Winter 2024: Radical Fictions: Literary Modernisms in South Asia
How did literary modernisms develop in South Asia between the 1930s and the 1950s? How did modernist writing engage with questions of language, politics, aesthetics, and the world? This course covers the development of literary modernisms in South Asia, with focus on two traditions (originally in Hindi and Urdu; all works in English translation). This course is ideal for students looking to improve their understanding of theories of world literature, Soviet internationalism, politically-committed modernisms, and non-Anglophone modernisms. We will survey recent theories of world literature and their critiques, study the idea of Soviet literary internationalism as another possible model, and then read primary and secondary texts on South Asian modernisms, as related to the Progressive Writers’ Association (est. 1936) and the Hindi “New Story” movement.
This course is open to all graduate students interested in modernisms, world literature, literary internationalism, leftist writing, and realisms. No experience with South Asia is necessary, and all works will be read in English translation. Cross-listed with ENGL 540.