We will be focusing on autobiographical texts in general, and on a particular type of writing against stigma stemming from India that has only come to the notice of a more general reading public in the past few decades. Written by persons who designate themselves as "Dalits" rather than continue to be called the "untouchables", Dalit autobiographical texts are remarkable examples of self-representation. Instead of leaving it to those located higher up the Hindu caste ladder to 'represent' them, Dalit writers invite us to venture where, just a few years ago, knowledge about the lives of circa 20% of the Indian population lay beyond the ken of the mainstream. Dalit texts very personally address what it means to experience discrimination on account of one's "descent" as a person 'outside/below' the Hindu caste system, while at the same time exploring possible avenues of escape from this stigma.
TEXTS: Any text not otherwise available will be placed in the online seminar materials
Ray, Satyajit. Sadgati (TV film) 1981.
Bama. Karukku. Chennai: Macmillan India, 2000.
Jadhav, Narendra. Untouchables: My Family's Triumphant Escape from India's Caste System. Berkeley: U of California P, 2005.
Limbale, Sharan Kumar. The Outcaste. New Delhi: OUP, 2003.
Pawar, Urmila. The Weave of My Life: A Dalit Woman’s Memoirs. New York: Columbia UP, 2009.
Valmiki, Omprakash. Joothan. Calcutta: Samya, 2003. |
