Issue Details: First known date: 2022... 2022 “Do Not Shoot, I’m a B–b–British Object!” : Reading David Malouf in Indian Universities
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'Since 2009, Australian author David Malouf’s texts have been included and then excluded from key courses in Indian universities. Malouf’s place in the curriculum (particularly that of An Imaginary Life [1978]) relates to pedagogical and intellectual negotiations with postcolonial theory – especially debates about the inclusion of white settler literatures. It also should be seen in the context of the country’s emergent (hyper)nationalist political imagination. Referring to the influential course “New Literatures in English” offered by University of Delhi’s English department, this article argues that the selection of Malouf texts by Indian English departments indicates not only ongoing debates in postcolonial thought, but also a preference for postcolonial texts that can be read through essentializing lenses. It proposes Malouf’s later novel Remembering Babylon (1993) as a productive text through which to discuss the limitations of using deterministic cultural markers in the creation of a postcolonial Indian imaginary.' (Publication abstract)

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon Journal of Postcolonial Writing International Perspectives on Australian Literature vol. 58 no. 1 Jean-François Vernay (editor), 2022 24632721 2022 periodical issue 'This Special Issue showcases stimulating recent writing about Australian literature by scholars whose background (or foreground) lies outside Australia itself. As well having intrinsic interest, these studies draw attention to the state of Australian studies throughout the world, Australian writers’ reception overseas, their impact upon world literature and, and the insights that derive from the critics’ “offshore” positionality. One important feature of the discussion of Australian literature in academic research, articles, and books has been to propel this body of work beyond its national borders and give it international exposure. This Special Issue gives a voice to scholars based around the world and from several different backgrounds – the UK, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, India, China, Japan, and the USA – as well as from Australia itself. Researchers outside Australia were invited to contribute to this volume in terms of the following topics: the state of Australian literary studies in their countries; the globalization of Australian fiction and the effect, if any, of supportive Australian programmes which buttress that process; the translation and reception of Australian literary texts; the extent to which offshore local publishing participates in the dissemination of Australian literature; and the teaching of Australian fiction abroad. The nine articles included here achieve a degree of representativeness in that they range from reception studies of Australian literature in various overseas locations (Vernay, Kačer, Daozhi, Machosky) to readings of Australian fiction by international scholars (Pandey and Parui, Huggan, and Čerče), and instances where texts do not sit comfortably at the intersection of cultures (Shek-Noble).' 

    (Jean-François Vernay International perspectives on Australian literature : Introduction)

    2022
    pg. 80-94
Last amended 2 Jun 2022 13:40:28
80-94 “Do Not Shoot, I’m a B–b–British Object!” : Reading David Malouf in Indian Universitiessmall AustLit logo Journal of Postcolonial Writing
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