Date: Thu, 19 Aug 1999 07:56:24 +1000
Subject: Re: a query


hello palakeel,

(a) i heard the word from a friend of mine over a phone call to/from
pakistan. he called me a "cognitariat" when i was working as a research
assistant in the university. i had never heard of the word before while my
friend in pakistan took my knowledge of the word for granted because i was
studying in the "enlightened" "first world" academy. when i asked him about
the meanings of the term, he thought i was playing naive. then, he told me
that the word was being used in some cultural analyses in pakistani
newspapers to show the complexities and porousness of class divisions and
the roles they are assigned. then i ran a search on altavista.com for the
word "cognitariat" and found about 30 documents. i could not find any
document talking about the origin of the word. there were some references
to Arthur Kroker but nothing specific was mentioned. so i asked the
question to this list.

(b) yes, i can speak urdu and punjabi. "udas" means, among other things,
sad/sombre/meloncholy/unconsoled/suffering from
Weltschmerz/pessimistic/depressed etc....  it is an adjective and the
meanings/connotations change accoring to the noun following it.

and "naslein" means "generations/races/species." it is the plural form of
"nasl"

thus, a reductive/literal translation of the phrase would be something like
"unconsoled/woeful generations." i have read another novel of abdulla
hussein called "bhagh" but not "udaas naslein". urdu books are not easily
available in canberra. 

if you want to read something that has captured pakistani university
students' attention then read Bano Qudsia's "Raja Gidh" (Vulture the Prince).

saeed urrehman
australian national university


At 11:46  1999-08-17 -0500, you wrote:
>
>
>
>Hello saeed urrehman,
>
>Where did you find the term "cognitariat"?
>
>By the way, I suspect you'd know Urdu and I would appreciate if you
>can tell me what "udas naslein" means. This is the title of a novel
>by Abdullah Hussein.
>
>
>Thomas Palakeel
>
>
>
>
>> dear list members,
>>
>> could anyone please inform me about the origins of the word "cognitariat"
>> for meaning "the thinking proletariat" or something like the person who
>> sells his mental labour instead of physical labour?
>>
>> saeed urrehman
>> australian national university
>>
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>
>
>     --- from list postcolonial-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu ---
>
>


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