Colonizing the Realm of Words: The Transformation of Tamil Literature in Nineteenth-Century South India

Sascha Ebeling

ISBN 10: 1438432003 / ISBN 13: 9781438432007

Published by State University of New York Press, 2011

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Synopsis:

A true tour de force, this book documents the transformation of one Indian literature, Tamil, under the impact of colonialism and Western modernity. While Tamil is a living language, it is also India's second oldest classical language next to Sanskrit, and has a literary history that goes back over two thousand years. On the basis of extensive archival research, Sascha Ebeling tackles a host of issues pertinent to Tamil elite literary production and consumption during the nineteenth century. These include the functioning and decline of traditional systems in which poet-scholars were patronized by religious institutions, landowners, and local kings; the anatomy of changes in textual practices, genres, styles, poetics, themes, tastes, and audiences; and the role of literature in the politics of social reform, gender, and incipient nationalism. The work concludes with a discussion of the most striking literary development of the time—the emergence of the Tamil novel.

About the Author: Sascha Ebeling is Assistant Professor of South Asian Languages and Civilizations at the University of Chicago.

Bibliographic Details

Title: Colonizing the Realm of Words: The ...
Publisher: State University of New York Press
Publication Date: 2011
Binding: Paperback / softback
Condition: New