Colonialism, Modernity and Literature : a view from India / Satya P. Mohanty

Includes bibliographies and index

This is an innovative volume of essays situated at the intersection of at least three multi-disciplinary fields: postcolonial and subaltern theory; comparative literary analysis, especially with a South Asian and transnational focus; and the study of ‘alternative’ and ‘indigenous’ modernities. This definitive new work grounds the political insights of postcolonial and subaltern theory in close textual analysis and challenges readers to think in new ways about global modernity and local cultures. Focusing in part on Fakir Mohan Senapati’s ground-breaking late-19th century Oriya novel Chha Mana Atha Guntha (Six Acres and a Third), the volume’s comparative method suggests to readers non-ethnocentric and non-chauvinist ways of studying Indian literature. It de-emphasises regional literary histories, especially the construction of hoary pasts and glorious traditions, to focus instead on cross-regional clusters of historical and cultural meaning. The essays attempt in-depth interpretations instead of merely celebrating authors and their works. They challenge readers to think in new ways about global modernity and local cultures.