By Shaireza Jaafar
Edited by Izyan Nazihah
GOMBAK, 26th April 2024: The Secretariat of English Language and Literature (ELITS) organised the second series of an event called ‘Literature Made Easy 2.0’, which this time explores Malaysian folklore with a speaker, also a BENL lecturer, Dr Wan Nur Madiha Ramlan. The event was held at ADM LT3 of the Islamic Revealed Knowledge (IRK) building of IIUM Gombak.
The three-hour event takes students on a journey through folklore, beginning broadly and then narrowing its focus to Malaysian folklore. As Dr Madiha emphasised, “There is a never-ending depth when it comes to folktales as they vary and progress from time to time, so it is important to touch on if not all, at least the important parts - and what is considered as folklore?”
Dr Madiha presents how she incorporates the Monster Theory in the tale of ‘Si Tanggang’ | Credit: Shaireza Jaafar
As a lecturer and scholar with expertise in folkloric studies, Dr Madiha utilised the paper she co-authored with her colleague, Dr Nurul Fateha, titled ‘Maternal Monstrosity in the Tale of Si Tanggang,’ as a guiding resource for students interested in conducting the Final Year Project (FYP) in literary studies.
The paper incorporates post-structuralism as the literary framework, particularly the Monster Theory by Jeffrey Jerome Cohen, offering insights for students on how the analysis is done overall by examining the characters' relationships, mother and son.
Dr. Madiha used a plethora of examples to elucidate her rationale for selecting Monster Theory as the backdrop for her research, emphasising the importance that the monster is the embodiment of a cultural phenomenon that manifests differently across the globe.
She also drew references from both Western and Asian contexts through fiction movies and tales like The Walking Dead, Twilight, Vampire, Godzilla, Munafik, Pontianak and others - which serve as reflections of societal anxieties, beliefs, and values.
Apart from that, Dr Madiha offered advice to students, asserting, "For students who are about to embark on their FYP or even those still in their second year, it is crucial to establish your research outlines early on, beginning from the Research Methodology class - This will ensure that your proposal is effective enough to pitch your potential advisors for supervision.”
“Avoid wasting your time on a topic that does not align with your interest as you will be doing your research in one-year long,” she added.
The event concluded with a token of appreciation from ELITS to Dr Madiha and a photography session with all the participants.***
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