Race and antiracism in black British and British Asian literature / Dave Gunning.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Gunning, Dave.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

English fiction--20th century--History and criticism.

English fiction.

English fiction--21st century--History and criticism.

English fiction--Black authors--History and criticism.

Oriental fiction (English)--History and criticism.

Oriental fiction (English).

Race in literature.

Racism in literature.

Great Britain--Race relations.

Great Britain.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (vii, 196 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Liverpool : Liverpool University Press, 2010.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Race and Antiracism in Black British and British Asian Literature offers the first extended exploration of the cultural impact of the politics of race and antiracism in Britain through focussing on a selection of recent novels by black British and British Asian writers. The study argues that an understanding of how race and ethnicity function in contemporary Britain can only be gained through attention to antiracism: the politics of opposing discrimination that manifest at the level of state legislation, within local and national activism, and inside the scholarly exploration of race. It is antiracism that now most strongly conditions the emergence of racial categorisations but also of racial identities and models of behaviour. This sense of how antiracism may determine the form and content of both political debate and individual identity is traced through an examination of ten novels by black British and British Asian writers. These authors range from the well known to the critically neglected: works by Monica Ali, Nadeem Aslam, Fred D’Aguiar, Ferdinand Dennis, Hanif Kureishi, Gautam Malkani, Caryl Phillips, Mike Phillips, Zadie Smith, and Meera Syal are carefully read to explore the impacts of antiracism. These literary studies are grouped into three main themes, each of which is central to the direction of racial political identities over the last two decades in Britain: the use of the continent of Africa as a symbolic focus for black political culture; the changing forms of Muslim culture in Britain; and the emergence of a multiculturalist ethos based around the notion of ethnic communities.

Contents:

Machine generated contents note: 1. Africa and Black British Identity

Duppy Conqueror / Ferdinand Dennis

The Dancing Face / Mike Phillips

Feeding the Ghosts / Fred D'Aguiar

On Symbols and Political Realities

2. Islam and Antiracist Politics

The Black Album / Hanif Kureishi

Maps for Lost Lovers / Nadeem Aslam

Brick Lane / Monica Ali

On Difference and Autonomy

3. Multiculturalism and Ethnicity Politics

Life Isn't All Ha Ha Hee Hee / Meera Syal

Londonstani / Gautam Malkani

White Teeth / Zadie Smith

The Nature of Blood / Caryl Phillips

On Communities and Communication.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 02 Oct 2015).

Includes bibliographical references (p. [176]-190) and index.

ISBN:

1-78138-818-0

1-84631-625-1

OCLC:

735593303