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Title
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The South Asian diaspora in the Caribbean: migration, nationalism, and exodus in the contemporary Indo-Guyanese literature.
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Creator
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Budhu, Savena., Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, Department of English
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Abstract/Description
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This dissertation proposes a two-part thesis on the South Asian diaspora in the Caribbean within contemporary Indo-Guyanese literature. First, Indo-Guyanese writers such as David Dabydeen, Oonya Kempadoo, and Narmala Shewcharan are using the genre of historical fiction to posit counter narratives that undermine dominant narratives of South Asian culture and gender roles. Second, even as these writers struggle against dominant narratives, their texts reinscribe the colonial discourse and...
Show moreThis dissertation proposes a two-part thesis on the South Asian diaspora in the Caribbean within contemporary Indo-Guyanese literature. First, Indo-Guyanese writers such as David Dabydeen, Oonya Kempadoo, and Narmala Shewcharan are using the genre of historical fiction to posit counter narratives that undermine dominant narratives of South Asian culture and gender roles. Second, even as these writers struggle against dominant narratives, their texts reinscribe the colonial discourse and rearticulate racial stereotypes. As argued in this dissertation, the dismal historical realities of ethnic tensions and failed anti-colonial tactics do not sufficiently address the flexible strategies often chosen by the characters and authors to navigate through racial and political convolution. By analyzing works by Indo-Guyanese, I attempt to open a conversation about race, place, and politics, offering some external viewpoints and revealing some important insights into the problems and contradict ions in Guyana. The value of these works is the calling for a connection to history as both a positive example (texts that show gaps in which characters can negotiate social borders) and a negative model (works that amplify racial tension and dismiss the divide and conquer strategy of the colonizer). This twofold thesis develops along three crucial historical periods - the dislocation from India and the heavy burden of indentured labor in British Guiana (1838-1917), ethnic victimization during post-independence (1970), and the subsequent flight to the First World (1980-1990): migration, nationalism, and exodus., Chapter 1 reveals the challenges of indentured labor through East Indian and African characters that disrupts racial and gender borders in David Dabydeen's The Counting House. Chapter 2 exposes the racial tensions following independence as the newly formed government creates an atmosphere of distrust in Oonya Kempadoo's and Narmala Shewcharan's debut novels. Chap suggests the ramifications of exodus as Guyanese reconfigure their identity in a new location in David Dabydeen's narratives. This body of work by Indo-Guyanese plays upon the complex web of historical, political, and racial constructs that coexist simultaneously as authors acknowledge the limits and potential of their colonized history, of nationalist movements, and the rebuilding that is left in its wake.
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Date Issued
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2010
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PURL
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http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/2953200
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Subject Headings
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Criticism and interpretation, South Asian diaspora in literature, Emigration and immigration in literature, Colonies in literature
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Format
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Document (PDF)
