CALL FOR PAPERS

Special Topic Issue of South Asian Review 2007
Topic: "Imagining South Asia"
Deadline: January 30, 2007

The South Asian Review, the refereed journal of the South Asian Literary
Association, is soliciting essays for the 2007 Special Topic issue, volume
28, Number 1, devoted to "Imagining South Asia." It examines the category
of South Asia as a theoretical concept in literary and cultural studies.
"South Asia," an Area Studies term that came into wide usage during the Cold
War, has wide purchase in the social sciences, but is sometimes questioned
in studies of both modern and pre-modern literature and arts of the Indian
subcontinent. Is the Area Studies term obsolete? Is it possible that many
contemporary writers in India have more in common with their postcolonial
peers in Kenya, South Africa or England than with those in Pakistan,
Bangladesh or Sri Lanka? Do postcolonial writers imagine "South Asia" as a
viable construct with the same degree of intellectual focus and creative
energy as applied to particular national contexts? One could argue that the
value of the term "South Asia" seems to be closely tied to diasporic writing
and the recent spurt in such cultural artifacts as movies that have achieved
success around the world in recent years. To what extent might "South Asian
culture" be a product of diasporic consciousness?

Suggested Topics: Some suggested topics (by no means exhaustive) that could
be explored include the issue of India-centrism and the use of "South Asia"
as a tokenizing category; the perspective of writers from South Asia's
smaller countries on the category; the construction of national literary
canons and South Asian Literature, in the subcontinent and/or diaspora; the
history and politics of "South Asia" in literary and cultural studies,
and/or in diasporic lives; the use of "South Asia" in the context of the
Partition, uneven globalization and the "War on Terror;" the challenges and
politics of "Imagining India" vs. "Imagining South Asia."

Submissions and inquiries: Critical articles of 15-25 pages, based on
representative literary works and prepared in accordance with the MLA style,
must be received by January 30, 2007. An article accompanied by an abstract
of 8-10 lines and a biographical note of 50 words can be transmitted
electronically. Early inquiries are encouraged.

All correspondence pertaining to the Special Topic issue should be addressed
to the Guest Co-editors:

Amardeep Singh, Department of English, Lehigh University, 35 Sayre Dr.,
Bethlehem, PA 18015, email (amardeep_at_gmail.com)

Kavita Daiya, Department of English, George Washington University, 801 22nd
St. NW, Room 760, Washington DC 20052, email: (kdaiya_at_gmail.com), Tel:
202-994-6637.

More information on South Asian Review can be found here:
http://www.upj.pitt.edu/internet/Templates/Inner.aspx?pid=1950

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Received on Fri Oct 06 2006 - 15:59:04 EDT