Rethinking English

This collection of essays by academics, most of whom teach English in Indian universities, explores the problem' of English studies in India. Diverse in approach, the essays emphasize the need to situate the problem within a broader discussion of the historical processes that constitute cultural formation in a colonial and post-colonial society.

This book suggests that English teaching has something both to reclaim and renew.

Japanese Studies has provided a fertile space for non-Eurocentric analysis for a number of reasons. It has been embroiled in the long-running internal debate over the so-called Nihonjinron, revolving around the extent to which the effective interpretation of Japanese society and culture requires non-Western, Japan-specific emic concepts and theories. This book takes this question further and explores how we can understand Japanese society and culture by combining Euro-American concepts and theories with those that originate in Japan. Because Japan is the only liberal democracy to have achieved a high level of capitalism outside the Western cultural framework, Japanese Studies has long provided a forum for deliberations about the extent to which the Western conception of modernity is universally applicable. Furthermore, because of Japan’s military, economic and cultural dominance in Asia at different points in the last century, Japanese Studies has had to deal with the issues of Japanocentrism as well as Eurocentrism, a duality requiring complex and nuanced analysis. This book identifies variations amongst Japanese Studies academic communities in the Asia-Pacific and examines the extent to which relatively autonomous scholarship, intellectual approach or theories exist in the region. It also evaluates how studies on Japan in the region contribute to global Japanese Studies and explores their potential for formulating concrete strategies to unsettle Eurocentric dominance of the discipline.

This Volume Of Essays Examines Some Of The Important Issues In Indian English Literature Emerging Both From Its Search For A New Sense Of Identity And Its Affiliation To A Global Perspective In The Wake Of Post Colonialism. The Essays Comprising This Volume Address Topics Such As Nation And Nationalism, Hybridization And Assimilation, Problems Of Exile And Migration, The Question Of Location And Boundaries And The Place Of Indian English Literature In The Changing Canon Of English Studies. By Focusing On The Shifting Paradigms Of Indian English Literature As A Part Of The Subtle Transformation Of The Global Configurations Of English, The Volume Attempts To Place The Genre Of This Writing Within A Broad Range Of Issues Stemming From The Peculiar And Problematic Role Of English As A Creative Medium Deployed In Various Ways In The Countries Which Were Once A Part Of The British Empire. For Illustrative Diagnostic Purposes Some Important Writers Like Salman Rushdie, Amitav Ghosh, Attia Hosain, Vikram Seth, Arundhati Roy Are Included In This Volume. But The Overall Focus Of This Volume Is Not On The Individual Writers Or Texts And Their Close Readings, But On Conceptual And Ideological Formations Of The Genre Of Indian English Literature And The Way It Has Entered The Canon Of English Studies In India Both In Its Contestatory And Collaborative Modes.

Why should young people study a subject called English? This question lies at the heart of this fascinating monograph, which brings together the diverse perspectives of many leading thinkers about English and literacy education. This meticulously researched and well-written collection takes as its starting point the importance of the history of the subject in the formation of its constitution and its boundaries. First and foremost, it proposes that questions of aims and values have informed these choices. Equally, it suggests that returning to these educational questions helps us to understand curriculum and pedagogy in complex ways that a simple focus on content and methods neglects. Curriculum and pedagogy bring learners, teachers, institutions and the wider society into the debate.