Re-orientalism and Indian Writing in English

This book examines the developing roles and practices of re-Orientalism in contemporary Indian writing in English. Re-Orientalism theory has grown exponentially in the 21st century, and developed a discourse of its own, as well as novel, strategic processes and practices. It takes a leaf out of Orientalism as practiced by the West, but builds upon Orientalist frameworks and narrative devices. This study focuses on different and novel forms of re-Orientalism strategies currently being deployed in social realism fiction, such as the increasing use of unreliable narrator, reverse Orientalism, and the role of whimsy, as well as re-Orientalism in the depiction of urban India. This book also looks at the commodification enabled by re-Orientalism within the publishing industry, in India and in the West, and how the deployment of such impacts upon the representation and understanding of contemporary Indian identity, culture, and literature.

Lisa Lau is a Lecturer at Keele University, specializing in postcolonial theory and literature, South Asian writing in English, and gender studies. Her publications focus on diasporic South Asian literature, New Indian Women, and issues of power, class, representation and domesticity. She developed re-Orientalism theory, and in 2011 co-authored Re-Orientalism and South Asian Identity Politics: The Oriental Other Within.

Om Prakash Dwivedi is Assistant Professor in English at Taiz University, Yemen. His areas of research include postcolonial theory and literature, Indian writing in English, and interdisciplinary studies. His recent publications include Postcolonial Theory in the Global Age (co-ed. with Martin Kich, 2013), a collection of short stories, The World to Come (2014), and Tracing the New Indian Diaspora (2014).

Acknowledgements

List of abbreviations

1. Introducing Re-Orientalism Theory and Discourse in Indian Writing in English (IWE)

2. The Re-orientalising Strategy of the Unreliable Narrator

3. Reverse Orientalism and Whimsy

4. Urban India Re-Orientalised

5. Commodification and Re-Orientalism

Conclusion