Relocating consciousness : diasporic writers and the dynamics of literary experience / Daphne Grace.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Grace, Daphne, 1954-

Series:

Consciousness, literature & the arts ; 7.

Consciousness, literature & the arts ; 7

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Consciousness in literature.

Emigration and immigration in literature.

English literature--Developing countries--History and criticism.

English literature.

Postcolonialism in literature.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (255 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Amsterdam ; New York : Rodopi, 2007.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This book deals directly with issues of consciousness within works of postcolonial and diasporic writers. It discusses fiction, autobiography and theory to re-formulate a “writing of consciousness”, addressing contemporary cultural theory related to a wide range of dynamic writers and ground-breaking novels. A critical analysis of literature contextualises consciousness (understood here as the source of language and human creativity), and explores ways in which consciousness is involved in the creative process. Tackling the controversial nature of consciousness itself, the book argues that consciousness must be understood in its philosophical and social contexts. The idea of relocating consciousness calls for a new aesthetics and ethics of living in the diasporic world where we are all to some extent “migrant”. The book explores notions of consciousness as alternative narrative structures to society, while expanding contemporary postcolonial theory beyond the limited dimension of power-based-on-violence to a more visionary exploration of experience based on consciousness as unity-in-diversity. Themes explored include sacred experience as empowerment; trauma, terror and the impact of consciousness; cosmopolitanism and globalisation; and the literature of human survival. Written in a lively and accessible manner the book will appeal to all readers who enjoy being on the cutting-edge of contemporary world literature.

Contents:

Preliminary Material / Daphne Grace

Readdressing Consciousness, Locating Diasporas / Daphne Grace

Exploring Self and Other: Theories of Consciousness / Daphne Grace

Trauma, Terror and the Impact of Consciousness / Daphne Grace

Empire, Violence, and the Writing of History / Daphne Grace

The Self-Reflexive World: Consciousness and Social Responsibility / Daphne Grace

African Explorations of the Sacred and the Self / Daphne Grace

The Literature of Human Survival: Envisaging Alternatives / Daphne Grace

Encounters in the Earthly Paradise: Relocating the Self / Daphne Grace

Cosmopolitanism, Political Conscience and Higher Consciousness / Daphne Grace

Bibliography / Daphne Grace

Index / Daphne Grace.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [235]-246) and index.

ISBN:

1-282-26551-2

9786612265518

94-012-0480-2

1-4356-1285-X

OCLC:

666983910

Publisher Number:

10.1163/9789401204804 DOI