Author Description
This book deals with the interface between identity, culture and literature. It aims at studying questions of cultural identity and gender in Hindi plays of the 19th- and 20th- centuries and the interplay of poetics and politics, as revealed in the work of several influential playwrights. The book explores questions related to the ways in which seven representative playwrights imagine India and its identity and the ways, in which this concept is revealed in the "narratives of the nation", its postcolonial contentions and the politics of identity, as revealed in the production of various cultural discourses. The chapters explore various aspects of the ongoing process of constructing and narrating culture, gender, the nation and identity. There has been no monograph on the questions of cultural identity in Hindi drama. This is a pioneering project and a desideratum in the field of Hindi literature, South Asian Studies, and broadly, in the study of theatre of India and of South Asian cultures and literatures.
Menrva's Summary
THE THESIS
This book investigates how Hindi playwrights from the 19th and 20th centuries construct and negotiate concepts of cultural identity, gender, and national belonging within their dramatic works. Diana Dimitrova, a scholar specializing in South Asian literature and culture, utilizes a comparative analysis of seven representative playwrights to examine the intersection of poetics and politics. The work provides a framework for understanding how theatrical narratives function as sites for postcolonial contention and the formation of cultural discourse in India.
THE SCOPE MAP
What You Will Find
- Analysis of seven representative Hindi playwrights from the 19th and 20th centuries
- Examination of the interplay between gender roles and national identity
- Theoretical exploration of postcolonial discourse within Indian theatre
- Investigation into the construction of cultural narratives in dramatic literature
Scope Limits
- The study is limited to Hindi-language drama and does not cover regional theatre traditions outside this linguistic scope
- The analysis focuses primarily on the selected seven playwrights rather than an exhaustive survey of all Hindi dramatic production
THE AUTHORITY PERSPECTIVE
Scholars and students of South Asian studies recognize this work as a foundational monograph that fills a significant gap in the academic literature regarding Hindi drama. Experts highlight the text for its rigorous application of postcolonial theory to theatrical texts, making it a primary resource for those researching the intersection of politics and performance in India.
Page Count:
200
Publication Date:
2023-05-01
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
ISBN-10:
019286906X
ISBN-13:
9780192869067
Gender Studies
Drama Studies
Hindi
Asian Studies
Literary Criticism