TY - BOOK
T1 - Imaging Globalisation
T2 - Globalisation as a Textual Characteristic in the Literary Works of Rana Dasgupta and Caryl Phillips
AU - Bildsøe, Helle Schulz
PY - 2015
Y1 - 2015
N2 -
Globalisation has become a buzz
-
word of the contemporary age. It connotes an infinite number of
developments
simultaneously
. In general, the globalisation paradigm is concerned with explaining the
processes by which previously distant parts of the world
have become connected in historically
unprecedented ways.
But globalisation extends far beyond an objective
,
material level: It operates on
the subjective level of human consciousness as well.
It is
manifested
in
a growing awareness of the
world as a single
space, a ‘global imaginary’.
The
dissertation argues that the global imaginary is largely generated by the cumulative
production and
dissemination of globalisation narratives
: By
representations of the world as a totality in the arts and
sciences, in th
e media, and in popular culture.
The dissertation identifies literature
as an important site
for this ongoing
production and negotiation of the global imaginary.
During the 1990s and early 2000s theorisations of globalisation were
made
in disciplines as
diverse
as Economics, Philosophy, Sociology, Geography,
History, and
Media
S
tudies. Globalisation was
widely conceptualised as one of the most dominant paradigms since the late 20
th
century for
explaining the transformation of political, cultural, and economic relationships in the world.
Literary
Studies, however,
has been hesitant in addressing these transformations. The field
continues
to rely predominantly on postcolonial and postmodern models when evaluating
transnational flows.
The dissertation considers that these models
fall short in grappling with the
accumulating number of
literary
narratives of ‘One World’
. These narratives,
it argues, demand a
way of reading that directly engages with
the concept of
globalisation
and its constituent discourses
.
The dissertation
therefore imports a
globalisation vocabulary
developed in
other fields
with which
to examine four
selected
literary
works
:
Tokyo Cancelled
(2004) and
Solo
(2009)
Rana
Dasgupta
and
A Distant Shore
(2003) and
In the Falling Snow
(2009) by Caryl
Phillips.
The major claim of
the dissertation is that
,
while
Literary Studies may
in this way
benefit from an interdisciplinary
approach, the field itself
also
has
much
to offer an analysis of globalisation.
The four
literary
works
serve a
s case
studies
that
uncover how
a
novel
literary
approach to
global
isation
studies
can and
does
significantly transform
the
globalisation
paradigm
as it is
currently
theorised in other fields.
Existing theory conceptualises globalisation either on a macro
-
or
a micro level
.
It is focused either
on the macrostructures of social organisation
or
on
the level of human consciousness. In the four
works by Dasgupta and Phillips, on the other hand, events and actions may occur on either a macro or
a micro level, but invariably they ripple through ties of relation that
intimately
connect these
different levels.
The
examination of the four literary works contributes first and
foremost to a so far
inadequately articulated conceptualisation of globalisation as a
multidimensional narrative.
Dasgupta and Phillips bring competing and contrasting globalisation discourses together in their
works, thus problematizing theoretical endeavours to reduce what is, in
fact, a manifold reality to a
single Narrative. In the artistic global imaginary expressed in the selected works by Dasgupta and
Phillips, globalisation is not derived from, nor contained within a single level of organisation.
It
unfurls as a multidimensio
nal narrative that interweaves global and local perspectives and is
characterised by a general awareness of worldwide causality.
AB -
Globalisation has become a buzz
-
word of the contemporary age. It connotes an infinite number of
developments
simultaneously
. In general, the globalisation paradigm is concerned with explaining the
processes by which previously distant parts of the world
have become connected in historically
unprecedented ways.
But globalisation extends far beyond an objective
,
material level: It operates on
the subjective level of human consciousness as well.
It is
manifested
in
a growing awareness of the
world as a single
space, a ‘global imaginary’.
The
dissertation argues that the global imaginary is largely generated by the cumulative
production and
dissemination of globalisation narratives
: By
representations of the world as a totality in the arts and
sciences, in th
e media, and in popular culture.
The dissertation identifies literature
as an important site
for this ongoing
production and negotiation of the global imaginary.
During the 1990s and early 2000s theorisations of globalisation were
made
in disciplines as
diverse
as Economics, Philosophy, Sociology, Geography,
History, and
Media
S
tudies. Globalisation was
widely conceptualised as one of the most dominant paradigms since the late 20
th
century for
explaining the transformation of political, cultural, and economic relationships in the world.
Literary
Studies, however,
has been hesitant in addressing these transformations. The field
continues
to rely predominantly on postcolonial and postmodern models when evaluating
transnational flows.
The dissertation considers that these models
fall short in grappling with the
accumulating number of
literary
narratives of ‘One World’
. These narratives,
it argues, demand a
way of reading that directly engages with
the concept of
globalisation
and its constituent discourses
.
The dissertation
therefore imports a
globalisation vocabulary
developed in
other fields
with which
to examine four
selected
literary
works
:
Tokyo Cancelled
(2004) and
Solo
(2009)
Rana
Dasgupta
and
A Distant Shore
(2003) and
In the Falling Snow
(2009) by Caryl
Phillips.
The major claim of
the dissertation is that
,
while
Literary Studies may
in this way
benefit from an interdisciplinary
approach, the field itself
also
has
much
to offer an analysis of globalisation.
The four
literary
works
serve a
s case
studies
that
uncover how
a
novel
literary
approach to
global
isation
studies
can and
does
significantly transform
the
globalisation
paradigm
as it is
currently
theorised in other fields.
Existing theory conceptualises globalisation either on a macro
-
or
a micro level
.
It is focused either
on the macrostructures of social organisation
or
on
the level of human consciousness. In the four
works by Dasgupta and Phillips, on the other hand, events and actions may occur on either a macro or
a micro level, but invariably they ripple through ties of relation that
intimately
connect these
different levels.
The
examination of the four literary works contributes first and
foremost to a so far
inadequately articulated conceptualisation of globalisation as a
multidimensional narrative.
Dasgupta and Phillips bring competing and contrasting globalisation discourses together in their
works, thus problematizing theoretical endeavours to reduce what is, in
fact, a manifold reality to a
single Narrative. In the artistic global imaginary expressed in the selected works by Dasgupta and
Phillips, globalisation is not derived from, nor contained within a single level of organisation.
It
unfurls as a multidimensio
nal narrative that interweaves global and local perspectives and is
characterised by a general awareness of worldwide causality.
KW - Faculty of Humanities
KW - Rana Dasgupta
KW - Caryl Phillips
M3 - Ph.D. thesis
BT - Imaging Globalisation
PB - Det Humanistiske Fakultet, Københavns Universitet
ER -