BritishAsian Literature

This course will examine some of the narratives that dominate the field of British-Asian fiction. It will look at how writers negotiate their location within and between different social formations. Where relevant, it will explore the existential and social/familial dilemmas addressed by the writing (e.g. absorptionism versus enclavism, inter-generational conflict). How minority cultural production unsettles an assumed homology between race, culture and nation will be examined, as well as the sense in which British-Asian writing widens the cultural and semantic parameters of Britishness. Links with postcolonial studies and globalisation studies will be made where appropriate.