BA Hons (English). University of Otago, New Zealand.
Diploma of Education. Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.
MA (Sociology of Literature), University of Essex, UK.
PhD (English). University of Otago, New Zealand.
RESEARCH, TEACHING, or OTHER INTERESTS
Literature and Literary Theory, Language and Linguistics, Arts and Humanities
88
Scopus Publications
Scopus Publications
Eco-political Discourse in Mahmoud Darwish’s Poetry of Resistance Hamoud Yahya Ahmed Mohsen, Fahad Ibrahim Al-Bakr, Ruzy Suliza Hashim, Abdulrahman Alosman Intellectual Discourse, 2026 Resistance remains the central theme in the poetry of the Palestinian poet, Mahmoud Darwish. This article explores aspects of the eco-political discourse in Darwish’s poetry that bind ecology and politics for resisting colonialism. The study argues that Darwish employs ecological imagery drawn from the Palestinian nature to advance his political narrative of resistance. Through the lens of eco-politics, the analysis reveals how the elements of nature, such as trees, stones, rocks, hills, mountains, valleys, rivers, animals, fruits, the sky, the cold, the rain, the sun, and the moon, function as potent symbols of resistance. These natural forms become both witnesses to and participants in the struggle. Just as Palestinian landscape persists despite human transgressions, so too do the poet and Palestinians remain steadfast in their quest for freedom. The study offers new insights into eco-politics as a literary approach and a fresh pathway for reading resistance in Arabic and Palestinian literature.
Nature and Memory in Tan Twan Eng‘s Novels: An Ecocultural Perspective Liu Jia, Hamoud Yahya Ahmed Mohsen, Revathi A P Gopal, Ruzy Suliza Hashim World Journal of English Language, 2024 Eco-culturalism, as a literary approach, is a growing field that examines the interconnectedness of culture and the environment. It underscores the symbiotic relationship between humans and the natural world, emphasizing the profound impact of ecological concerns on cultural practices, values, and narratives. This literary approach seeks to address critical environmental issues through storytelling, infusing literature with ecological awareness and promoting sustainable practices. Analyzing eco-culturalism in Tan Twan Eng’s narrative, including The Gift of Rain, The Garden of Evening Mists and The House of Doors, this article offers profound insights into the dimensions through which eco-culturalism manifests in Tan’s novels, illuminating the symbiotic relationship between culture, ecology and memory. Tan Twan Eng’s novels are exquisite embroidery woven with intricate threads of culture, identity, and the natural world. From ecological values to ecological identity, and finally to ecological memories, these elements serve as both narrative tools and windows into the hearts and minds of his characters. Eco-culturalism is intricately woven into the narrative fabric, evolving across the three novels, further enriching Tan’s narrative, and proving the power of literature in connecting culture and nature. The combination of eco-value and sustainable practice illustrates the deep connection between culture, ecology, memory, and human prosperity, allowing readers to more deeply appreciate Malaysian cultural diversity, especially the valuable exploration of identity, belonging and meaning in a nature-centered multicultural society. arch for meaning in a nature-centered multicultural society.
Catharsis of Migrant Mother and Daughter in Preethi Nair’s Gypsy Masala Abeer Mahmoud Oreiq, Ravichandran Vengadasamy, Ruzy Suliza Hashim 3l Language Linguistics Literature, 2024 Catharsis, a concept originally developed by the renowned Greek philosopher Aristotle in his monumental work Poetics, authored in 335 BCE and still influential in contemporary editions, pertains to the audience's purging of fear and pity. Within a transnational framework, the notion of catharsis among migrant mothers and daughters is imbued with the profound release and healing experienced during their shared journeys and challenges, addressing a notable gap in South Asian women's literature. In this article, we aim to delve into the various manifestations of catharsis experienced by migrant mothers and daughters within a transnational setting. To achieve this goal, a textual analysis of Gypsy Masala by Preethi Nair, a British author of Indian origin, will be undertaken. This novel poignantly captures the arduous migration process and the struggles faced by the migrant mother, Sheila, and her adoptive daughter, Evita, as they move from India to London. By employing an Aristotelian reading lens to interpret Gypsy Masala, this paper will investigate Nair's portrayal of the inner conflicts faced by the female characters in an unfamiliar environment, viewed through the prism of catharsis. Four primary aspects of catharsis depicted in Gypsy Masala include fear-induced catharsis, repression-induced catharsis, hostility-induced catharsis, and agony-induced catharsis, all carefully interwoven into the narratives of the novel's migrant mother and daughter. Keywords: Preethi Nair; Catharsis; migrant mothers; migrant daughters; Diaspora
Exploring Feminist Consciousness Through Music in Eileen Chang’s Postcolonial Narratives Ruikai Yuan, Ravichandran Vengadasamy, Melissa Shamini Perry, Ruzy Suliza Hashim Gema Online Journal of Language Studies, 2024 The characters, stories, and various issues related to female consciousness discussed in literary texts can serve as a conduit for readers to understand the complex of gender, culture, and identity in postcolonial contexts. This article explores how Chinese-American author Eileen Chang portrays the realization of female consciousness in women from post-colonial Hong Kong and Shanghai through music. Drawing upon the theories of Lucy Green and Marcia J. Citron, this study conducts a critical content analysis of two of Chang’s works Aloeswood Incense (1944) and Love in a Fallen City (1943). It examines specific dialogues and discourses related to themes of music, gender, and cultural identity. In this context, the main character Weilong in one story transforms her engagement with music and education, showcasing her journey towards self-realization and empowerment, while the protagonist Liusu in the other narrative is depicted as navigating through societal expectations and personal aspirations, with music playing a significant role in her self-empowerment. The research findings suggest Chang’s works reflect the expectations and limitations of society towards women, while also revealing the crucial role of music in shaping and expressing female identity. This article can serve as a means for readers to learn about how women’s roles and identities in relation to music were shaped and how cultural background can help create similar outcomes.
Spaces of Hope: Third Space Identity in Selected Muslim Chick Lit Siti Hawa Muhamad, Raihanah Mohd Mydin, Ruzy Suliza Hashim Gema Online Journal of Language Studies, 2023 Minority Muslim women living in Western societies have been continuously marginalised in several contexts. One example is their freedom to visibly project their identity as Muslims and practice Islam as their way of life without being misrepresented or misunderstood. Another is the discriminating cultural practices towards them within the community that they belong to. Using two Muslim chick lit novels as case studies and the theme of ‘spaces of hope’ as explored by Phillips et al., this paper sets out to address the abovementioned issues. The methodology adapts and appropriates the third space theory as a lens to examine public and private experiences of the Muslim female characters in the selected Muslim chick lit. The finding indicates that Muslim chick lit creates female characters who carved out physical space to foreground the negotiation of culture and identity within the Western context. In addition, the finding also shows that the hijab functions as a material space allowing the Muslim female characters to move in and out of the public and personal spheres. Finally, the narratives also present a digital space from which the Muslim female characters can create a site of contestation between culture and identity. This digital space also contests the misrepresentations of and negative assumptions about female Muslim characters. As illustrated in the selected chick lit, spaces of hope are evident in three permutations – physical, material and digital. In conclusion, through this research into selected Muslim chick lit, the theme of spaces of hope is seen as a negotiation area of meaning and representation. It empowers the Muslim storytellers to open up spaces for contemplation and reinterpretation of their identity as Muslim women writers. In the process, it establishes the voices and presence of minority Muslim women within Western popular fiction genre.
Roy Scranton's War Porn: An American Postcolonial Narrative of the Iraq War M Ikbal M Alosman, Ruzy Suliza Hashim Gema Online Journal of Language Studies, 2023 This paper examines Roy Scranton’s debut novel, War Porn (2016), and aims to uncover the novel’s approach to the 2003 American war on Iraq and its impact on the lives of Iraqis. It problematizes the representation of the Iraqi people in the context of the American invasion and presence in Iraq after the 2003 war. Postcolonial literature challenges the cultural hegemony imposed by colonial powers by demonstrating the richness, diversity, and vitality of their culture. It illustrates the negative influence of colonialism on the colonized and emphasizes its impact on the people and the land of the colonized. The argument is made through three constructs: “postcolonial voices,” which addresses the diverse Iraqi perspectives on the war as represented in the novel, “colonial repercussions and implications,” which elaborates on the disastrous influence of colonization on the lives of Iraqis, and “postcolonial representations,” which explores the depth and richness of Iraqi culture as exemplified in the novel. The study argues that Scranton’s is a postcolonial novel par excellence, albeit ironically written by an American veteran who participated in the very colonial endeavour he questions in his war narrative. It is one of the few acclaimed American war novels to devote a significant narrative space to recounting the 2003 war from the perspective of major Iraqi characters, reflecting the richness of Iraqi culture and the negative impact of colonialism on Iraq and Iraqis. Keywords: postcolonial literature; war novel; war on Iraq; Roy Scranton; American veterans
Malaysia’s Popular Malay-Muslim TV Fiction and Fan Narratives Bloomsbury Handbook of Muslims and Popular Culture, 2023
Flipping Tropes & Subverting Stereotype Priming in The Hunger Games Trilogy ADZURA ELIER, , M. M. RAIHANAH, RUZY SULIZA HASHIM, , and Jurnal Komunikasi Malaysian Journal of Communication, 2023 This is a review paper on the apparent force of commercial success and social media presence being a key in the changes of female representation in popular culture using The Hunger Games dystopian trilogy’s global commercial success and its impact as case in point. It argues that the trilogy’s commercial success is valuable in helping normalise the flipped gender roles or subverting the stereotypical gender primes. While dystopian literature supposedly features worlds and societies beyond typical real-life rules, many parts of that fictional world will still exhibit traits and beliefs contemporary to its author and resonate with its audience. The normalisation of gender stereotypes can often be seen in characters and social dynamics portrayed repeatedly throughout other forms of media communication. These and other literary works carry within it these stereotypical traits or behaviours a shorthand frame of reference which are called tropes. In this paper, the tropes are viewed through the sociological lens called stereotype priming which is the perpetuation of stereotypes through systemic means targeting certain behaviours, traits or beliefs. This paper looks at instances of tropes exhibiting priming functions within the dystopian world of not just The Hunger Games trilogy and how the commercial success of the empowered female has paved the way for more positive female representation in popular media culture since then. This lens has been expanded to take into account how The Hunger Games trilogy continues to have relevance post-pandemic regarding issues that current facts have brought dangerously close to dystopian fiction. Keywords: Dystopian narrative, gender, popular media, popular culture, stereotypes.
MALAYSIA RESPONDING TO DOMESTIC VIOLENCE: A Corpus-Assisted Discourse Analysis Mohd Muzhafar Idrus, Habibah Ismail, Bahiyah Dato Haji Abd Hamid, Ruzy Suliza Hashim International Responses to Gendered Based Domestic Violence Gender Specific and Socio Cultural Approaches, 2023 Through select Malaysian official and nonofficial accounts, specifically, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), this chapter demonstrates how domestic violence is addressed. By using corpus-assisted discourse analysis, investigations into word collocations highlight that domestic violence is commonly equated with descriptions, representations, and recommendations. Words and themes, individually or collectively, are used to identify the detailed devices that demonstrate how victims, abusers, and the consequences of abusive relationships are depicted in the legal, social, and political sense. First, official and nonofficial accounts demonstrating Malaysian family and community social order are presented. Second, the specific approach to corpus-assisted discourse analysis is presented to show the specific steps to capture the dominance of particular words and collocations associated with domestic abuse. Finally, implications are presented as the outcome of the article. Specifically, how this chapter overlaps with (1) the COVID-19 pandemic, (2) Diana Peterson and Julie Schroeder’s work on Domestic Violence in International Context, and (3) the American Psychological Association (APA) guidelines, Mental Health and Our Changing Climate: Impacts, implications, and guidance are presented as they unsettle the harsh and chaotic conditions governing the individuals involving in domestic violence.
COVID-19 insights and linguistic methods Kim Hua Tan, Hazita Azman, Imran Ho Abdullah, Ruzy Suliza Hashim, Hajar Abdul Rahim, Mohd Muzhafar Idrus, Nur Ehsan Mohd Said, Robert Lew, Iztok Kosem 3l Language Linguistics Literature, 2020
Circuit learning - Teacher’s and student’s reactions to an innovative approach in language teaching Journal of Institutional Research South East Asia, 2014
Minority within: 2nd generation young adult Muslim Australian in Ten Things I Hate About Me 3l Language Linguistics Literature, 2013
Interpretations of history in early twenty-first century Arabic fiction: A critical analysis of Al-Saqqaf's Qissat Irhabi Pertanika Journal of Social Science and Humanities, 2013
Ophelia transformed: Revisioning Shakespeare's Hamlet Gema Online Journal of Language Studies, 2013
Critical pedagogy of a post-9/11 Muslim memoir Esmaeil Zeiny Jelodar, Noraini Md. Yusof, Ruzy Suliza Hashim, Raihanah M.M International Journal of Applied Linguistics and English Literature, 2013
Revisionings of hamlet the crux of an interpretive paradigm 3l Language Linguistics Literature, 2012
