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.