Indo-Caribbean Literature and Culture 2010

Centre for Caribbean Studies


University of Warwick



1st-2nd of July 2010



To mark the foundation of the Indo-Caribbean Studies Association, the Centre for Caribbean Studies at the University of Warwick is hosting its second interdisciplinary conference on Indo-Caribbean Literature and Culture.



Indentureship propelled over half-a-million Indians across the kala pani to take root all over the world, negotiating new physical and figurative spaces for themselves and their descendants. The contribution of this widely-distributed Indian population to global culture and literature is substantial, and is particularly pronounced in the case of the Caribbean. Encompassing art, music, cuisine, religion, and more, the Indian presence is indelibly inscribed on the social, cultural, political and physical landscape of the region; emerging from their fascinating history is a wealth of creative writing and scholarly works.



The flourishing of Indo-Caribbean literature and creativity over the past twenty years, exemplified by the renown of V. S. Naipaul and reinforced by the work of critically acclaimed authors such as Cyril Dabydeen, Mahadai Das, Ramabai Espinet, Roy Heath, Ismith Khan, Shiva Naipaul, Sam Selvon, and many more, has served to draw critical focus towards the unique and diverse elements of Indian life in the Caribbean and elsewhere. The postcolonial intersections of Indo-Caribbean experience provide a generative platform for critical and theoretical discourses, incorporating hybridity, hyphenated identities, neo-colonialism, eco-criticism, coolitude, cross-cultural transfer, gender construction and beyond.



This event welcomes papers across the theoretical spectrum of Indo-Caribbean studies, and aims to investigate new avenues of research in the field. What impact have recent developments in postcolonial cultural theory had on our understanding of Indo-Caribbean experience? Conversely, what distinctive contribution does Indo-Caribbean literature make to a broader understanding of postcolonial cultures?



Topics for consideration might include but are not limited to:



Negotiation of Indo-Caribbean identities


Memory, migration and exile


Indian women in the Caribbean


Politics and labour


Gender and sexuality


Religion and ritual


Ecology and environment


Language


Survival and revival of visual arts



Submissions: Proposals are invited from established and new scholars, including postgraduate researchers. 300-word abstracts should be sent to L.Gramaglia@warwick.ac.uk and should arrive by 21st December 2009.

Acceptance will be notified by 1st February 2010.



To register for the conference please contact M.R.Tumbridge@warwick.ac.uk or Joseph.Jackson@warwick.ac.uk.

Dr Letizia Gramaglia

University of Warwick


Indo-Caribbean Studies Association http://go.warwick.ac.uk/icsa