Politics of the female body : postcolonial women writers of the Third World / Ketu H. Katrak.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Katrak, Ketu H.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Commonwealth literature (English)--Women authors--History and criticism.

Commonwealth literature (English).

Women--Commonwealth countries--Intellectual life.

Women.

Women--Developing countries--Intellectual life.

Feminism and literature--Commonwealth countries.

Feminism and literature.

Feminism and literature--Developing countries.

Women and literature--Commonwealth countries.

Women and literature.

Women and literature--Developing countries.

Postcolonialism in literature.

Human body in literature.

Women in literature.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (326 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Piscataway, N.J. ; London : Rutgers University Press, 2006.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Is it possible to simultaneously belong to and be exiled from a community? In Politics of the Female Body, Ketu H. Katrak argues that it is not only possible, but common, especially for women who have been subjects of colonial empires. Through her careful analysis of postcolonial literary texts, Katrak uncovers the ways that the female body becomes a site of both oppression and resistance. She examines writers working in the English language, including Anita Desai from India, Ama Ata Aidoo from Ghana, and Merle Hodge from Trinidad, among others. The writers share colonial histories, a sense of solidarity, and resistance strategies in the on-going struggles of decolonization that center on the body. Bringing together a rich selection of primary texts, Katrak examines published novels, poems, stories, and essays, as well as activist materials, oral histories, and pamphlets—forms that push against the boundaries of what is considered strictly literary. In these varied materials, she reveals common political and feminist alliances across geographic boundaries. A unique comparative look at women’s literary work and its relationship to the body in third world societies, this text will be of interest to literary scholars and to those working in the fields of postcolonial studies and women’s studies.

Contents:

Front matter

CONTENTS

PREFACE

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

1. Theorizing a Politics of the Female Body: Language and Resistance

2. Indigenous Third World Female Traditions of Resistance: A Recuperation of Herstories

3. English Education Socializing the Female Body: Cultural Alienations within the Parameters of Race, Class, and Color

4. Cultural “Traditions” Exiling the Female Body

5. Motherhood Demystified

Conclusion

Notes

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 251-277) and index.

ISBN:

1-280-94707-1

9786610947072

0-8135-3930-7

OCLC:

744987199