HL222: South Asian Literature
Over the last few decades, South Asian literature in English
has achieved a global prominence that is unique among postcolonial literatures.
In this module we will be tracing the historical development of South Asian
writing from the colonial period to the present-day – exploring, among other
things, the impact of British colonial policy on its formation, the ongoing
debate surrounding its use of an ‘imperial’ language, and the reasons behind
its phenomenal popularity. We will also be discussing some of the social and
political issues with which this literature engages, whether it be the caste
system, communal violence, or the vagaries of the postcolonial nation-state.
Although literature will be our primary focus, the module will include an
analysis of the Bollywood film Lagaan,
and will introduce students to a number of important theoretical concepts in
the field of postcolonial studies.
Core Texts
FICTION
Mulk Raj Anand, Untouchable (Penguin Classics)
Amitav Ghosh, In an Antique Land (Vintage 1994)
Saadat Hasan Manto, Selected
Stories (Available on EdveNTUre)
Arundhati Roy, The God of Small Things (Flamingo 1997)
Salman Rushdie, Midnight’s Children (Vintage 1995)
FILM
Lagaan
(dir. Ashutosh Gowariker; 2001)
Secondary Sources
Vinayak Chaturvedi (ed.), Mapping Subaltern Studies and the
Postcolonial
Ayesha Jalal and Sugata
Bose, Modern South Asia: History,
Culture, Political Economy
Arvind Krishna Mehrotra
(ed.), A History of Indian Literature in
English
Class participation 10%
Coursework essay 40%
Examination 50%
Lecturer
Dr. Bede Scott
S3.2–B4–08
67906714
|
Week |
Topics |
Readings |
|
1 17 Aug |
Introduction |
|
|
2 24 Aug |
Caste and Class I |
Mulk Raj Anand, Untouchable |
|
3 31 Aug |
Caste and Class II |
Mulk Raj Anand, Untouchable |
|
4 7 Sept |
Communal Violence and Partition |
Saadat Hasan Manto, ‘Cold Meat,’ ‘Open It,’ ‘Toba
Tek Singh’ |
|
5 14 Sept |
History and the Nation-State I |
Salman Rushdie, Midnight’s
Children |
|
6 21 Sept |
History and the Nation-State II |
Salman Rushdie, Midnight’s
Children |
|
7 |
Recess |
|
|
8 5 Oct |
Diasporic Histories I |
Amitav Ghosh, In
an Antique Land |
|
9 12 Oct |
Diasporic Histories II |
Amitav Ghosh, In
an Antique Land |
|
10 19 Oct |
Bollywood, Cricket and the Nation |
FILM: Lagaan |
|
11 26 Oct |
Gender and Transgression I |
Arundhati Roy, The
God of Small Things |
|
12 2 Nov |
Gender and Transgression II |
Arundhati Roy, The
God of Small Things |
|
13 9 Nov |
Conclusion/Revision |
|