Matching Items (4)
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- All Subjects: Asian Literature
- Genre: Academic theses
- Creators: Bokenkamp, Stephen R.
Description
Kiran Nagarkar, who won the Sahitya Akedemi Award in India for his English language writing, is a man who attracts controversy. Despite the consistent strength of his literary works, his English novels have become a lightning rod - not because they are written in English, but because Nagarkar was a well-respected Marathi writer before he began writing in English. Although there are other writers who have become embroiled in the debate over the politics of discourse, the response to Nagarkar's move from Marathi and his subsequent reactions perfectly illustrate the repercussions that accompany such dialectical decisions. Nagarkar has been accused of myriad crimes against his heritage, from abandoning a dedicated readership to targeting more profitable Western markets. Careful analysis of his writing, however, reveals that his novels are clearly written for a diverse Indian audience and offer few points of accessibility for Western readers. Beyond his English language usage, which is actually intended to provide readability to the most possible Indian nationals, Nagarkar also courts a variegated Indian audience by developing upon traditional Indian literary conceits and allusions. By composing works for a broad Indian audience, which reference cultural elements from an array of Indian ethnic groups, Nagarkar's writing seems to push toward the development of the seemingly impossible: a novel that might unify India, and present such a cohesive cultural face to the world at large.
ContributorsRochester, Rachel (Author) / Bivona, Daniel (Thesis advisor) / Mallot, J. Edward (Thesis advisor) / Horan, Elizabeth (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
This thesis examines the play Qian Dayin zhichong Xie Tianxiang, written by the Yuan dynasty (1271-1368) playwright Guan Hanqing (c.1225-1302). The first chapter of this paper provides brief background information about northern style Yuan drama (zaju) as well as a plot summary and notes about the analysis and translation. Through a close reading of the play, I hope to illustrate how the play's complicated ending and lack of complete resolution reveals why it has received relatively little attention from scholars who have previously discussed other strong, intelligent female characters in Guan Hanqing's plays. The second chapter of this thesis includes translation of the play that is comprised of a wedge preceding the four acts. Before each act of the play is a critical introduction and analysis of the act to follow. Although many of Guan Hanqing's plays have been translated into English, this play has never been translated.
ContributorsByrnes, Kelli (Author) / West, Stephen H. (Thesis advisor) / Zou, Yu (Committee member) / Ling, Xiaoqiao (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
This dissertation investigates how Yuan zaju drama reshaped Chinese culture by bridging the gap between an inherently oral tradition of popular performance and the written tradition of literati, when traditional Chinese political, social, cultural structures underwent remarkable transformation under alien rule in the Yuan. It focuses on texts dated from the thirteenth to the fifteenth century by literati writers about playwrights and performers that have been treated by most scholars merely as sources of bio-bibliographical information. I interpret them, however, as cultural artifacts that reveal how Yuan drama caused a shift in the mentality of the elite. My study demonstrates that Yuan drama stimulated literati thought, redefined literati self-identity, and introduced a new significance to the act of writing and the function of text. Moreover, the emergence of a great number of successful female performers challenged the gendered roles of women that had been standardized by the traditional Confucian patriarchal system. This careful uncovering of overlooked materials contributes to a better understanding of the social and cultural world of early modern China.
ContributorsChang, Wenbo (Author) / West, Stephen H. (Thesis advisor) / Cutter, Robert Joe (Committee member) / Bokenkamp, Stephen R. (Committee member) / Tillman, Hoyt Cleveland (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
This dissertation argues that scholars need to re-evaluate the place of miscellany in the textual tradition. Through a dynamic close-reading of Zhuang Chuo’s 莊綽 (fl. 1126) Jilei bian 雞肋編 (Chicken Rib Chronicles), using its preface as a guide, this project demonstrates that the value of this text lies not in its historical truth, but in the author’s analyses of historical themes, spoken word, and personal experiences alongside his engagement with the textual tradition and intellectual discourses in the wider scholarly community. Rethinking the way that Song dynasty authors of miscellany create meaning and also the purpose of this corpus allows readers to approach them holistically and creates the potential for multiple readings.
ContributorsCai, Meghan (Author) / West, Stephen H. (Thesis advisor) / Cutter, Robert J. (Committee member) / Bokenkamp, Stephen R. (Committee member) / Tillman, Hoyt C. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016