Even 20 years after 9/11, we hear the echoes of that cataclysmic event. South Asian diasporic literature in the USA, with its portrayals of ethnic vacillation and Islamophobia, shows how  different transnational elements may merge in a poetics of cultural translation. How do writers relate to concepts of national identity and nationalism? 

Using four novels by South Asian writers in the United States (Roy, Mirza, Majumdar, Akhtar) we will examine how communities adapt and confront the challenges posed by exile and migration in the diaspora. How do we see the dislocation that results from migration in these novels? How have these authors presented the consequences of the accelerated movement of people, ideas, and cultural practices? Has this movement affected class, gender, and religious origins? What is the meaning of belonging, home, and homeland? What happens to love, intimacy, family, and intergenerational relationships in migration?

Books to Purchase (will be available at Argo Bookshop during the weeks prior to the course beginning):

• • Homeland Elegies by Ayad Akhtar (9780316496414)
  • A Place for Us by Fatina Farheen Mirza (9781524763565)
  • Gold Diggers by Sanjena Sathian (9781984882059)

Please note that this course has a maximum enrollment of 18 students.

NEW PAYMENT POLICY: Participants must pay the course fees in order to be considered registered for the course. 

For fully registered courses, a waiting list will be created. Should vacancies develop, those on the waiting list will be contacted on a first-come, first-served basis.

Please note that we do not allow participants to audit courses for free.

Location: Atwater

First Session: Tuesday 20 September 2022

Course Length: 12 weeks, Tuesdays, 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.

Discussion Team: Munirah Amra, Imogen Brian, Eileen Curran

Degree Credit: 3.0 credits

Course Fee: 

$150.00 (standard tuition)
$100.00 (promotion for new students)

Administrative Fee:

$35.00

Total:

$185.00 (standard tuition)
$135.00 (promotion for new students)

Course fees are refundable in full before the second session. After the second session, a fee of $50 for the withdrawal will be applied. Refunds will not be issued after the third session. Please note that non-attendance does not constitute a withdrawal.

Students pursuing studies for credit are encouraged to consult with their advisers as they register for courses.

Course leaders, and students wishing to use credit vouchers, should call (514) 935-9585 to pay by phone or to schedule an appointment to pay in person.