| Colonizing the Realm of Words: The Transformation of Tamil Literature in Nineteenth-Century South India Contributor(s): Ebeling, Sascha (Author) |
|
 |
ISBN: 1438432003 ISBN-13: 9781438432007 Publisher: State University of New York Press OUR PRICE: $35.10 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: July 2011 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - History | Asia - India & South Asia - Religion | Hinduism - History - Literary Criticism | Asian - Indic |
| Dewey: 894.811 |
| Series: SUNY Series in Hindu Studies |
| Physical Information: 1" H x 6" W x 8.9" (1.15 lbs) 379 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. |