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Year 2023, Issue: Ö13, 1335 - 1346, 23.10.2023
https://doi.org/10.29000/rumelide.1379360

Abstract

References

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  • Althusser, L. (1984). Essays on Ideology. London: Verso.
  • Brain, J. (2022). Votes for Women-Historic UK, Available at: <www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofBritain/Votes-For-Women> (Accessed 18 Sept. 2022)
  • Encyclopedia Britannica (2022). Ogooué River, Available at: <www.britannica.com/place/Ogooue-River> (Accessed 18 Sept. 2022)
  • Foucault, M. (1972). Archaeology of Knowledge and The Discourse on Language. Translated by Sheridan Smith, Pantheon Books.
  • Foucault, M. (1978). The History of Sexuality. Translated by Robert Hurley, Vol. I, Pantheon Books.
  • Foucault, M. (1995). Discipline & Punish: The Birth of The Prison. Translated by Alan Sheridan, Vintage Books.
  • Foucault, M. (1980). Power/Knowledge: Selected Interviews and Other Writings, 1972-79, (Ed. Colin Gordon). New York: Pantheon.
  • Foucault, M. (1988). Madness and Civilization: A History of Insanity in The Age of Reason. Translated by Richard Howard, New York: Vintage Books.
  • Hållén, N. (2011). Travelling Objects: Modernity and Materiality in British Colonial Travel Literature about Africa. Umeå: Dept. of Language Studies, Umeå U.
  • Kingsley, M. (2015). Travels in West Africa. Penguin Classics.
  • Korte, B. (2000). English Travel Writing from Pilgrimages to Postcolonial Explorations. Trans. Catherine Matthias. Houndmills, Hampshire: Palgrave.
  • Penguin Books UK (2022). Mary Kingsley, Available at: https://www.penguin.co.uk/authors/14719/mary-kingsley (Accessed 28 Apr. 2022)
  • Nassaar, C. S. (2004). Introduction to the Victorians: A Major Authors Anthology. In H. Bloom (Ed.), The Victorian Novel (pp.91-103). Chelsea House.
  • Polk, M. (2004). "Introduction." Introduction. Mary Kingsley: Explorer of the Congo. By Heather Lehr. Wagner. Philadelphia: Chelsea House.
  • University of Basel Institute for European Global Studies (2022). The Basel Mission, Available at: <europa.unibas.ch/en/research/global-history-of-europe/the-basel-mission> (Accessed 18 Sept. 2022)
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  • YourDictionary (2022). Mary Kingsley, Available at: <biography..com/mary-kingsley> (Accessed 18 Sept. 2022)

Under the shade of colonialism: Mary Kingsley and her Travels in West Africa

Year 2023, Issue: Ö13, 1335 - 1346, 23.10.2023
https://doi.org/10.29000/rumelide.1379360

Abstract

Texts are not independent entities that are detached from their social, ideological, economic and cultural background. They are shaped by their authors who are affected by the discourse of their times. Thus, they make valuable sources in getting more information about social, political, and economic conditions of their periods. Mary Kingsley’s Travels in West Africa, as a part of colonial discourse, reflects the colonial world at the end of the Victorian period, which was rich in literature. This was a period during which British Imperialism reaches at its peak and leads to the saying, “the empire on which the sun never sets”. Travels in West Africa, as a travel narrative, serves the interests of the colonizing powers by describing the lives of the natives in West Africa and their lands sometimes using wry humour, unlike some other contemporary fictional works that depict a savage and brutal Africa as the dark continent. Michel Foucault’s theories regarding discourse and power have been used to understand the ideological formations and power relations in the mentioned travel account in the second half of the nineteenth century. Kingsley’s female narrative, with its representation of Africa, echoes the superiority of the white over the black through an embedded ideology in text.

References

  • Africa Guide (2022). Fang People, Available at: <www.africaguide.com/culture/tribes/fang.htm> (Accessed 18 Sept. 2022)
  • Althusser, L. (1984). Essays on Ideology. London: Verso.
  • Brain, J. (2022). Votes for Women-Historic UK, Available at: <www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofBritain/Votes-For-Women> (Accessed 18 Sept. 2022)
  • Encyclopedia Britannica (2022). Ogooué River, Available at: <www.britannica.com/place/Ogooue-River> (Accessed 18 Sept. 2022)
  • Foucault, M. (1972). Archaeology of Knowledge and The Discourse on Language. Translated by Sheridan Smith, Pantheon Books.
  • Foucault, M. (1978). The History of Sexuality. Translated by Robert Hurley, Vol. I, Pantheon Books.
  • Foucault, M. (1995). Discipline & Punish: The Birth of The Prison. Translated by Alan Sheridan, Vintage Books.
  • Foucault, M. (1980). Power/Knowledge: Selected Interviews and Other Writings, 1972-79, (Ed. Colin Gordon). New York: Pantheon.
  • Foucault, M. (1988). Madness and Civilization: A History of Insanity in The Age of Reason. Translated by Richard Howard, New York: Vintage Books.
  • Hållén, N. (2011). Travelling Objects: Modernity and Materiality in British Colonial Travel Literature about Africa. Umeå: Dept. of Language Studies, Umeå U.
  • Kingsley, M. (2015). Travels in West Africa. Penguin Classics.
  • Korte, B. (2000). English Travel Writing from Pilgrimages to Postcolonial Explorations. Trans. Catherine Matthias. Houndmills, Hampshire: Palgrave.
  • Penguin Books UK (2022). Mary Kingsley, Available at: https://www.penguin.co.uk/authors/14719/mary-kingsley (Accessed 28 Apr. 2022)
  • Nassaar, C. S. (2004). Introduction to the Victorians: A Major Authors Anthology. In H. Bloom (Ed.), The Victorian Novel (pp.91-103). Chelsea House.
  • Polk, M. (2004). "Introduction." Introduction. Mary Kingsley: Explorer of the Congo. By Heather Lehr. Wagner. Philadelphia: Chelsea House.
  • University of Basel Institute for European Global Studies (2022). The Basel Mission, Available at: <europa.unibas.ch/en/research/global-history-of-europe/the-basel-mission> (Accessed 18 Sept. 2022)
  • Wagner, H. L. (2004). Mary Kingsley: Explorer of the Congo. Philadelphia: Chelsea House.
  • YourDictionary (2022). Mary Kingsley, Available at: <biography..com/mary-kingsley> (Accessed 18 Sept. 2022)
There are 18 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Subjects British and Irish Language, Literature and Culture
Journal Section World languages, cultures and litertures
Authors

Ecevit Bekler 0000-0002-7080-6267

Publication Date October 23, 2023
Published in Issue Year 2023 Issue: Ö13

Cite

APA Bekler, E. (2023). Under the shade of colonialism: Mary Kingsley and her Travels in West Africa. RumeliDE Dil Ve Edebiyat Araştırmaları Dergisi(Ö13), 1335-1346. https://doi.org/10.29000/rumelide.1379360