Mastering Western Texts: Essays on literature and society for A.N. Kaul

Language: EnglishPages: 320About The BookWhat does it mean to be an Indian teacher of English and American literature? How may one, as a student of English and American Studies in India, overcome the wall of research and pedagogic limitations that encloses these disciplines in the South Asian context? These are some of the questions that Sambudha Sen asks in his Introduction to this volume of essays.One of the best examples of how the study of foreign literatures has survived and, in fact, thrives despite the constraints of the Indian classroom is provided by the work of the legendary teacher A.N. Kaul, author of two internationally reputed works of socio-literary criticism, namely The American Vision and The Action of English Comedy. Several of Kaul's students are now themselves illustrious teachers, theorists and practitioners of cultural and literary studies, both in India and the West. In this volume, they come together to offer origina