South Asian 124: Modern Indian Literature

South Asian 124: Modern Indian Literature

This course aims to introduce the vernacular and the Anglophone literary landscapes of South Asia by providing an overview of the role and growth of modern literatures in India. This course examines the different socio-cultural, political and historical contexts in the production and reception of literature by Indian writers residing within India and in other diasporic spaces. By looking at literary texts written in English and available in translation, we will explore the use of literary diction, language and genre and its interactions with ideas of social class, caste, gender, globalization and the evolution of new reading publics. Seminar participants are not expected to have prior knowledge of South Asian literature or a prior training in South Asian languages and its cultures but will be expected to do a fair amount of course reading and independent research to orient themselves to current events in South Asian politics, society and culture. References to resources are provided in the syllabus and will be updated over the semester. Course objectives: In this course, we will: Gain an overview of modern Indian literature and its primary modes of theorization Understand different narrative strategies and literary genres of Indian literature Analyze literature as a cultural text, identify its thematic and narrative concerns as well as locating them within Indian society, histories and cultures and consider these texts critically from the perspective of literary studies.