File spoon-archives/postcolonial.archive/postcolonial_2000/postcolonial.0011, message 29


From: "Reinout van der Horst" <R.van.der.Horst-AT-rodopi.nl>
Subject: SHIFTING CONTINENTS/COLLIDING CULTURES. 
Date: Tue, 7 Nov 2000 08:34:25 +0100


SHIFTING CONTINENTS/COLLIDING CULTURES.

Diaspora Writing of the Indian Subcontinent.
CRANE, Ralph J. & Radhika MOHANRAM (Eds.)
Amsterdam/Atlanta, GA, 2000 XV,262 pp.
Hb: 90-420-1271-4 Hfl. 130 / US$ 55
Pb: 90-420-1261-7 Hfl. 45 / US$ 19

Series:
Cross/Cultures 42




In the wake of the steady expansion and more recent explosion of
Anglo-Indian and Indo-Anglian writing, and following the success of Salman
Rushdie's Midnight's Children, the literature of the Indian diaspora has
become the object of close attention. As a body of literature, it
simultaneously represents an important multicultural perspective within
individual ‘national' literatures (such as those of Canada or Australia) as
well as a more global perspective taking in the phenomena of
transculturalism and diaspora. However, while readers may share an interest
in the writing of the Indian diaspora, they do not always interpret the
notion of ‘Indian diaspora' in the same way. Indeed, there has been much
debate in recent years about the appropriateness of terms such as diaspora
and exile. Should these terms be reserved for the specifically historical
nature of problems encountered in the process of acquiring new nationality
and citizenship, or can they be extended to the writing of literature itself
or used to describe ‘economic' migration arising out of privilege?
As a response to these debates, Shifting Continents/Colliding Cultures
explores the aftermath of British colonialism on the Indian subcontinent and
Sri Lanka, including the resulting diaspora. The essays also examine zones
of intersection between theories of postcolonial writing and models of
diaspora and the nation. Particular lines of investigation include: how
South-Asian identity is negotiated in Western spaces, and its reverse, how
Western identity is negotiated in South-Asian space; reading identity by
privileging history; the role of diasporic women in the (Western) nation;
how diaspora affects the literary canon; and how diaspora is used in the
production of alternative identities in films such as Gurinder Chadha's
Bhaji on the Beach.
Contents: Introduction. Ralph J. CRANE & Radhika MOHANRAM: Constructing the
Diasporic Body. Ralph J. CRANE: “Who ... am ... I?” Displacement and
identity in Leena Dhingra's Amritvela. Chandani LOKUGÉ: “We must laugh at
one another, or die”. Yasmine Gooneratne's A Change of Skies and South-Asian
migrant identities. Satendra NANDAN: Migration, Dispossession, Exile and the
Diasporic Consciousness. The body politic of Fiji. Nilufer E. BHARUCHA:
Imaging the Parsi Diaspora. Narratives on the wings of fire. Susheila NASTA:
Homes Without Walls. South-Asian writing in Britain. Debjani GANGULY:
Transgressing Sacred Visions. Taslima, Rushdie and the Indian subcontinent.
C. VIJAYASREE: Alter-Nativity, Migration, Marginality and Narrative. The
case of Indian women writers settled in the West. Zohreh T. SULLIVAN:
Managing Migrancy. Narratives of exile and diaspora from Aimé Césaire to
Bharati Mukherjee. Susan SPEARY: Shifting Continents/Colliding Cultures.
Spatial odysseys in diaspora writing. Radhika MOHANRAM: Postcoloniality and
the Canon. Bharati Mukherjee's The Holder of the World. R. RAJ RAO: “Because
most people marry their own kind”. A reading of Shyam Selvadurai's Funny
Boy. Jane ROSCOE: From Bombay to Blackpool. The construction of Indian
femininity in Bhaji on the Beach. Isabel SANTAOLALLA: Cinematic Journeys to
Insular England. Horace Ové's Playing Away and Gurinder Chadha's Bhaji on
the Beach. Afterword. Makarand PARANJAPE: What About Those Who Stayed Back
Home? Interrogating the privileging of diasporic writing. Works Cited. Notes
on Contributors.

-----Oorspronkelijk bericht-----
Van: owner-postcolonial-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu
[mailto:owner-postcolonial-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu]Namens Mark Franke
Verzonden: maandag 6 november 2000 21:58
Aan: postcolonial-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu
Onderwerp: postcolonial relations


Dear subscribers,
	I am currently creating and constructing a course to do with the
impact of colonial/postcolonial processes on international affairs.  My
concerns are largely focused on inter-state structures, international law,
nation-building, and international theory.  I am relatively well-read in
postcolonial theory.  And I am quite sensitive to the postcolonial
politics involved in contemporary international affairs.  However, to
date, there has been little writing within international
studies/international relations that takes up postcolonial studies/theory
in any strong way.  So, I have been somewhat challenged in creating the
reading list for the course.  I believe that I have enough material with
which to put on the course in a fine enough fashion.  However, I would be
interested to know if any one else out there has good recommendations for
me.
	I plan to structure the course around the following three texts
from U. of Minnesota Press:
	- Siba N. Grovogui, "Sovereigns, Quasi Sovereigns, and Africans
	- Roxanne L. Doty, "Imperial Encounters"
	- Sankaran Krishna, "Postcolonial Insecurities: India, Sri Lanka,
		and the Question of Naitonhood"
I have found some interesting articles in some of the more progressive
volumes of IR theory.  And I have found very helpful material with respect
to international law from:  Eve Darian-Smith and Peter Fitzpatrick, eds.,
"Laws of the Postcolonial" (U. of Michigan Press).  But, can any of you
recommend further articles or books that would be of interest to read in
this class?
	Please send all replies directly to my personal email address:
<frankem-AT-unbc.ca>.  I am not yet a subscriber to the postcolonial studies
list.
	Thank you very much, Mark Franke.


Dr. Mark F. N. Franke,
International Studies Program,
University of Northern British Columbia,
3333 University Way,
Prince George, B.C.
V2N 4Z9
CANADA
ph.# (250) 960-5701
fax.# (250) 960-5544
email: <frankem-AT-unbc.ca>


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