#thefemalekipling

[briyarmara]

29.01.17

“Spend your free time the way you like, not the way you think you're supposed to.” ― Susan Cain, Quiet

[studyandhaveahealthylife]

this is not my study space, i’ll post mine later. 

may the queue be with you and wish me luck for my tests

source

@jennyandcuterooms 

[booksareportals]

12.10.16 Waterstones, Exeter - High Street

IG: thefemalekipling

[briyarmara]

06.01.17

First post of 2017! I have been MIA with school then I took a huge break from anything with the word ‘social’ in it to re-associate myself with the simplicity of life. It felt nice and despite me not even closely keeping on track with the 100 days of productivity I am hoping to post more stuff anyway this year whether it be my book blog, my instagram or the general uni blog thing I’m working on. I’ve got things planned for this year but I want to thank everyone who does follow this side blog and that I do follow on @booksareportals . So here’s to the new year, tag me in things, ask me questions about anything from my degree to my aversion to frogs and anything in-between 

-tfk

[briyarmara]

by thefemalekipling do you mean like rudyard kipling? Because that dude has written some pretty questionable stuff, like "the white man's burden". if indeed you mean the female rudyard Kipling, what's your opinion on kipling's brand of racism?

I took my time to fully research this before I answered, its something I have been thinking about and wrote about recently in my essay about Shakespeare and my issues toward ‘The Taming of the Shrew’ which led me into looking at my qualms with the western canon as a whole. I think I can split this ask into three parts:

Yes the femalekipling does indeed refer to the writer Rudyard Kipling

Yes the man is a very questionable figure when it comes to his writings on Imperial Britain

My opinion on Kipling is complex, one I haven’t made an absolute decision on because it affects any writer i come in contact with

I completely agree with you in terms of Rudyard being questionable, in fact I find that such a fitting term in describing him. He’s a great writer but then again he is a purveyor of Imperialism. Kipling represents a system of thinking that I do not support but as a young black woman studying a literature degree I am tested on a daily basis on making judgements and giving allowances to every writer I encounter, particularly white writers. 

Interestingly enough I haven’t read any Kipling in great detail; the name came from a comment my friend made about me in a picture and I always like to have my social media monikers chosen by my friends. In that sense, I didn’t chose it because of any meaning outside of it being a reminder of my friend, but it does have meaning. 

I was actually thinking of changing it because of my views on what the term ‘female’ denotes in our society and my discomfort towards ideas of gender— perhaps I should have been looking a little further. Both terms I use are problematic and maybe it says something that my immediate criticism lay amongst ideas of womanhood and gender as opposed to race and colonialism.

As a black woman it’s the decision I make everyday on how my intersectionality works, for its never completely democratic. The comment my friend made I took as a compliment, stating that I, as a young woman, have similar status of an established and acclaimed writer. That was endearing to me. But people are complex, ridden with flaws that I think we don’t always chose to show when it comes to those who represent the brightest of our society.

Rudyard Kipling has that tainted reputation as being questionable, but the same can be said and has been said about Joseph Conrad, Charles Dickens, William Shakespeare to say the least. John F Kennedy routinely committed adultery, Winston Churchill embodies some of the most horrendous opinions held by British society at that time. But Kennedy represented a better, more socialist America, and Churchill is responsible for keeping the spirits of the British people alive during the war. Both still have other shortcomings and moments of glory that cannot be quantified into good and bad by simple addition and subtraction.

 Where do we place people like this? We must not wholly condemn them but neither can we absolve and commemorate them either. I think that one thing shouldn’t destroy evidence of the other, we should allow ourselves to see people as people and not gods or monsters.

I guess to answer your question it should be can we still celebrate problematic individuals? Its something that relates back to the issue with Casey Affleck winning the oscar despite numerous sexual harassment allegations. Is it possible to separate art from the artist? To reclaim texts such as The White Man’s Burden with a turn of irony that condemns colonialism and neo-colonialism in the form of western volunteering enterprises that do not provide sustainable solutions? I honestly still don’t know but I also think that reading should always allow for the complexity of a text just as we should allow for the complexity of an individual. In no way does that mean that I like Kipling as a person but thats not my job as a reader and a critic. Our ideas of morality are not as distinct as we would like them to be; should you strip away Kipling’s Nobel prize? Should we really even care about such awards that are still operating in a system that clearly benefits and celebrates a particular type of writer and particular kind of voice and style?

How can you live and read in a world that is inherently problematic; in which the very foundations of literature today are often having to adhere to reductive standards of acclaim? I can only provide you with open ended questions to this complex issue but I guess its just to say that the Kipling racism is a part of an institution of racism which I am wholly against. But Kipling is more than the racism he is complicit in when writing, but we should never reduce him to less than that either, or forget that facet of his work.

But thank you for your question, I enjoy discussing critical theory and I respect you for being able to call me out on something like that. I’m not a perfect person, still learning but appreciative of developing from my lapses of awareness. I hope this answers your question. 

[briyarmara]

24.10.16// 003.100 days of productivity

Essays, man

-tfk

ig:@thefemalekipling

[briyarmara]

20.10.16// 002.100 days of productivity

This is my favourite place to work; large tables, great lighting, lovely coffee. What more could a girl want whilst writing essays on ‘Discourse’? (Maybe longer deadlines, but we can’t always get what we want)

-tfk

ig: @thefemalekipling

[briyarmara]

16.10.16// 001.100 days of productivity

First post about 100 days of productivity but I think it was warranted as my recent trip to London was filled with all kinds of fulfilling experiences. It was a bit of a ‘treat yo self’ weekend away as I finally managed to buy some stuff from Muji, the first time since exams in May that I have splurged my money on stationary. I also got some books; Reasons to Stay Alive by Matt Haig and Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur which I’ve been eying for an eternity however refrained from buying because of the books I had to buy and read for uni. In addition, I got a few cute postcards and pins from a random market stall and the National Gallery. I also picked up this cute levi denim jacket which was a steal!

-tfk

ig:@thefemalekipling

[briyarmara]

Debuting The Hottest Studyblr of 2k16: The Female Kipling

Hello there present void, soon to be (hopefully) lovely followers.

My name is Mubanga, I’m a first year english student, originally from scotland but now living in the south west of england for the duration of my course at exeter uni. I decided to start this study blog in order to separate my more academic interests from my main blog ‘booksareportals’.  (hit me up)

Some fun facts:

I’m 18, born july 4th circa 1998 

Apart from English I enjoy researching history, politics (kinda), gender and racial studies, random theories and a bit of philosophy if I’m feeling thoughtful

Other interested include, but are not limited to: Doctor Who, music from Gabrielle Aplin, Young The Giant, The Staves and The Beatles, travelling, writing poetry and (attempting) to write fantasy novels, photography, Gravity Falls, Rick and Morty and uh reading

Speaking of reading some of my favourite books include The Unbearable Lightness of Being and The Name of The Wind. I also really like essays and news articles so hopefully I’ll post stuff on that too.

I make bad jokes and life choices but I make a great friend and mother hen so feel free to talk about uni stuff or just life in general :)

Some studyblrs I keep my eye on:

@ploegsteert, @studivation, @hayley-studies, @post--grad

@studyblerr, @hideandstudy, @fiercelittlestudyblr, @reviseordie

@caesarstudies, @hstudies, @elliemstudies, @study-and-fika

@focusign, @productiveflower, @stillstudies, @studywithinspo

@etudiaire, @etudiebee, @educatier, @nehrdist, @liberalartssociety

So if you want to see an excessive use of brackets and my somewhat charmingly illegible handwriting, click that follow button ;) 

-tfk