Citizenship in Dalit and Indigenous Australian Literatures

Citizenship in Dalit and Indigenous Australian Literatures explores the difference in citizenship experienced by Dalits in India and Aboriginals in Australia through literature, highlighting the disparity between discursive and performative citizenship during the Covid-19 pandemic. It raises important questions about the performativity of citizenship and its impact on the dominant sections.

Format: Hardback
Length: 192 pages
Publication date: 06 October 2023
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Citizenship in Dalit and Indigenous Australian Literatures explores the distinct experiences of citizenship among the Dalit communities in India and the Aboriginals in Australia through a critical analysis of select literature by authors from these marginalized groups. By harmonizing the perspectives of these diverse communities, the author establishes a transnational dialogue between the subaltern communities of India and Australia through the literature produced by these groups. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the disparities between the discursive and performative citizenship rights enjoyed by the Dalits and the Aboriginals and their respective dominant communities in their respective countries. The author addresses this issue by conducting a detailed analysis of select Dalit and Australian Aboriginal autobiographies, particularly the works of Dalit autobiographers Baby Kamble and Aravind Malagatti and Australian Aboriginal autobiographers Alice Nannup and Gordon Briscoe. The book utilizes the dominant tropes of individual autobiographies as a backdrop to examine the denial of citizenship, both in its discursive and performative forms, within the framework of equal citizenship. In doing so, the author raises significant and groundbreaking questions: How does the performativity of citizenship become prominent in the literary counter-public through the voices of the Dalits and the Aboriginals? How does this prominence provoke violent retribution from the dominant sections? And does the persistent violation of performative citizenship suggest the ineffectiveness of the performative citizenship status granted to the Dalits and the Aboriginals? Challenging the liberal legacy of political, civil, and social citizenship, this book will be of interest to scholars and students of literature, social justice, and cultural studies.
Citizenship in Dalit and Indigenous Australian Literatures examines the difference in citizenship as experienced by the communities of Dalits in India and Aboriginals in Australia through an analysis of select literature by authors of these marginalised groups. Aligning the voices of two disparate communities, the author creates a transnational dialogue between the subaltern communities of the two countries, India and Australia, through the literature produced by the two communities. The Covid-19 pandemic has made the divide that exists between the performative citizenship rights enjoyed by the Dalits and the aboriginals and the respective dominant communities of their countries more apparent. The author addresses the issue of this disparity between discursive and performative citizenship through a detailed analysis of select Dalit and Australian aboriginal autobiographies, in particular the works by Dalit autobiographers, Baby Kamble and Aravind Malagatti and aboriginal autobiographers Alice Nannup and Gordon Briscoe. The book uses the dominant tropes of the individual autobiographies as a background to unfurl the denial of citizenship, both in the discursive and the performative form, using the parameters of equal citizenship. In doing so, the author also raises important, groundbreaking questions: How is the performativity of citizenship foregrounded by the Dalits and aboriginals in the literary counter-public? How does this foregrounding evoke violent retribution from the dominant sections? And does the continued violation of performative citizenship point to the dysfunctionality of the performative citizenship status accorded to the Dalits and the aboriginals? Questioning the liberal legacy of political, civil, and social citizenship, this book will be of interest to scholars and students of literature, social justice, and cultural studies.

Weight: 520g
Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781032292854