of liberty?
Khayr Al-Din Pasha is a pivotal reformist figure in Tunisian political history. Indeed, he is such a polymath that he contributed reformist ideas in the areas of Tunisian military, socio-politics and beyond. At a time when Tunisia was suffering the excesses of Ottoman imperialism, Khayr Al-Din galvanized the spirit of the whole nation through his…
How to understand the notion of “Muslim Politics”?
In the brilliantly articulate essay titled ‘Muslim Politics’ by Dale Eickelman and James Piscatori, we understand that the term ‘Muslim Politics’ is a broad and sweeping conceptualization. By virtue of it being so broad in its scope, it has ended up losing a compact and technical usage. To this extent it is not to be…