Violence: Bodily Commodification and Resistance in Festus Iyayi’s Novel
Published in 1979, Violence takes place in the Nigerian city of Benin, during the oil boom of the 1970s. The story follows two married couples, who represent both ends of the social spectrum, and whose paths cross as they overcome diverse obstacles. Iyayi’s novel constitutes a Marxist critique of th...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Online |
| Language: | spa |
| Published: |
Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios sobre Cultura y Sociedad
2024
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://revistas.unc.edu.ar/index.php/astrolabio/article/view/41997 |
| _version_ | 1811171480994578432 |
|---|---|
| author | Mazza, Ana Victoria |
| author_facet | Mazza, Ana Victoria |
| author_sort | Mazza, Ana Victoria |
| collection | Portal de Revistas |
| description | Published in 1979, Violence takes place in the Nigerian city of Benin, during the oil boom of the 1970s. The story follows two married couples, who represent both ends of the social spectrum, and whose paths cross as they overcome diverse obstacles. Iyayi’s novel constitutes a Marxist critique of the violence of poverty and extreme inequality. Violence shows how certain human bodies are systematically objectified and exploited, while those that do not generate profit are discarded without a trace of humanity.
From the perspective of urban ecocriticism, this paper examines instances of bodily commodification in the novel and, specifically, of commodification of human energy and matter understood as natural resources. The study suggests that Iyayi not only critiques this commodification by presenting it as a consequence of the capitalist project, but also challenges it through acts of caring resistance which return objectified bodies their status as subjects. These acts of caring resistance constitute a way of rejecting the artificial separation of Humanity and Nature, contained in the dualism of mind and body, that has historically justified (neo)colonial capitalist exploitation and expropriation. The present paper thus contributes to the field of postcolonial studies, as well as urban ecocriticism and African literatures, focusing on a relatively ignored work and on issues that are still extremely relevant for contemporary Nigeria. |
| format | Online |
| id | oai:ojs.revistas.unc.edu.ar:article-41997 |
| institution | Universidad Nacional de Cordoba |
| language | spa |
| publishDate | 2024 |
| publisher | Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios sobre Cultura y Sociedad |
| record_format | ojs |
| spelling | oai:ojs.revistas.unc.edu.ar:article-419972024-01-07T21:49:55Z Violence: Bodily Commodification and Resistance in Festus Iyayi’s Novel Violence: comoditización corporal y resistencia en la novela de Festus Iyayi Mazza, Ana Victoria Festus Iyayi urban ecocriticism Nigeria bodily commodification Festus Iyayi ecocrítica urbana Nigeria comoditización corporal Published in 1979, Violence takes place in the Nigerian city of Benin, during the oil boom of the 1970s. The story follows two married couples, who represent both ends of the social spectrum, and whose paths cross as they overcome diverse obstacles. Iyayi’s novel constitutes a Marxist critique of the violence of poverty and extreme inequality. Violence shows how certain human bodies are systematically objectified and exploited, while those that do not generate profit are discarded without a trace of humanity. From the perspective of urban ecocriticism, this paper examines instances of bodily commodification in the novel and, specifically, of commodification of human energy and matter understood as natural resources. The study suggests that Iyayi not only critiques this commodification by presenting it as a consequence of the capitalist project, but also challenges it through acts of caring resistance which return objectified bodies their status as subjects. These acts of caring resistance constitute a way of rejecting the artificial separation of Humanity and Nature, contained in the dualism of mind and body, that has historically justified (neo)colonial capitalist exploitation and expropriation. The present paper thus contributes to the field of postcolonial studies, as well as urban ecocriticism and African literatures, focusing on a relatively ignored work and on issues that are still extremely relevant for contemporary Nigeria. Publicada en 1979, Violence se desarrolla en la ciudad nigeriana de Benín, durante el boom petrolífero de la década de 1970. La narrativa se centra en dos matrimonios que representan ambos extremos del espectro social, cuyos caminos se cruzan mientras sortean diversos obstáculos. La novela de Iyayi constituye una crítica marxista de la violencia ejercida por la pobreza y la desigualdad extrema. Violence muestra cómo ciertos cuerpos humanos se cosifican y explotan de manera sistemática, a la vez que aquellos que no generan ganancias son descartados sin el menor rastro de humanidad. Desde la perspectiva de la ecocrítica urbana, este artículo examina instancias de cosificación corporal en la novela y, específicamente, de comoditización de energía y materia humanas entendidas como recursos naturales. El estudio propone que Iyayi no solo critica esta comoditización al presentarla como una consecuencia del proyecto capitalista, sino que también la cuestiona mediante actos de cuidado resistente que devuelven a los cuerpos cosificados su calidad de sujeto. Estos actos de cuidado constituyen una forma de refutar la separación artificial de Naturaleza y Sociedad, contenida en el dualismo de cuerpo y mente, que históricamente ha justificado la explotación y expropiación capitalista (neo)colonial. El presente artículo contribuye entonces tanto al campo de los estudios poscoloniales como a los de ecocrítica urbana y literaturas africanas, centrándose en una obra relativamente poco analizada y en problemáticas sumamente relevantes para la Nigeria contemporánea. Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios sobre Cultura y Sociedad 2024-01-07 info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion Artículos revisados por pares application/pdf text/html https://revistas.unc.edu.ar/index.php/astrolabio/article/view/41997 10.55441/1668.7515.n32.41997 Astrolabio; No. 32 (2024): January - June: State and society in Africa today. Transformative dynamics and emerging actors; 244-269 Astrolabio; Núm. 32 (2024): Enero - Junio: Estado y sociedad en el África actual. Dinámicas transformadoras y protagonistas emergentes; 244-269 Astrolabio; n. 32 (2024): Enero - Junio: Estado y sociedad en el África actual. Dinámicas transformadoras y protagonistas emergentes; 244-269 1668-7515 10.55441/1668.7515.n32 spa https://revistas.unc.edu.ar/index.php/astrolabio/article/view/41997/44509 https://revistas.unc.edu.ar/index.php/astrolabio/article/view/41997/44510 Derechos de autor 2024 Ana Victoria Mazza https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0 |
| spellingShingle | Festus Iyayi urban ecocriticism Nigeria bodily commodification Festus Iyayi ecocrítica urbana Nigeria comoditización corporal Mazza, Ana Victoria Violence: Bodily Commodification and Resistance in Festus Iyayi’s Novel |
| title | Violence: Bodily Commodification and Resistance in Festus Iyayi’s Novel |
| title_alt | Violence: comoditización corporal y resistencia en la novela de Festus Iyayi |
| title_full | Violence: Bodily Commodification and Resistance in Festus Iyayi’s Novel |
| title_fullStr | Violence: Bodily Commodification and Resistance in Festus Iyayi’s Novel |
| title_full_unstemmed | Violence: Bodily Commodification and Resistance in Festus Iyayi’s Novel |
| title_short | Violence: Bodily Commodification and Resistance in Festus Iyayi’s Novel |
| title_sort | violence bodily commodification and resistance in festus iyayi s novel |
| topic | Festus Iyayi urban ecocriticism Nigeria bodily commodification Festus Iyayi ecocrítica urbana Nigeria comoditización corporal |
| topic_facet | Festus Iyayi urban ecocriticism Nigeria bodily commodification Festus Iyayi ecocrítica urbana Nigeria comoditización corporal |
| url | https://revistas.unc.edu.ar/index.php/astrolabio/article/view/41997 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT mazzaanavictoria violencebodilycommodificationandresistanceinfestusiyayisnovel AT mazzaanavictoria violencecomoditizacioncorporalyresistenciaenlanoveladefestusiyayi |