Teaching South Asian Anglophone Diasporic Literature

Essays on teaching anglophone literature of the South Asian diaspora from around the world

Migration from the Indian subcontinent began on a large scale over 150 years ago, and today there are diasporic communities around the world. The identities of South Asians in the diaspora are informed by roots in the subcontinent and the complex experiences of race, religion, nation, class, caste, gender, sexuality, language, trauma, and geography. The literature that arises from these roots and experiences is diverse, powerful, and urgent.

Teaching South Asian Anglophone Diasporic Literature embraces an intersectionality that attends to the historical and material conditions of cultural production, the institutional contexts of pedagogy, and the subject positions of teachers and students. Encouraging a deep engagement with works whose personal, political, and cultural insights are specific to South Asian diasporic consciousness, the volume also provokes meaningful reflection on other literatures in an age of increasing migration and diaspora.

This book also contains discussion of the following authors and works: Monica Ali, Brick Lane; Nadeem Aslam, The Wasted Vigil; Bhira Backhaus, Under the Lemon Trees; Gaiutra Bahadur, Coolie Woman: The Odyssey of Indenture; Sharon Bala, The Boat People; Ramabai Espinet, The Swinging Bridge; Amitav Ghosh, In an Antique Land and The Great Derangement; Mohsin Hamid, Exit West and The Reluctant Fundamentalist; Meena Kandasamy, When I Hit You; Rupi Kaur, Home Body; Jhumpa Lahiri, A Temporary Matter and Unaccustomed Earth; Deepa Mehta, Earth; Johny Miranda, Jeevichirikkunnavarkku Vendiyulla Oppees: Requiem for the Living; Shani Mootoo, Cereus Blooms at Night; Bharati Mukherjee, Jasmine; V. S. Naipaul, A House for Mr. Biswas; Michael Ondaatje, Anil's Ghost; Salman Rushdie, Midnight's Children; Sunjeev Sahota, The Year of the Runaways; Sara Suleri, Meatless Days; Shyam Selvadurai, Funny Boy; Ryhaan Shah, A Silent Life; Narmala Shewcharan, Tomorrow Is Another Day; Bapsi Sidhwa, Cracking India; Manjushree Thapa, Seasons of Flight; M. G. Vassanji, The In-Between World of Vikram Lall.