Teaching with the Works of Amitav Ghosh

Session Submission Type: Organized Panel

Abstract

As a former student of history and sociology, with a Ph.D. in anthropology, Amitav Ghosh deploys his academic training to write works of fiction and non-fiction that document the lives of individuals caught up in the transnational flows of early globalization, and colonial and post-colonial periods.

This panel of scholars of the history, literature, and material culture of South Asia, Southeast Asia, China and the oceans that connect them, seeks to engage in a discussion of Amitav Ghosh’s works and how they might be used to bring a deeper awareness to students of the impacts of the various dimensions of colonialism, imperialism, nationalism, and early globalization on individual lives.

In addition to Ghosh’s recently completed Ibis Trilogy (Sea of Poppies, River of Smoke, and Flood of Fire), there will also be discussion of his earlier work (Glass Palace, In an Antique Land, and Shadow Lines). Some of the topics that will be addressed include: the use of Ghosh’s work to develop “a more fluid regional history” taught in Southeast Asia; the importance of insights into subaltern lives through the use of a wide range of sources and literary genres; the use of literary texts to enable students to understand complex and traumatic historical processes involved in South Asia’s colonization, partition histories, border disputes and diaspora memories; and, the use of Ghosh’s work to shed light on the crucial processes of the World System.

Presentations will be kept short to ensure ample time for discussion with the audience.

Area of Study

• Interarea-Border Crossing

Session Organizer

• Jacqueline Jackie Armijo, Qatar University

Chair

• Jacqueline Jackie Armijo, Qatar University

Individual Presentations

• Subaltern Crossings: Amitav Ghosh’s In an Antique Land - Sebastian Prange, University of British Columbia

• Shadow Lines: A Continuum between Colonial and Post-Colonial India - Shruti Mukherjee, SUNY-Stony Brook

• Connections, Contacts, and Communities: Teaching Colonial/Postcolonial Southeast Asian History through Amitav Ghosh’s Glass Palace - Maitrii Aung-Thwin, National University of Singapore

Discussant

• Jyoti Grewal, Zayed University