List of Contributors. Get the full PDF
Funeral Songs among the Wimbum: An Experience in Non-Normative Theatre. Get the full PDF
Jesse Moba & Edward Adamu Lambe …………………………………………1-16
The essence of this article is to analyse funeral songs among the Wimbum people
as a piece of non-normative theatre which is a pro-social non-conformist theatre that
consists of actions that benefit the community. Operational in a community that is
essentially oral, funeral songs among the Wimbum are performed as a kind of therapy as
through them, the people are purged of the pains imposed on them by death. Using the
sociological and performance-centred approaches, the article demonstrates that Wimbum
funeral songs are theatrically satisfying as performers actualize their texts in ways
particular to a people by way of their manner of performance. As a kind of theatre that
does not conform to laid down norms due to its oral nature, performance becomes a
leitmotif for its survival in the context of globalisation where orality is being threatened
by the stronger forces of modern technology.
Keywords: Funeral, song, Wimbum, theatre, Mbumland
Railed Resistance: Memory and Political Discourse in Julius Angwah’s Before Our Eyes. Get the full PDF
Nyanchi Marcel Ebliylu. ………………….………………………………………17-40
The quest for selfhood results to internal conflicts between Webaz and Recam after the
departure of the colonial masters. Memories of colonial and post-colonial rule in Julius
Angwah’s Before Our Eyes reveal the desire for patriots from different socio-cultural,
linguistic and historical backgrounds to come together under the banner of a united
rainbow nation to rethink a new county. Ironically, through the visions and memories
displayed by different characters in the novel, the realities in Webaz and Recam make
one to interrogate and problematise the nexus of the new socio-political power that is built
on deception and exploitation in the post-colony. Using the Postcolonial and
Psychoanalysis theories, this paper hinges on the hypothesis that the political discourse
which is revealed through memory sets the rail as a new vista for both ideological and
physical resistance. Through the commingling of dreams, mysticism and memory,
Angwah uses Before Our Eyes to fictionalise and satirise an ongoing political crisis in the
Anglophone regions of Cameroon through Webaz and Recam who are in full panoply for
a battle to re-write their history and carve a niche for their future in contemporary
geopolitics. This crisis which is not based on retribution for decades of subservience, aims
at arriving at a political resolution that would celebrate difference as a force of unity
within an ideal state called WebazRecam.
Key words: memory, political discourse, vista, spirituality, rail, post-colonial, rainbow.
Appearance Verses Reality in Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House and Ghosts. Get the full PDF
Innocent Ettia Meh ……………………………………………………………….41-54
A close reading of Henrik Ibsen’s dramas reveals that most of his critics and scholars
capitalize on the playwright’s creation of rebellious female characters. Very little or
nothing is often said about the hypocritical or pretentious lives led by the female
protagonists that eventually leads to their rebellion. Sometimes, statements about the
pretentious existence of these female characters are limited to hypothetical
pronouncements. The hypocritical existence of women in Ibsen’s plays is probably due
to the strict Victorian values the playwright satirizes in his works. The Victorian
conventional norms like the respect of ‘’law and order,’’ the subordination of the woman
in the family and society had very debilitating consequences on the female sex. In an
attempt to respect these principles, women generally led inauthentic hypocritical lives.
They put on social masks which were betrayed at some crucial point as the drama
unfolded. This paper seeks to examine how Henrik Ibsen in A Doll’s House and Ghosts
represents his female characters as individuals who lead a double existence, namely, that
of appearance and reality. Women are portrayed as having a double consciousness, one
which conforms to what is expected of them by the patriarchal society and another which
is in consonance with their true natural inner selves. Reading the plays from the New
Historicist and Feminist, perspectives, the study submits that societal norms and values
constraint women to lead untrue non-self-fulfilling lives that are diametrically opposed to
their real natural desires for self-assertion. The study also demonstrates that women, tired
of societal unrealistic principles against them, generally shade off their unreal selves at
some critical moment in the plays and reveal their real personalities. They rebel against
obnoxious societal norms that inhibit their search for self-assertion and fulfilment.
Key Words: Appearance, Reality, Victorian, societal norms, values.
Novel to Film Adaptation and the Problematic of Transposition in Adaptation Discourse. Get the full PDF
Derick Yong & Paul Animbom N…..…………………………………………..…55-74
In cinema discourse, adaptation serves the purpose of visual translation from any genre
of literature to film adaptation. This research paper looks at process, the problems
affecting this process, and the elements that survive it. In this guise, the paper investigates
the mechanisms put in place by the filmmakers in transmitting the messages which the
novelist sought to transmit. While some of these adaptations have been considered
successful many of them are met with the same pattern of criticism by the audience
members when comparing it with the novel. The question raised here is whether a film’s
fidelity to the book that it is based on has any effect on its success, or if it impacts the
film in other ways. This research therefore seeks to uncover how fidelity and infidelity
can both create a successful film adaptation. In essence, a film is rooted in the
communication and promotion of ideas, and ideas serve as veritable instruments of
enlightenment and education. Based on an intertextual analysis of the novel and the
adaptation, it is revealed that the films transform all subjects and objects into new signs
which communicate to the audience in a better way as compared to the novel.
Keywords: Adaptation, visual narrative, textual narrative, fidelity, film, novel.
Renegotiating Film Production in Cameroon during the Covid-19 Pandemic: The Virus in front and behind the Camera. Get the full PDF
Tafor Ateh ……………………………………………………………….………..75-93
Film production in Cameroon during the corona virus pandemic period witnessed a
number of disruptions in conventional film practices. Many Cameroonian filmmakers
found themselves trying to negotiate a new practical audiovisual paradigm for their film
praxis. Given the many restrictions that came with the virus, film stakeholders realised
they had to rethink their filmmaking approaches. What kinds of films should they be
making and who will be the audience of the films they make during the Covid-19 period?
How have filmmakers been affected by this crisis and how are they negotiating a way
forward? Through direct informant interviews with Cameroonian filmmakers, this article
sought to examine the nature of film practice in Cameroon during the peak period of the
corona virus crisis 2019/2020. It was difficult for some Cameroonian filmmakers to
accept the advent of and operation within the covid-19 crises. In most cases though, they
were bound, even unwillingly, to accept the operational difficulties of making a film
within the context of the health crises. Finding a voice for the filmmaker in the crises
turned out to be one of the most challenging negotiations they had to make as they sought
new ways to cope with the situation. The advent of covid-19 took a toll on both the artistic
and technical aspects of filmmaking in Cameroon. In most cases, it had a negative effect
on the processes of filmmaking but also brought about innovations, skill acquisition and
more open-mindedness in the perception of most Cameroonian filmmakers.
Keywords: Covid-19, production, filmmaker, innovation, filmmaking
Television Influence on Children’s Upbringing in Bambili, North West Region, Cameroon. Get the full PDF
Victor Ngu Cheo ………………………………………………..…………….….94-118
The creation of the University of Bamenda in Bambili has attracted more population of
both students, workers, and business people, a good number of whom live in Bambili.
There is therefore a significant presence of both families and the student population than
before. Also, there has been an increase in the number of households with television sets
due the increase in purchasing power from income generating activities and more salary
and wage earners living in Bambili. This paper seeks to examine the effects of television
on children’s upbringing in Bambili. The study which is a survey employed the simple
random sampling and recruited 50 freely consented parents/guardians to respond to a
well-structured questionnaire. The ensuing data was analyzed using SPSS version 21. The
results revealed that the influence of television on children’s upbringing is both negative
and positive since television viewing also enhances the cognitive development of
children. Besides, children also adopt deviant behavior from television. With a very low
rate of television viewing between parents and their children, an average of 2 hours per
day in a week, the study recommends that in addition to other regulatory mechanisms put
in place, parents should educate children at home on the dangers of adult TV content.
Key words: Television, Influence, Children upbringing, Bambili, North West Cameroontitution.
Measuring the Effect of Implementing Content and Language-Integrated Learning (CLIL) in The Institute of Languages for International Integration (ILANI): An Experimental Research Project. Get the full PDF
Charlotte Simo Dguidge ……………………………………………………….119-139
Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) was originally defined in 1994, and launched in 1996 by UNICOM, the University of Jyväskylä, and the European Platform for Dutch Education, to describe educational methods where “subjects are taught through a foreign language with dual-focused aims, namely the learning of content, and the simultaneous learning of a foreign language” (Darn, 2006, p.4). Springing forth from the fact that few experimental studies have been carried out on CLIL at different levels of the educational system and virtually none in language centers, this paper aims to provide insights into experimental research on a CLIL project for communicative skills in the context of a language center. The participants in the experiment were 50 learners of different age groups, different nationalities, and different academic and professional backgrounds, learning English as a foreign language at the Institute of Languages for
International Integration located in the town of Buea in the South West Region of Cameroon, a country in central Africa. The research design involved observing, conducting interviews, and administering a CLIL test with a focus on communicative skills and the target disciplines. The data collected were statistically processed and the data analysis techniques employed were mean and standard deviation (SD) and ANOVA. The data provided support for the efficacy of implementing CLIL in a language center as the experimental group outperformed the control group in terms of both communicative skills and content knowledge and showed a considerably higher positive attitude towards the CLIL course than their peers in the control group. This paper could therefore serve asa stepping stone on which many similar yet profound experimental pieces of research on CLIL could follow suit in language centers to ascertain its effectiveness in all other aspects and to bring all the stakeholders implicated in language valorization to applying CLIL in the teaching/learning process in language centers.
Keywords: CLIL, ILANI, Language center, Communicative skills.
Sustenance and Dynamics of Informal Transportation in AnglophoneCameroon, 1961 to 2016. Get the full PDF
Marcel B. Sama, Nixon Kahjum Takor, & Awang Ollong Kingsley ………………..140-154
In most African cities, while there are state policies regulating the operation of
motor transport activities, informal practices are usually visible creating some
sought of anarchy. Using the case of Anglophone Cameroon, the territory roughly
representing the former West Cameroon Federal State and the contemporary
Northwest and Southwest Regions of Cameroon, the study examines the extent by
which informal transport actorscreated a sustainable operational niche. By profiling
the informal transport practices in the towns of Bamenda, Buea and Limbe in
Anglophone Cameroon, the paper asserts that, although considered informal and
chaotic by the State because of the non-conformity to statutory regulations, the
clandestine transport sector was not altogether a chaotic setup. It had a certain mode
of organization with well-established protocols and disciplinary measures that gave
it a semblanceof order. The article is informed by evidence gathered from primary
and secondary sources analyzed following a qualitative historical design
Keywords. Informal, transport, Policies, Practices, Anglophone Cameroon.
Traditional Art History Education in Cameroon: Critical analysis of School Programs. Get the full PDF
Ndzi Yosi Godwins, Talla Richard Tanto & Paul Animbom N………………….155-169
The content of the Art History component in the General Knowledge in Arts offered at various Primary, Secondary and High Schools in Cameroon is largely of foreign art histories at the expense of the histories of Cameroon indigenous arts which are shallowly presented in the teaching syllabus. This makes the students appreciate more of the artistic cultural heritage of foreign countries making them lacking in the historical knowledge of their own rich African indigenous arts that identifies them as a people. A critical analysis of the content of the General Knowledge in Art subject proves contrary. This study therefore investigates the role of traditional arts history in effectively telling the history of the people when embedded in the curriculum. Data was gathered from primary and secondary sources by way of interviews, administration of questionnaire, as well as non-participant observation under the theoretical and qualitative research approaches. The case study design under the qualitative research approach was used for the research. This method involves the making of careful inquiry, critical analysis or investigation and examination seeking the facts of a case or an issue etc. with the aim of obtaining reliable facts to help correct, verify, devise, improve and reevaluate policies, decisions, attitudes and knowledge.
Keywords: Cameroon indigenous art, Art history, Curriculum, General knowledge in arts.
Contribution à L’étude de la « Scenographie de Mode » au Cameroun : Analyse Exploratoire et Regard Critique sur les Défilés de Mode. Get the full PDF
Fandio Ngahane Roméo………………..170-192
Cette communication se penche sur la « scénographie de mode», une pratique émergente
dans les milieux de la mode au Cameroun, un atout pour les industries de mode et
l’économie de la mode. Comment se présentent les réalisations scénographiques dans le
secteur de la mode et que nous apprennent-elles sur les défilés de mode, les tenues ou le
public ? Comment la scénographie peut-elle contribuer à la mise en valeur des réalisations
de créateurs de mode ? En confrontant les données écrites aux données orales et à
l’observation sur le terrain, nos analyses s’appuient sur les méthodes comparatives et
sémiotiques en histoire de l’art. Les résultats de cette recherche montrent que ; bien que
la scénographie de mode soit un domaine d’activité et un champ de recherche en friche
au Cameroun, son recours dans l’industrie de la mode ou l’économie de la mode n’est pas
anodin. En tant que outils stratégiques pour le marketing de la mode locale, ces usages
méritent d’être approfondis, contextualisés.
Mots-clés : Scénographie de mode, défilé de mode, industrie de mode, économie de la
mode, markéting de la mode..
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