Literary Sentiments in the Vernacular: Gender and Genre in Modern South Asia

This collection of essays explores the connections between print culture, linguistic identities, and diverse vernacular literary spaces in colonial and post-colonial South Asia. The accompanying translations highlight the challenges of rendering vernacular articulations of gendered experience in English, while expanding access to the vernacular archive. The essays and translations foreground complex and politicized expressions of gender and genre in fictional and non-fictional print materials, connecting the vernacular to literature, the everyday, and the margins.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 222 pages
Publication date: 29 January 2024
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

This collection brings together a remarkable array of nine essays, accompanied by nine concise translations, which challenge and redefine the traditional frameworks of literary history, expanding their temporal and spatial boundaries. Rooted in the humanities and informed by interdisciplinary area studies, these essays delve into the intricate connections between various forms of print culture, linguistic identities, and diverse vernacular literary spaces in colonial and post-colonial South Asia. The accompanying translations, rendered from Bengali, Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, and Urdu, not only enrich these scholarly explorations but also invite readers to appreciate the arduous and intimate labor involved in expanding access to the vernacular archive. Moreover, they engage with the complexities and challenges of translating vernacular expressions of gendered experience and embodiment into English, thereby fostering a deeper understanding of the multifaceted nature of gender and genre in fictional and non-fictional print materials. Collectively, these essays and translations highlight complex and politicized expressions of gender and genre in a wide range of fictional and non-fictional print materials, establishing meaningful connections between the vernacular and literature, the everyday and the marginalized, and gender and sentiment. They not only expand the vernacular literary archives, canons, and genealogies but also compel us to theorize the nature of writing in South Asia.

Literary Sentiments in the Vernacular is a groundbreaking addition to South Asian literary history and gender studies, offering invaluable insights to academics, researchers, and advanced students across a wide range of disciplines. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies, showcasing the depth and richness of the scholarship in this field.

In conclusion, Literary Sentiments in the Vernacular is a must-read for anyone interested in exploring the complexities of gender, genre, and the vernacular in South Asian literature and culture. It provides a rich and multifaceted perspective on the past and present, challenging our assumptions and inspiring new ways of understanding the world.

Weight: 453g
Dimension: 246 x 174 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781032067261