Performance, advertising, and Anglo-Maghrebi diplomacy in Restoration and Augustan LondonEarly 18th-century London theater audiences paid close attention to the ambassadors from the Maghreb who occasionally joined them as spectators. Yet Iago is so much in control of the narrative that as an audience we fall into his plots. Time Traveller's Guide to Africans in Elizabethan England BARBARA BOGAEV: Id like to start with talking about what the Black presence was in London in Shakespeares time. Because Mediterranean slavery was still slavery and there was a lot of African slavery that was going through the Mediterranean, but often that form of slavery wasnt inheritable in the same way that the transatlantic program of enslavement becomes, right? And a question that comes up a lot is this: When did the concept of race begin to appear? And lastly, as for the head of the natural body, the head has the power of directing all the members of the body to that use which the judgment in th head thinks most convenient. And Cyprus is quite close to, sort of, the center of power of the Ottoman Empire, thinking about Istanbul. In the play Othello, Shakespeare presents an African man who negates such stereotypical views. Let them negotiate and recommend and you're much more likely to be happy in marriage. So, how is it deployed and what does it connote, and what light does it shed on the topic were talking about today? BOGAEV: But interesting that its being skinned. And then also, Black. In war time, and in the field the Prince hath also absolute power, so that his word is a law, he may put to death, or to other bodily punishment, whom he shall think so to deserve, without process of law or form of judgment. Only a few, and recent, studies demonstrate the existence of different cultural atti-tudes towards money in a single national context (Medina, In choosing to marry, women sacrificed any legal or constitutional rights as citizens. Many of their viewpoints were substantiated from their dominant influence of Christianity, whether Protestant or Catholic. I feel this very strongly every time I see the play performed, that it just doesnt work for me. The model summarized below, by Milton Bennett describes this journey from ethnocentrism to ethnorelativism: . But that still doesnt address the fact of Othellos Blackness. It is generally considered foolish to marry for love, although love may occur in marriage. What Were the Gender Roles in the Elizabethan Era? - Reference.com DADABHOY: In a lot of traditional scholarship on the play, Venice has very much represented the site of European order and a European city that is besieged by a dangerous enemy that we never see, but that we hear about a lot, especially in Act I. . That there is a difference between the visage in her mind versus the visage that is presented to the world. Elizabethan England was highly patriarchal in attitudes and structure. . China and England possess different cultural values, with China characterized by collectivism and strong social norms, and England by individualism. ; ; Thats proof that race, as we know it, people werent thinking that way back in that time. DADABHOY: Mm-hmm. We're at a moment in time when we need to do more than tolerate each other. But then you have Desdemonas line, I saw his visage in his mind. His true image. Othello: Racism and Racial Hatred in Elizabethan England Essay Now, when we talk about Atlantic slavery, we are talking about a related but also, kind of different kind and form of enslavement. They are able to empathize with people from different cultures. BOGAEV: Right. But somehow scholars look at this play and argue that race and racism as we understand it are present in it because the term Moor is so inexact and ambiguous. Im Michael Witmore, the Folgers director. That was specifically directed at people from Spain, right? only that they were different. DADABHOY: That was my introduction to this play. Speaking to colonialism and power and geopolitics in the play, Venice and Cyprus are very important to the action. . During this time, racism was common. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Hamlet Meets Chushingura: Traditions of the Revenge Tragedy ELIZABETHAN ATTITUDES: AN ANTHOLOGY - Virginia Commonwealth University While we are talking about the slave trade, when did the slave trade start and who was involved in it? BOGAEV: Well, We could go on for weeks, and I wish we could. AMBEREEN DADABHOY: We actually know quite a bit about the Black people who were living in London during Shakespeares time. Transcript. Throughout William Shakespeare's The Tempest, Caliban, as the native, is treated as an inferior by Prospero and Stephano, the colonists. 1) How did the city of Venice treat people of different cultures and Question and Links - 2. How have attitudes towards women By 1640 a majority of men, and just possibly a majority of men and women, could read, and there . While some travel narratives from the Elizabethan period comment positively on black Africans, there are many that do not. And yet, I am a scholar who is located in a body, who is located in a race, who is located in a gender and a sexuality and all of these things that influence how I think. But it really was in how I got to my topic was really from a moment of teaching Othello really. Edward Gosynhill, "Schole house of women," c. 1542: A popular and well-known diatribe against the vanity, talkativeness, extravagance, faithlessness, and general frailty of women from Eve to Jezebel. During this era, social advancement for women was almost impossible. It is true that acceptance, marvel, wonder, anxiety and fear as well as disgust all accompanied English attitudes towards different racial, ethnic and religious identities. If youre a fan of Shakespeare Unlimited, please leave us a positive review on Apple Podcasts. Othello and Race I Relations in I - JSTOR Home Take away kings, princes, rulers, magistrates, judges and such estates of God's order, no man shall ride or go by the highway unrobbed, no man shall sleap in his own house or bed unkilled, no man shall keep his wife, children, and possessions in quietness, all things shall be common; and there must needs follow all mlschief and utter destruction both of souls, bodies, goods, and commonwealth. Then Cyprus represents being in that border region where one can potentially go native in a certain context. We had technical help from Andrew Feliciano at Voice Trax West in Studio City, California. When we look at medieval writings seeking for information that bears on the question, 'what attitudes to foreigners were traditional in English literature?' DADABHOY: So, I think a lot about Othello of course. Its based on current events at the time. The common wealth is judged by that which is most ordinarily and commonly done through the whole realm. Is it a similar depiction of otherness to what we see in these plays? [14] The history of fairies, though debatable, is rich and magical. 28 March 2007. Yeah. According to the behaviorist definition of . We are working through this pandemic helping people in need with delivery. But, you know, and heres the benefit of studying scholars of race like Stuart Hall, for example, who very clearly tells us that race is a discourse, and it is a shifting discourse. What does each place represent? I dont want to essentialize identity, but I think that for white scholars, if youve never had to think about race as a thing that you have to concern yourself with in your life, because you dont think about whiteness as being a raced category, then youre not going to have the tools to be able to even understand that race is in front of you when its just standing there. Attitudes Towards Cultural Differences - New York Essays And as you say, it takes place in Moroccoand well get back to Othello in a momentbut its really interesting what you have to say about this. Uncivilized. Why is Culture Important and How Does it Influence People? About Marriage in Elizabethan Times - The Classroom . Because these are all cultural imperatives that were talking about. In the upper classes, marriage was seen as a means of gaining property, friends, and allies; therefore, marriages among wealthy landowners were more likely arranged than those among people from lower classes. This immediately implies Desdemona is her father's physical possession, much the same as Brabantio . You say its the, white way of knowing.. How Authority and Decision-Making Differ Across Cultures WITMORE: Dr. Ambereen Dadabhoy is an assistant professor of literature at Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, California. 1) How did the city of Venice treat people of different cultures and faiths? This interesting culture dating back thousands of years has a great influence on philosophy, etiquette, art, and moral values. To investigate how attitudes towards plagiarism develop in young children, researchers investigated whether attitudes about copying others varied across American, Mexican and Chinese . Elizabethan Englishmen associated blackness with evil, death, and danger. The water above is kept and raineth down in due time an season. It would be in her nature to love someone who was from her own culture. How the elderly are treated around the world | The Week It may apply sharp cures, or cut off corrupt members, let blood in what proportion it thinks fit, and as the body may spare but yet is all this power ordained by God ad aedificationem, non ad destructionem [for constructive, not destructive use]. We go back thinking about the Middle Ages and the popularity of certain kinds of romance forms. The Elizabethan era is the epoch in English history marked by the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558-1603). And how Shakespeares audiences would have come in contact with darker skinned people and what their impressions might have been? I mean one of the things about Shakespeare is he does something different than what other people are doing. She believed these people were similar to beasts, dangerous because of their temper . Popular culture and the wider world Popular culture. In some of those you have a, kind of, fixation on color, where some of them are also conversion narratives. elizabethan attitudes towards different cultures DADABHOY: Luckily, it wasnt my advisor. Throughout the play, we see a difficult relation between Othello, a black man, Desdemona, a white woman and the everyone. DADABHOY: I think it is an unconscious lack of awareness, because I think, you know, for white people like white people can just be people. On the contrary, the male is more ready to help, and, as it hath been said, more brave than the female; and . You say in your writing that the play is very short and very strange, but what you really get into is the way in which the word negro in the play conveys so much. In whose power it is not to know the least part of it, much less to command the same. And in things subject to nature, nothing of himself only may be nourished, but when he hath destroyed that wherewith he doth participate by the order of his creation, he himself of necessity must then perish, whereof ensueth universal dissolution. Kings are also compared to fathers of families, for a king is truly parens patriae, the politic father of his people. As you can imaginelike pretty much anything involving the subject of racethats a controversial question. We know that it is an unfixable thing, and it is about power and domination. Early Elizabethan England - Attitudes to poverty Weve been engaged here at the Folger in a series of Critical Race Conversations. So that, you know, the noble Moor Abd al-Malik, hes also called a barbarian and he calls himself a barbarian. The Importance of Understanding Different Cultures | BIS - Bis Total loading time: 0 Shakespeare first explores Elizabethan attitudes towards women when Desdemona is first mentioned in scene one. In that period, the Spanish and the Portuguese, both being quite involved in the slave trade from the Atlantic into what Europeans called the New World. Sir Thomas Smith, De Republica Anglorum: The Manner of Government r Policy of the Realm of England, 1583: The testator disposeth in his last will his moveable goods freely as he thinketh meet and convenient without controlment of wife or children. DADABHOY: I dont know that I would say that. There be three principal similitudes that illustrates the state of monarchy. But we might want to think about how they got to Spain. Really, for me, one of the things that is interesting to think about with this character is that he also represents like, this is a character that owes a lot to the kinds of issues that we see come up in George Peeles The Battle of Alcazar. His presentation of women was depend ent upon the thinking of the society surrounding him. BOGAEV: Wow. Find out whats on, read our latest stories, and learn how you can get involved. That his skin becomes the sign of his villainy and a sign of warning. I would say that it has a lot to do with skin color. OF WOMEN, MARRIAGE, AND THE FAMILY. In practice, marriages ranged over a spectrum running from arranged at one end to completely free at the other. In the play hes called Muly Mahamet Seth or Muly Seth. Love and Marriage. But now to prove by example of those things that be within the compass of man's knowledge, of what estimation order is, not only among men, but also with God, albeit his wisdom, bounty, and magnificence, can be with no tongue or pen sufficiently expressed. DADABHOY: Yes. And lastly, kings are compared to the head of this microcosm of the body of man. One taken out of the word of God, and the two other out of the grounds of policy and philosophy. We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Christianity and the World of Cultures - Boston University The fact that she identifies them as Blackamoors suggests then that they were Black African people. . All these issues can affect team dynamics in various ways. The disposition of the males is opposed to this; for they are more passionate and fierce, more straightforward, and less invidious. People of color were called "savage.". The concept of culture is very complicated, and the word has . Common law vested control of property in the man, though dower, inheritance, and settlements gave many wives in the propertied classes some safeguards. What was the framework of assumptions concerning foreigners? Youre in this niche, or, It doesnt exist, and so youre talking about something that has no relevance. The relationship that Romeo had with Juliet might have been different in the modern world. So, we see that genre, it was quite popular in the Middle Ages. Othello - Values And Attitudes Essay Example | GraduateWay Though marriage was an unequal partnership, it was less unequal than we might imagine. Semblably in birds, beasts, and fishes, some be good for the sustenance of man; some bear things profitable to sundry uses; other be apt to occupation and labor; in divers is strength and fierceness only; in many is both strength and commodity; some other serve for pleasure; none of them hath all these qualities; few have the more part or many, specially beauty, strength . @free.kindle.com emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. And these notable faults have men in all ages espied in that kind, for the which not only they have removed women from rule and auhority, but also some have thought that men subject to the counsel or empire of their wives were unworthy of all public office. In the Renaissance period England, like the rest of Europe, acquired modern-style maps; trade-contacts with Turkey and Russia became a commonplace feature of economic life; visitations of Red Indians, Eskimos, and Negroes, an influx of refugees from Europe, plantations in the New World, and knowledge of other European ventures of a similar kind - all this might seem to give the average Englishman of the early seventeenth century almost as much expertise in physical geography as is possessed by his modern counterpart. Cultural attitudes towards pets - PubMed Springer is one of the leading international scientific publishing companies, publishing over 1,200 journals and more than DADABHOY: Yes. Gives a prose account of intriguing females such as Eve, Jezebel, etc. But this is to reckon without the 'framework of assumptions'. Where does the actual the race, yeah, the skin color, come in? Culture is a word for the 'way of life' of groups of people, meaning the way they do things. Different groups may have different cultures. Eurocentric views that African men are barbaric, illiterate, promiscuous studs (good enough only to be used in servitude as the white man's property) have been perpetuated through time and space. Race and Blackness in Elizabethan England. Thats also another reason why I think about this play so much, is because even if race wasnt relevant in the period or to this play, if I teach it right now, in the 21st century, it is relevant. "useRatesEcommerce": false For commonly women are the most part of the forenoon painting themselves, and frizzing their hairs, and prying in their glass like Apes, to pranck up themselves in their gawdies, like Poppets, or like the Spider which weaves a fine web to hang the fly.". In Elizabethan England, there was fairly widespread belief that freedom of choice was a right among marriage partners. Different Attitudes Toward Disclosure In some cultures, it is not appropriate to be frank about emotions, about the reasons behind a conflict or a misunderstanding, or about personal information. would have been the same (or perhaps much more intense given their lack of understanding of . BOGAEV: The myth of the glorious enlightenment. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive. Yet, Shakespeare's plays were not originally conceived for other than performative ends4.Any reflexion on the introduction or use of his plays in cultural studies should therefore take live . Many ideas surrounding the change and evolved over the centuries, ideas such as the views towards education and the impact of the industrial revolution on westerns societies views towards childhood, due to the limited space, this essay will focus on two underlying issues . We had technical help from Andrew Feliciano at Voice Trax West in Studio City, California. on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Its also popular in the early modern periodCrusader, or Holy Land-encounter storiesthey still have a little bit of those kind of conflict narratives. Richard Hooker, Of the Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity, 1594: Now if nature should intermit her course and leave altogether, though it were but for a while, the observation of her own laws; if those principal and mother elements of the world, whereof all things in this lower world are made, should lose the qualities which now they have; if the frame of that heavenly arch erected over our heads should loosen and dissolve itself; if celestial spheres should forget their wonted motions, and by irregular volubility turn themselves any way as it might happen; if the prince of lights of heaven, which now as a giant death run his unwearied course, should as it were through a languishing faintness begin to stand and to rest himself; if the moon should wander from her beaten way, the times and seasons of the year blend themselves by disordered and confused mixture, the winds breathe out their last gasp, the clouds yield no rain, the earth be defeated of heavenly influence, the fruits of the earth pine away as children at the withered breasts of their mother no longer able to yield them relief: what would become of man himself, whom these things now do all serve? So, is that the origins of racial thinking? God has power to create, or destroy, make, or unmake at his pleasure, to give life, or send death, to judge all, and to be judged nor accountable to none; to raise low things, and to make high things low at his pleasure, and to God are both soul and body due. One of the reasons why traveling is important for everyone is because it helps us become more inclusive and have a . Not just early modern scholarship but really kind of the scholarship on race done by Black feminist scholars or even post-colonial scholars. . Hath not he set degrees and estates in all his glorious works? 3,000 new books annually, covering a wide range of subjects including biomedicine and the life sciences, clinical medicine, Were people saying like, Oh, if youre interested in this race stuff, youre in this niche?. For terms and use, please refer to our Terms and Conditions However, even noblewomen were not allowed to . In many of those kinds of romances that are also, kind of, crusader romances, you do have African characters, Black characters, Moorish characters who might be Muslim characters, and this kind of cross-cultural encounter and exchange. elizabethan attitudes towards different cultures - hand.ngo Find out more about saving content to Dropbox. Then after this battle, we have a new king, who is al-Mansur. Behold the four elements, whereof the body of man is compact, how they set in their places, called spheres, higher or lower, according to the sovereign of their natures: that is to say, the fire as the most pure element, having in it nothing that is corruptible, in his place is highest and above other element. Finally, the deaths associated with each plot and the attitudes toward death, especially suicide, provide students with different cultural orientations to life and its value in relation to honor and loyalty. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings. Due to the research of scholars like Imtiaz Habib, whose Black Lives in the English Archives traces who these people were, where they lived, and really done a lot of that through court records and trying to figure out how early modern naming practices would have let us find out who might have been a Black person. The importance of culture lies in its close association with the ways of thinking and living. The poor and attitudes to poverty - Life in Elizabethan England I had a preconceived notion of what I was going to find. I mean, I think that its the practices of how we read, how we think; that theyre all kind of regulated by the modes of whiteness. Results were analyzed for 52 fifth- and sixth-grade children and 52 older adults, and comparisons made on the basis of age, sex and amount of intergenerational contact. Also Christ saith, by his evangelist, that in the house of his father (which is God) be many mansions. Garland Scott is the associate producer. BOGAEV: So, institutionalized? In part, however, the Elizabethan Age was a success because men had at their disposal new and exciting areas, both of mind and geography, into which to channel their energies. So that herein the kingdom of England is far more absolute than either the dukedom of Venice is, or the kingdom of the Lacedemonians [Spartans] was. What this study adds to existing knowledge To the best of our . A culture is passed on to the next generation by learning, whereas genetics are passed on by heredity.Culture is seen in people's writing, religion, music, clothes, cooking and in what they do.. BOGAEV: Yeah, and I think now were getting to this term that is so perfect, that Ive never heard anyone really say it this way that you use. His privy council be chosen also at the Prince's pleasure out of the nobility or barony, and of the knights and esquires, such and so many as he shall think good, who doth consult daily, or when need is of the weighty matters of the realm, to give therein to their Prince the best advice they can. An Exhortation Concerning Good Order, and Obedience to Rulers and Magistrates," Sermon preached in all English Churches in 1547: ALmighty God hath created and appointed all things in heaven, earth, and waters, in a most excellent and perfect order. So, you can see that hes alienated, yeah. I tell them that its okay to come from a certain kind of position, but its also necessary then for us to think about the positions that we cant occupy and the blind spots that we might have. The air, which next to the fire, is most pure in substance, is in the second sphere or place. I think Othello falls into that trap too, when he begins to doubt Desdemonas love for him and one of the thingsor her fidelity, when he talks about how nature erring from itself in terms of talking about Desdemonas. HAND Children are the Future. It is probably true to say that by the early decades of the seventeenth century more scientific information was available than could be digested within the terms in which the world was traditionally conceived; and it is certainly true that the facts of physical geography which were accepted by sailors as useful in practice were very difficult to accommodate within the sophisticated and complex traditions that form the natural background to literature. The word insular might have been coined to describe us. OF THE POWER AND PLACE OF KINGS AND PRINCES. I mean, does negro becomes the freighted word or a slur or a conflation of color into race? DADABHOY: There is so much misinformation and theres also just thinking regionally, right? Now a father may dispose of his inheritance to his children at his pleasure: yea, even disinherit the eldest upon just occasions, and prefer the youngest, according to his liking; make them beggars or rich at his pleasure; restrain, or banish out of his presence, as he finds them give cause of offence, or restore them in favor again with the penitent sinner. Queen Elizabeth was at the top of the social pyramid. For example, questions such as the following might sound natural to you: And thats the point, right? While the husbands received the marriage . It is not something that is fixed. DADABHOY: But al-Mansur ends up being the king who is the one who negotiates with Elizabeth I. Its his ambassador who we have the famous portrait of, and who Shakespeare might have seen, because they were part of certain royal pageants. Regarding differences, these were found in the prevalence of . What Are the Benefits of Understanding Different Cultures? - Les Elfes hasContentIssue true, https://doi.org/10.1017/CCOL0521064309.005, Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. What was the Elizabethan attitude toward foreigners in gener Request Permissions. Its in the room with me, not just because of who I am, but because of the play that Ive chosen to teach. From the Shakespeare Unlimited podcast. DADABHOY: Because its, I saw his visage in his mind. Does that mean you didnt see his visage that the whole world can see? The English-izing of all these names is really confusing, yeah. In fact, even the Medieval Church had reminded parents of their duty to consider their children's inclinations in marriage arrangements. Published May 25, 2021. Women who didn't marry were considered witches by their neighbors, and for lower class women, the only alternative was a life of servitude to wealthier families. People's attitudes toward the supernatural (paranormal, ghosts, mysterious happenings, witches, etc.) The key to managing across cultures in 2022 and beyond Shakespeare Unlimited comes to you from the Folger Shakespeare Library. "The fabric of English society was woven so tightly that it seemed to exclude . And it were an idle head that would in place of physic so poison or phlebotomize [bleed] the body as might breed a dangerous distemper or destruction thereof. PDF Culture, money attitudes and economic outcomes - Springer