Colonizing the Realm of Words: The Transformation of Tamil Literature in Nineteenth-Century South India Contributor(s): Ebeling, Sascha (Author) |
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ISBN: 1438431996 ISBN-13: 9781438431994 Publisher: State University of New York Press OUR PRICE: $90.25 Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats Published: September 2010 |
Additional Information |
BISAC Categories: - History | Asia - India & South Asia |
Dewey: 894.811 |
LCCN: 2009052829 |
Series: SUNY Series in Hindu Studies |
Physical Information: 1.1" H x 6.3" W x 9.2" (1.50 lbs) 355 pages |
Themes: - Cultural Region - Indian |
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
Publisher Description: 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. |