Asian Research Thesis Index

Abstract

This study explores Kamila Shamsie’s fiction as a site of postcolonial diaspora writing. Diaspora is a significant concern in postcolonial theory. Most of the research done in Diaspora Studies in general and Postcolonial Diaspora Studies in particular is related to history, economics, political science, sociology, anthropology, and psychology. Shamsie’s fiction brings to light her diasporic consciousness which is based upon her own status as a member of modern transnational diaspora. It is a presentation of a variety of diaspora characters. Also, the impact of major historical events like World War II, colonization and decolonization of India, Fall of Dhaka, Russian Invasion of Afghanistan, resultant Holy War, 9/11 and War on Terror is integral to her work and to the characters portrayed in it. The present study establishes these dimensions in her work along with an unearthing of how the power structures and the power practices designed to perpetuate hegemony of some people on others influence individuals and compel people to leave their familiar world. Simultaneously, it ascertains the identity issues created by displacement in both cases of voluntary migration or forced expulsion/exile. In her work, Shamsie also presents the hybridity and the loss of pure cultural identity created as a consequence of colonization and educational hegemony of the West. It is a qualitative research where interpretive framework of Critical Discourse Analysis (Fairclough, 2003) has been applied to the study of three novels, namely: Salt and Saffron (2000), Kartography (2002) and Burnt Shadows (2009). A text emerges from its interaction with context and prevailing social conditions. The objective of CDA is to perceive language use as a social practice. Therefore, interdiscursivity and situatedness of a text are two important factors analyzed in this work. It explores the relationships among language, ideology and power. Fairclough suggests three stages of CDA which are: Description, Interpretation and Explanation, thus the design of the study. Whereas, the theoretical framework of postcolonial diaspora theory by Edward Said (1978, 1991, 1999) along with Ashcroft et al.’s concepts of place and displacement have been chosen to substantiate alienation and sense of being out of place in diaspora subjects.

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