# The Fiction of Indian Diaspora

- Institution: IIT Roorkee
- Department: Humanities and Social Sciences
- Teacher: Prof. Nagendra Kumar
- Level: Undergraduate
- Language: English
- Subjects: Society and politics
- Source: [NPTEL](https://nptel.ac.in/courses/109107730)
- Licence: [CC BY-NC-SA](https://nptel.ac.in/faq) (Non-commercial use only.)
- Syllabus: [at the source](https://nptel.ac.in/courses/109107730)
- Who can watch: Teens profiles and older (sources give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the source's own words)

The course “The Fiction of Indian Diaspora” primarily deals with Diaspora, Indian diasporic fictions and the theorisation of Diaspora. It provides an in-depth exploration of the concept of Diaspora, tracing its origins from the Greek term diaspeirein (“to scatter”) to its contemporary formations and meaning along with highlighting the complex theoretical articulations in literary and cultural studies. The objective of this course is to explore the intricacies and complexities of Diaspora and its ancient and contemporary manifestations in literary texts, particularly within the context of Indian Diaspora. Second, to examine how diasporic writers such as V. S. Naipaul, Salman Rushdie, Bharati Mukherjee, Anita Desai, Chitra Banerjee, Meena Alexander, Jhumpa Lahiri and several others have represented the diasporic consciousness in their literary works; and third, to provide the theoretical aspects of Indian Diaspora. The course engages with critical definitions and frameworks related to Diaspora offered by major postcolonial and Diaspora thinkers including Edward Said, Homi K. Bhabha, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, William Safran, Avtar Brah, Vijay Mishra, Sudesh Mishra and others. These critics and their key concepts have been employed in the discussion of this course to examine diasporic identity, cultural dislocation, and transnational belonging. While critically discussing the seminal and contemporary literary narratives related to diaspora, from V.S. Naipaul’s explorations of rootlessness to modern narratives of migration and exile, this course highlights the recurring themes in Diaspora Studies, such as displacement, memory, nostalgia, identity crisis, and cultural negotiation etc. The course also investigates the narrative strategies of diasporic authors to represent fractured identities, hybrid cultures, and the emotional geographies of migration.

Intended audience: UG, PG Students, PhD Scholars and Academicians

Prerequisites: No. Not any pre-requisite courses…

## Lectures

1. [Introduction to Diaspora](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/nptel/109107730/a096d98d52c8) (YouTube)
2. [Development and Evolution of Diaspora](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/nptel/109107730/967da5bf2f6e) (YouTube)
3. [Challenges and Opportunities in Diaspora](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/nptel/109107730/2c21737b8f26) (YouTube)
4. [Characteristics of Diaspora Writing](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/nptel/109107730/fe7d1bdb1955) (YouTube)
5. [Literatures of Diaspora](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/nptel/109107730/dc45fff83cab) (YouTube)
6. [Indian Diaspora: An Introduction](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/nptel/109107730/0ab2511f7684) (YouTube)
7. [Demography and Geography of Indian Diaspora](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/nptel/109107730/668f79f74f86) (YouTube)
8. [Language, Identity and Heritage in the Indian Diaspora](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/nptel/109107730/68c8fa9ff7d0) (YouTube)
9. [Socio-Economic and Political Aspects of Indian Diaspora](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/nptel/109107730/95059932bb6f) (YouTube)
10. [Phases of Indian Diaspora](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/nptel/109107730/9c7c12426fc2) (YouTube)
11. [Colonial Diaspora](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/nptel/109107730/61251afdd5c3) (YouTube)
12. [Post-colonial Indian Diaspora](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/nptel/109107730/51165e4eb59a) (YouTube)
13. [Government Initiatives for Indian Diaspora](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/nptel/109107730/021c2f10388d) (YouTube)
14. [The Fiction of Indian Diaspora](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/nptel/109107730/64a755274805) (YouTube)
15. [Narrative Techniques in Indian Diasporic Writing](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/nptel/109107730/dc0c97187400) (YouTube)
16. [Theorizing Diaspora: Homi K. Bhabha and Concepts](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/nptel/109107730/71b65e9313c6) (YouTube)
17. [Key Concepts- Mimicry and Third Space](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/nptel/109107730/9b9ba496c6a1) (YouTube)
18. [Theorizing Diaspora: Edward Said and Aijaz Ahmad](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/nptel/109107730/5695c484ba35) (YouTube)
19. [Key Concepts: Orientalism](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/nptel/109107730/398f4e1858ff) (YouTube)
20. [Theorizing Diaspora: Frantz Fanon and Gayatri C. Spivak](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/nptel/109107730/11f22d22f8a6) (YouTube)
21. [Theorizing Diaspora: Vijay Mishra and Sudesh Mishra](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/nptel/109107730/f31ecc79c05c) (YouTube)
22. [Theorizing Diaspora: Stuart Hall and Paul Gilroy](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/nptel/109107730/17131cbd4d51) (YouTube)
23. [Theorizing Diaspora: James Clifford, William Safran and Steven Vertovec](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/nptel/109107730/91d63ae3ba90) (YouTube)
24. [Theorizing Diaspora: Rey Chow and Avtar Brah](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/nptel/109107730/b02e54706057) (YouTube)
25. [Concepts: Double Consciousness, Cultural Mapping, Contrapuntal Reading](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/nptel/109107730/45e8dcdc4964) (YouTube)
26. [Concepts: Melting Pot, Cultural Mosaic and Salad Bowl](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/nptel/109107730/3cadd9a41e88) (YouTube)
27. [Concepts- Transnationalism and Unhomely](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/nptel/109107730/80753545d569) (YouTube)
28. [Concepts Related to Diaspora: Migration, Deculturation, Acculturation and Assimilation](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/nptel/109107730/383261ff8b38) (YouTube)
29. [Key Concepts Related to Diaspora](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/nptel/109107730/792af987ddf1) (YouTube)
30. [Key Concepts: Digital Diaspora](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/nptel/109107730/71373240af60) (YouTube)
31. [V.S. Naipaul](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/nptel/109107730/6428a7c26669) (YouTube)
32. [A House for Mr Biswas (1961) by V.S. Naipaul (1961)](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/nptel/109107730/250c723f5a55) (YouTube)
33. [In a Free State (1971) by V.S. Naipaul](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/nptel/109107730/d38e5c4625bd) (YouTube)
34. [The Mimic Men (1967) by V.S. Naipaul](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/nptel/109107730/20af77a9cccf) (YouTube)
35. [Kamala Markandaya](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/nptel/109107730/da43e7cca933) (YouTube)
36. [Salman Rushdie as an Indian Diasporic Writer](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/nptel/109107730/40ebf917038f) (YouTube)
37. [Midnight’s Children (1981)](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/nptel/109107730/e705aa5b7b80) (YouTube)
38. [The Moor’s Last Sigh (1995)](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/nptel/109107730/1926ef84b2be) (YouTube)
39. [Anita Desai](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/nptel/109107730/0e5b8db73780) (YouTube)
40. [Bye-Bye Blackbird (1971)](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/nptel/109107730/0fb0d8d7d806) (YouTube)
41. [Anita Desai’s Baumgartner’s Bombay](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/nptel/109107730/5f920f9f6904) (YouTube)
42. [Bharati Mukherjee](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/nptel/109107730/2f187fe30b0d) (YouTube)
43. [Jasmine (1989)](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/nptel/109107730/cbbb662d6af5) (YouTube)
44. [Bharati Mukherjee’s Jasmine](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/nptel/109107730/c9b8352282ef) (YouTube)
45. [Bharati Mukherjee’s Desirable Daughters](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/nptel/109107730/8a4fabcef222) (YouTube)
46. [Jhumpa Lahiri](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/nptel/109107730/16f89bc2407d) (YouTube)
47. [The Namesake (2003) by Jhumpa Lahiri](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/nptel/109107730/238b26b3af7f) (YouTube)
48. [Interpreter of Maladies (1999) by Jhumpa Lahiri](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/nptel/109107730/ac98fdec171d) (YouTube)
49. [Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/nptel/109107730/c43005673072) (YouTube)
50. [Arranged Marriage (1995) by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/nptel/109107730/8911ea319af3) (YouTube)
51. [The Mistress of Spices (1997) by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/nptel/109107730/3b5a02f86211) (YouTube)
52. [Kiran Desai’s The Inheritance of Loss](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/nptel/109107730/b28adbc1c153) (YouTube)
53. [Rohinton Mistry](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/nptel/109107730/06aa089b34bb) (YouTube)
54. [Anita Nair’s Lessons in Forgetting](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/nptel/109107730/9d33553f289e) (YouTube)
55. [M.G. Vassanji](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/nptel/109107730/a8352c9490e4) (YouTube)
56. [Amitav Ghosh](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/nptel/109107730/fd8e785e911b) (YouTube)
57. [Amitav Ghosh’s The Circle of Reason](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/nptel/109107730/71dd0e04af54) (YouTube)
58. [Meena Alexander](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/nptel/109107730/1d807cff937d) (YouTube)
59. [Contemporary Indian Diasporic Writers](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/nptel/109107730/6d694cda2193) (YouTube)
60. [Recapitulating The Course](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/nptel/109107730/e185f5aca816) (YouTube)