NUML journal of critical inquiry

Demystifying Violence: A Study of Resistant ‘Self’ Against Controlling Images in Afro-American Feminist Literature

Shumaila Noreen — 2025-12-29

The debates on the epistemic, cultural, and historical erasure of Black women in White feminist discourse have been historically established, revealing the racialized gender politics against Black subjectivity. Tainted with an overarching ideological stereotyping, the chief goal is to produce controlling images that marginalize and silence the Black community. This epistemic violence blurs the affective-referential realities of the Black society and needs a reconsideration to voice the voiceless. Engaging with the canonical Black feminist texts, i.e., Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937) by Zora Neale Hurston and The Bluest Eye (1970) by Toni Morrison, the article argues that both Hurston and Morrison subvert and reposition violence not as a site of victimhood, but as a radical epistemic resource through which the Black women reclaim the lost voice and articulate a resistant selfhood. Through an in-depth intersectional feminist textual analysis rooted in constructivist worldview, the study theorizes violence as an epistemological framework, enabling Black women to resist and defy the Jezebel, mammy, and welfare mother—the imposed scripts of identity formation, and carve out an agentic niche for themselves. The study is important in unveiling the patterns of selfhood and seeks to challenge the traditional interpretations and reaffirm the Black women’s consciousness against racist and patriarchal spaces.

Conflict of interest:

The author has declared no potential conflicts of interest and falsification/fabrication of data with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Humor and Resistance in Pakistani Corporate Memes

Aneeqa Ahmad — 2025-12-29

This study aims at investigating how humor is constructed in corporate memes through cognitive mechanisms and how corporate memes are used as a collective voice by Pakistani employees to express discontent with their work culture and organizational practices. Based on Conceptual blending theory (Fauconnier, & Turner, 2002), this research paper analyzes Pakistani corporate memes selected from widely used platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, Reddit, and Pinterest. Drawing upon Bakhtin’s conception of Carnivalesque (Bakhtin, 1984), the significance of workplace humor in challenging dominant narratives, questioning power imbalance and facilitating collective acknowledgement has been highlighted. The findings suggest that the dynamic cognitive processes are responsible for the successful interpretation of humor within corporate memes, depending upon integration of distinct mental spaces evoked by exposure to various ideas present in targeted memes. Further, it is revealed that the workplace memes have the potential to express critique and assert new perspectives by employing techniques such as grotesque exaggeration, visual metaphor, imagery, hyperbole and sarcasm. This article contributes to new debates on internet memes and their potential to galvanize action within digital realm.

Conflict of interest:

The authors have declared no potential conflicts of interest and falsification/fabrication of data with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Unbalancing A Fine Balance: Narrating Social Disability and Institutionalized Injustice

Warda-Tun-Naeem — 2025-12-29

This paper examines the demonstration of institutional inequality and power politics producing conditions of social disablement within the Indian historical context portrayed in Rohinton Mistry’s A Fine Balance (1995). Guided by Iris Marion Young’s “Five Faces of Oppression” (2008), the research interprets social disability not as an individual anomaly but a social condition caused by institutional laws, societal structures, and uneven power distribution across caste, class, gender, and religion. The study argues that disability is not solely physical or mental, but a metaphoric condition that disables every otherwise able individual due to ingrained prejudices and institutional structures, taking away respect, freedom and agency from those on the margins. Following the path of a qualitative, interpretive method and close textual reading, the study portrays how exploitation, marginalization, powerlessness, cultural imperialism, and violence shape the lives of the underprivileged Dalit, Muslim, Sikh, and female characters amid the 1947 Partition and the 1975 Emergency period. The study calls for critical dialogue in Disability Studies and South Asian literary criticism toward social justice and inclusivity. Thus, by foregrounding voices on the margins, it brings forth the wider perspective of justice that the participation, security, and recognition are the fundamental needs, rather than optional goods.

Conflict of interest:

The authors have declared no potential conflicts of interest and falsification/fabrication of data with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Adopting AI-Based Speech Recognition for Enhancing Pronunciation Accuracy and Learner Confidence

Rehana Gulzar — 2025-12-29

This study examines the integration of AI–based speech recognition (ELSA Speak, Speechling) in a language centre and its effects on pronunciation accuracy and learner confidence. Two groups of intermediate EFL learners (N = 40) completed pre-test and post-test diagnostic pronunciation assessments, with the experimental group receiving support through AI-app usage analytics. The comparative results revealed that the AI-assisted group demonstrated significantly more positive outcomes than the control group (p < .001), thus achieving higher post-test scores and increased learner confidence in the pronunciation assessment in the experimental group (paired t, p < .001). Consistent engagement in AI-assisted pronunciation practice was associated with improved performance (r = .62, p < .01). Quantitative results showed that learners using AI tools achieved higher pronunciation scores and confidence, while qualitative findings indicated reduced speaking anxiety, sustained motivation, and enhanced learner autonomy, despite minor implementation challenges such as connectivity issues and occasional feedback perception mismatches. The findings show the effective integration of AI-based pronunciation tools with conventional language instruction through feedback and self-regulated learning scaffolds. However, the intact–class design, single-centre context, and short duration result in limiting generalizability, demanding a longitudinal, multi-site replication.

Conflict of interest:

The authors have declared no potential conflicts of interest and falsification/fabrication of data with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Displacement and Exilic Guilt: Exploring Psychological Trauma in Ghassan Kanafani's "Returning to Haifa"

Zamurd Maqsood — 2025-12-29

This study examines the intertwined relationship between guilt, trauma, loss, and displacement. It explores the psychological consequences of detaching from homeland, emphasizing that one’s home plays an important role in shaping one’s identity. The study also illustrates how suppressed emotions cause guilt and trauma when refugees are confronted with their familiar surroundings or homeland. The focus of the study is the mental struggles of Palestinian refugees resulting from prolonged exposure to war, violence, and displacement. The research is qualitative in nature and follows the narrative of Ghassan Kanafani, “Returning to Haifa.” Theoretical props include Trauma theory (Herman and Caruth), Guilt theory (Tangney) and Freud’s psychological ideas. The concept of complex trauma, deferred trauma, multi-layered guilt and the conflict between ego and superego are central to the analysis. This research offers a comprehensive understanding of the narrative and emotional struggles of Palestinian refugees, revealing that the trauma of exile is not just related to physical hardships but also emotional stress.

Conflict of interest:

The author has declared no potential conflicts of interest and falsification/fabrication of data with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.