English 319 - SOUTH ASIANS/BRITAIN & AMERICA

This seminar compares the literary and cultural consequences of two recent waves of migration of South Asian peoples: post - World War II migrations of ?skilled/unskilled? labor to Britain; and the post - 1965 migrations to North America. Focusing on literature (and some film) that records, reflects on and seeks to intervene in the cultural and psychological effects of such profound shifts, we also read some interdisciplinary materials to investigate causes and consequences of migration and diaspora in their historical, political and economic contexts, with attention to questions of gender, nationhood, globalization, community, identity, religious fundamentalism and assimilation. Writers and filmmakers probably include Salman Rushdie, Hanif Kureishi, Meera Syal, Jhumpa Lahiri, Monica Ali, Kiran Desai, Bharati Mukherjee, Chitra Divakaruni, Deepa Mehta, Mira Nair.

Instructor Permission.