ABOUT THE COURSE:This course offers the rich and diverse fiction of the Indian diaspora, focusing on themes of migration, identity, cultural hybridity, and belonging. The proposed course explores and scrutinizes the works of authors like Salman Rushdie, V.S Naipaul, Bharati Mukherjee, Vikram Seth, Anita Desai, Kiran Desai, Jhumpa Lahiri, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni and Vikram Chandra. Topics include the historical context of the Indian diaspora, migration, precolonialism,colonialism post-colonialism, transnationalism, and the role of memory in shaping diasporic narratives. It also delves into the nuances of acculturation, deculturation and assimilation along with analyzing the portrayals of generational conflict, gender, and cultural nostalgia. Through lectures, discussions, and critical essays, students will engage with novels, short stories, and literary criticism to understand how diasporic fiction addresses the complexities of life between cultures. This course aims to foster a nuanced appreciation of diasporic literature as a lens for examining global and multicultural identities.INTENDED AUDIENCE: UG, PG Students, PhD Scholars and AcademiciansPREREQUISITES: No. Not any pre-requisite courses are required. Any graduate, postgraduate or scholars enrolled in PhD courses can apply for this course.

Syllabus

Week 1: Introduction to Diaspora, etymology of Diaspora, what is Indian Diaspora
Week 2:Historiography of Indian Diaspora and Key Concepts
Week 3:Theorizing Diaspora (Homi K Bhabha, Edward said, Azaz Ahmad Gayatri C. Spivak, Vijay Mishra, Sudesh Mishra and others)
Week 4:Key terms related to Diaspora (Hybridity, ambivalence, mimicry, orientalism, mapping, third space, transnationalism, displacement, exile, unhomely, etc.)
Week 5:Phases of Indian Diaspora, pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonial phase.
Week 6:Aspects of Indian Diaspora, acculturation, deculturation and assimilation. Rise of Fictions of Indian Diaspora, Key Figures of Indian Diaspora
Week 7:V. S. Naipaul and Salman Rushdie
Week 8:Bharati Mukherjee, Jhumpa Lahiri and Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
Week 9:Bharati Mukherjee, Jhumpa Lahiri and Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
Week 10:Vikram Seth, Vikram Chandra, Raj Kamal Jha
Week 11:Key Concerns of the Indian Diaspora
Week 12:Concluding remarks on Fiction of Indian Diaspora