In this class, we will read significant works of literature by writers of the South Asian diaspora in Britain and the United States as well as critical essays on diaspora as a critical framework. We will also watch several films. We will explore questions of identity (national, racial, religious, gender), language, and culture; displacement and belonging; domesticity, nationalism, and transnationalism. In addition, we will examine the meanings of diaspora and analyse its possibilities and problems as a discursive and critical tool.
Required texts for the class may include The Buddha of Suburbia (Hanif Kureishi), Brick Lane (Monica Ali), and Unaccustomed Earth (Jhumpa Lahiri). Films may include Bend It Like Beckham (dir. Gurinder Chadha), My Beautiful Laundrette (dir. Stephen Frears), and East is East (dir. Damien O’Donnell).
Class requirements will include vigorous class participation; Laulima posts and discussions; two shorter papers; and one longer paper.