Article Review
We have become aware of an opportunity for someone to conduct a peer review of an article for Histories of People & Place – as there is already one specialist review a general review would be fine.
Segregation of the Tamils into the plantations (estates): A pre-determined colonial displacement as reflected in Malaysian Tamil Folk Songs.
Abstract:
Malaysian Tamil folk songs reflect the difficulties experienced by the Tamil laborers under the British colonization, Japanese occupation, and the period of independence. This paper aimed to elicit the difficulties and associate them with the strategical segregation planned by the British colonizers. Qualitative approaches with historical, descriptive, and explanatory designs were used for this study. Data were analysed using narrative and discourse analysis. Narrative analysis describes the content of the folk songs while discourse analysis explains the usage of terms and words used in the folk songs that can be related to the emotions and trauma. The folk songs were analyzed in terms of their thematic content, established upon the historical traumatic theory. Based on the traumatic theory, researcher had identified the mass trauma experienced by the Tamil laborers in the form of segregation when they were displaced into the plantations. A total of 146 Malaysian Tamil folk songs were studied and from that more than 20 folk songs were found to provide substantial evidence for the trauma experienced. The segregation took in the forms of displacement of the Tamils into the plantations (estates), isolation at the work field and caste isolation. Each traumatic event as reflected in the songs, evidenced by the information obtained from the reliable research sources and historical records
Anyone interested can get in touch with Angela Muir directly.
Dr Angela Muir, FRHistS, FHEA
Lecturer in British Social and Cultural History
Director, Centre for Regional and Local History
School of History, Politics and International Relations
University of Leicester, University Road, Leicester, LE1 7RH, UK
email: angela.muir@leicester.ac.uk
