Date: Sun, 07 Apr 1996 14:06:00 -0400 (EDT) From: BINA MITTAL <bmittal-AT-TrentU.ca> Subject: Re: a quick qs re. Himani Banerji Hello, I'm not sure if you are still searching for the year of Bannerji's birth. It is 1942, Bangladesh. Though she was educated in Calcutta and came to Canada in 1969. The story you mentioned written in Fireweed #30 and reprinted in _Pens of Many Colours_ is an excellent entry point into discussing the transmutation of language and relationship to ancestral roots carried forth into the experience of the "immigrant." However, I wonder how this is internalized into the "second" generation, those whose lives are less affected by "myths" and symbols. Or rather, the "myths and symbols" are constructed by North American and European Christian "white" ideals. How does that tension change and manifest itself in the construction of a non-white identity? My inquiry on seminar-13 some time ago is still my inquiry today. My thesis has not progress very far since then. In fact I am thinking about making a few changes... Maybe someone out there can shed some thoughts on "acculturation" and how different South Asian _women_ writers express this in their work. I am looking specifically at Canadian writers, not Bharati Mukherjee. :-) I know some people have a real problem with the word "acculturation," which is fine! Any insight into why or why not? I am curious about the ways in which people experience acculturation as expressed through their writing. Is it "violent" in the way that Bannerji speaks of or a process of integration and assimilation in the way that Uma Parameswaran writes about? (sorry, not a very good sentence construction!) Very interested in people's thoughts on this topic. Sincerely, Bina
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