Gender and Narrative in the Mahabharata

Gender and Narrative in the Mahabharata

Author: Simon Brodbeck

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2007-08-09

Total Pages: 332

ISBN-13: 1134119941

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The Sanskrit Mahabharata is one of the most important texts to emerge from the Indian cultural tradition. At almost 75,000 verses it is the longest poem in the world, and throughout Indian history it has been hugely influential in shaping gender and social norms. In the context of ancient India, it is the definitive cultural narrative in the construction of masculine, feminine and alternative gender roles. This book brings together many of the most respected scholars in the field of Mahabharata studies, as well as some of its most promising young scholars. By focusing specifically on gender constructions, some of the most innovative aspects of the Mahabharata are highlighted. Whilst taking account of feminist scholarship, the contributors see the Mahabharata as providing an opportunity to frame discussion of gender in literature not just in terms of the socio-historical roles of men and women. Instead they analyze the text in terms of the wider poetic and philosophical possibilities thrown up by the semiotics of gendering. Consequently, the book bridges a gap in text-critical methodology between the traditional philological approach and more recent trends in gender and literary theory. Gender and Narrative in the Mahabharata will be appreciated by readers interested in South Asian studies, Hinduism, religious studies and gender studies.


Book Synopsis Gender and Narrative in the Mahabharata by : Simon Brodbeck

Download or read book Gender and Narrative in the Mahabharata written by Simon Brodbeck and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2007-08-09 with total page 332 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Sanskrit Mahabharata is one of the most important texts to emerge from the Indian cultural tradition. At almost 75,000 verses it is the longest poem in the world, and throughout Indian history it has been hugely influential in shaping gender and social norms. In the context of ancient India, it is the definitive cultural narrative in the construction of masculine, feminine and alternative gender roles. This book brings together many of the most respected scholars in the field of Mahabharata studies, as well as some of its most promising young scholars. By focusing specifically on gender constructions, some of the most innovative aspects of the Mahabharata are highlighted. Whilst taking account of feminist scholarship, the contributors see the Mahabharata as providing an opportunity to frame discussion of gender in literature not just in terms of the socio-historical roles of men and women. Instead they analyze the text in terms of the wider poetic and philosophical possibilities thrown up by the semiotics of gendering. Consequently, the book bridges a gap in text-critical methodology between the traditional philological approach and more recent trends in gender and literary theory. Gender and Narrative in the Mahabharata will be appreciated by readers interested in South Asian studies, Hinduism, religious studies and gender studies.

Telling Performances

Telling Performances

Author: Brian Nelson

Publisher: University of Delaware Press

Published: 2001

Total Pages: 280

ISBN-13: 9780874137071

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These essays engage with narratives and narrative issues, in particular on the issue of performance in and of narrative, with the telling of performance and the performance of telling, and the way stories perform gender and identity. They focus on narrative as such, on narrative genres, and on particular narratives, but they all seek to inform thinking on narrative.


Book Synopsis Telling Performances by : Brian Nelson

Download or read book Telling Performances written by Brian Nelson and published by University of Delaware Press. This book was released on 2001 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: These essays engage with narratives and narrative issues, in particular on the issue of performance in and of narrative, with the telling of performance and the performance of telling, and the way stories perform gender and identity. They focus on narrative as such, on narrative genres, and on particular narratives, but they all seek to inform thinking on narrative.

Gender in the Vampire Narrative

Gender in the Vampire Narrative

Author: Amanda Hobson

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2016-09-26

Total Pages: 196

ISBN-13: 9463007148

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Gender in the Vampire Narrative addresses issues of masculinity and femininity, unpacking cultural norms of gender. This collection demonstrates the way that representations of gender in the vampire narrative traverse a large scope of expectations and tropes. The text offers classroom ready original essays that outline contemporary debates about sexual objectification and gender norms using the lens of the vampire in order to examine the ways those roles are undone and reinforced through popular culture through a specific emphasis on cultural fears and anxieties about gender roles. The essays explore the presentations of gendered identities in a wide variety of sources including novels, films, graphic novels and more, focusing on wildly popular examples, such as The Vampire Diaries, True Blood, and Twilight, and also lesser known works, for instance, Byzantium and The Blood of the Vampire. The authors work to unravel the ties that bind gender to the body and the sociocultural institutions that shape our views of gendered norms and invite students of all levels to engage in interdisciplinary conversations about both theoretical and embodied constructions of gender. This text makes a fascinating accompanying text for many courses, such as first-year studies, literature, film, women’s and gender studies, sociology, popular culture or media studies, cultural studies, American studies or history. Ultimately this is a text for all fans of popular culture. “Hobson and Anyiwo chase the vampire through history and across literature, film, television, and stage, exploring this complexity and offering insightful and accessible analyses that will be enjoyed by students in popular culture, gender studies, and speculative fiction. This collection is not to be missed by those with an interest in feminist cultural studies – or the undead.” – Barbara Gurr, University of Connecticut “Hobson and Anyiwo push the boundaries of the scholarship as it has been written until now.” –Catherine Coker, Texas A&M University Amanda Hobson is Assistant Dean of Students and Director of the Women’s Resource Center at Indiana State University. U. Melissa Anyiwo is a Professor of Politics & History and Coordinator of African American Studies at Curry College in Massachusetts.


Book Synopsis Gender in the Vampire Narrative by : Amanda Hobson

Download or read book Gender in the Vampire Narrative written by Amanda Hobson and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-09-26 with total page 196 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Gender in the Vampire Narrative addresses issues of masculinity and femininity, unpacking cultural norms of gender. This collection demonstrates the way that representations of gender in the vampire narrative traverse a large scope of expectations and tropes. The text offers classroom ready original essays that outline contemporary debates about sexual objectification and gender norms using the lens of the vampire in order to examine the ways those roles are undone and reinforced through popular culture through a specific emphasis on cultural fears and anxieties about gender roles. The essays explore the presentations of gendered identities in a wide variety of sources including novels, films, graphic novels and more, focusing on wildly popular examples, such as The Vampire Diaries, True Blood, and Twilight, and also lesser known works, for instance, Byzantium and The Blood of the Vampire. The authors work to unravel the ties that bind gender to the body and the sociocultural institutions that shape our views of gendered norms and invite students of all levels to engage in interdisciplinary conversations about both theoretical and embodied constructions of gender. This text makes a fascinating accompanying text for many courses, such as first-year studies, literature, film, women’s and gender studies, sociology, popular culture or media studies, cultural studies, American studies or history. Ultimately this is a text for all fans of popular culture. “Hobson and Anyiwo chase the vampire through history and across literature, film, television, and stage, exploring this complexity and offering insightful and accessible analyses that will be enjoyed by students in popular culture, gender studies, and speculative fiction. This collection is not to be missed by those with an interest in feminist cultural studies – or the undead.” – Barbara Gurr, University of Connecticut “Hobson and Anyiwo push the boundaries of the scholarship as it has been written until now.” –Catherine Coker, Texas A&M University Amanda Hobson is Assistant Dean of Students and Director of the Women’s Resource Center at Indiana State University. U. Melissa Anyiwo is a Professor of Politics & History and Coordinator of African American Studies at Curry College in Massachusetts.

Gender, Genre & Narrative Pleasure

Gender, Genre & Narrative Pleasure

Author: Derek Longhurst

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2012-08-21

Total Pages: 232

ISBN-13: 1136321527

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Recent years have witnessed important new initiatives in the study of popular fictional modes of writing. At one time the field could have been described with reasonable accuracy by two traditions: one that analyzed the production and distribution of popular fiction as commodities; and one whose proponents regarded popular fiction as the negative which offered definition to the exposure of the positive - the ‘great’ canonic literary tradition. Generally, then, popular fictions were to be ‘evaluated’ according to the institutionalized norms which had been established as common sense practice around literary studies. The decade of the 1970s, however ushered in a bewildering range of theoretical debates - a crucial gain was establishment of interdisciplinary courses in communication, cultural and media studies, providing a network of contexts within which serious analysis could evolve and progress. Responding to a fundamental challenge from feminism, a primary objective of this book is to propose that all narrative and its reading are intrinsically inflected by sexual politics. Various approaches represented here demonstrate problems of confronting the gendered pleasures of reading. Questions about self, sexuality and identity within specific historical formations are raised. The objective is to frame, describe and unearth the notion of ‘men as readers’ as a project rather than as the usual, unquestioned normative procedure. Drawing eclectically upon Marxist, psychoanalytic and discourse theory, the essays set out readings of popular texts and genres – the Western, the sentimental novel, detective and crime fiction, political thrillers and horror and science fiction – in the interest of provoking other readers to see the critical study of popular fiction as unthinkable without gender as a central concern.


Book Synopsis Gender, Genre & Narrative Pleasure by : Derek Longhurst

Download or read book Gender, Genre & Narrative Pleasure written by Derek Longhurst and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2012-08-21 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Recent years have witnessed important new initiatives in the study of popular fictional modes of writing. At one time the field could have been described with reasonable accuracy by two traditions: one that analyzed the production and distribution of popular fiction as commodities; and one whose proponents regarded popular fiction as the negative which offered definition to the exposure of the positive - the ‘great’ canonic literary tradition. Generally, then, popular fictions were to be ‘evaluated’ according to the institutionalized norms which had been established as common sense practice around literary studies. The decade of the 1970s, however ushered in a bewildering range of theoretical debates - a crucial gain was establishment of interdisciplinary courses in communication, cultural and media studies, providing a network of contexts within which serious analysis could evolve and progress. Responding to a fundamental challenge from feminism, a primary objective of this book is to propose that all narrative and its reading are intrinsically inflected by sexual politics. Various approaches represented here demonstrate problems of confronting the gendered pleasures of reading. Questions about self, sexuality and identity within specific historical formations are raised. The objective is to frame, describe and unearth the notion of ‘men as readers’ as a project rather than as the usual, unquestioned normative procedure. Drawing eclectically upon Marxist, psychoanalytic and discourse theory, the essays set out readings of popular texts and genres – the Western, the sentimental novel, detective and crime fiction, political thrillers and horror and science fiction – in the interest of provoking other readers to see the critical study of popular fiction as unthinkable without gender as a central concern.

Gender and Narrative

Gender and Narrative

Author: Rajul Bhargava

Publisher:

Published: 2002

Total Pages: 294

ISBN-13:

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"This book has grown out of a felt-need to rethink and re-evaluate the forces that have been at work shaping the literature of the last decade of the century--literature written in english. There is no denying that what had largely emerged as insurgent writing, especially focusing on the socio-political realities of our country, has today gained wider ground, acceptability and acclaim. It has become a vehicle of articulating awareness, voicing dissatisfaction and reviewing historical and philosophical truths. In its long-strided progress Indian writing in english has not overlooked the literary canons and in the directions it has taken, it has created not only a niche for itself but also made a discernible mark on literary theory. The essays included in this volume represent the multiple ways in which we view our literature."


Book Synopsis Gender and Narrative by : Rajul Bhargava

Download or read book Gender and Narrative written by Rajul Bhargava and published by . This book was released on 2002 with total page 294 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This book has grown out of a felt-need to rethink and re-evaluate the forces that have been at work shaping the literature of the last decade of the century--literature written in english. There is no denying that what had largely emerged as insurgent writing, especially focusing on the socio-political realities of our country, has today gained wider ground, acceptability and acclaim. It has become a vehicle of articulating awareness, voicing dissatisfaction and reviewing historical and philosophical truths. In its long-strided progress Indian writing in english has not overlooked the literary canons and in the directions it has taken, it has created not only a niche for itself but also made a discernible mark on literary theory. The essays included in this volume represent the multiple ways in which we view our literature."

Immersion, Narrative, and Gender Crisis in Survival Horror Video Games

Immersion, Narrative, and Gender Crisis in Survival Horror Video Games

Author: Andrei Nae

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2021-09-09

Total Pages: 256

ISBN-13: 1000440656

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This book investigates the narrativity of some of the most popular survival horror video games and the gender politics implicit in their storyworlds. In a thorough analysis of the genre that draws upon detailed comparisons with the mainstream action genre, Andrei Nae places his analysis firmly within a political and social context. In comparing survival horror games to the dominant game design norms of the action genre, the author differentiates between classical and postclassical survival horror games to show how the former reject the norms of the action genre and deliver a critique of the conservative gender politics of action games, while the latter are more heterogeneous in terms of their game design and, implicitly, gender politics. This book will appeal not only to scholars working in game studies, but also to scholars of horror, gender studies, popular culture, visual arts, genre studies and narratology.


Book Synopsis Immersion, Narrative, and Gender Crisis in Survival Horror Video Games by : Andrei Nae

Download or read book Immersion, Narrative, and Gender Crisis in Survival Horror Video Games written by Andrei Nae and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2021-09-09 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book investigates the narrativity of some of the most popular survival horror video games and the gender politics implicit in their storyworlds. In a thorough analysis of the genre that draws upon detailed comparisons with the mainstream action genre, Andrei Nae places his analysis firmly within a political and social context. In comparing survival horror games to the dominant game design norms of the action genre, the author differentiates between classical and postclassical survival horror games to show how the former reject the norms of the action genre and deliver a critique of the conservative gender politics of action games, while the latter are more heterogeneous in terms of their game design and, implicitly, gender politics. This book will appeal not only to scholars working in game studies, but also to scholars of horror, gender studies, popular culture, visual arts, genre studies and narratology.

Gender and Narrativity

Gender and Narrativity

Author: R. Barry Rutland

Publisher: McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP

Published: 1997

Total Pages: 269

ISBN-13: 0886292980

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It is impossible to imagine a community that is not divided into at least two gender groups. It is equally impossible to imagine a community that does not tell or enact stories. The relationship between these universal aspects of human culture is the mainspring of Gender and Narrativity. From Genesis to Freud, the Western narrative tradition tells the same old story of masculine dominance/feminine subservience as a matter of divine will or natural truth. Here, nine Canadian scholars challenge and interpret this tradition, in effect "re-telling" the story of gender, and themselves intervening in the narrative process. Critical readings from a wide range of literary texts - medieval and modern, European and Canadian - replace abstract theory in these studies, while sociology, anthropology, psychoanalysis, deconstruction and new history are the axes of discussion. This book exemplifies the current range and diversity of Canadian critical writing.


Book Synopsis Gender and Narrativity by : R. Barry Rutland

Download or read book Gender and Narrativity written by R. Barry Rutland and published by McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP. This book was released on 1997 with total page 269 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It is impossible to imagine a community that is not divided into at least two gender groups. It is equally impossible to imagine a community that does not tell or enact stories. The relationship between these universal aspects of human culture is the mainspring of Gender and Narrativity. From Genesis to Freud, the Western narrative tradition tells the same old story of masculine dominance/feminine subservience as a matter of divine will or natural truth. Here, nine Canadian scholars challenge and interpret this tradition, in effect "re-telling" the story of gender, and themselves intervening in the narrative process. Critical readings from a wide range of literary texts - medieval and modern, European and Canadian - replace abstract theory in these studies, while sociology, anthropology, psychoanalysis, deconstruction and new history are the axes of discussion. This book exemplifies the current range and diversity of Canadian critical writing.

Gender and the Superhero Narrative

Gender and the Superhero Narrative

Author: Michael Goodrum

Publisher: Univ. Press of Mississippi

Published: 2018-10-01

Total Pages: 307

ISBN-13: 1496818830

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Contributions by Dorian L. Alexander, Janine Coleman, Gabriel Gianola, Mel Gibson, Michael Goodrum, Tim Hanley, Vanessa Hemovich, Christina Knopf, Christopher McGunnigle, Samira Nadkarni, Ryan North, Lisa Perdigao, Tara Prescott-Johnson, Philip Smith, and Maite Ucaregui The explosive popularity of San Diego’s Comic-Con, Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Rogue One, and Netflix’s Jessica Jones and Luke Cage all signal the tidal change in superhero narratives and mainstreaming of what were once considered niche interests. Yet just as these areas have become more openly inclusive to an audience beyond heterosexual white men, there has also been an intense backlash, most famously in 2015’s Gamergate controversy, when the tension between feminist bloggers, misogynistic gamers, and internet journalists came to a head. The place for gender in superhero narratives now represents a sort of battleground, with important changes in the industry at stake. These seismic shifts—both in the creation of superhero media and in their critical and reader reception—need reassessment not only of the role of women in comics, but also of how American society conceives of masculinity. Gender and the Superhero Narrative launches ten essays that explore the point where social justice meets the Justice League. Ranging from comics such as Ms. Marvel, Batwoman: Elegy, and Bitch Planet to video games, Netflix, and cosplay, this volume builds a platform for important voices in comics research, engaging with controversy and community to provide deeper insight and thus inspire change.


Book Synopsis Gender and the Superhero Narrative by : Michael Goodrum

Download or read book Gender and the Superhero Narrative written by Michael Goodrum and published by Univ. Press of Mississippi. This book was released on 2018-10-01 with total page 307 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Contributions by Dorian L. Alexander, Janine Coleman, Gabriel Gianola, Mel Gibson, Michael Goodrum, Tim Hanley, Vanessa Hemovich, Christina Knopf, Christopher McGunnigle, Samira Nadkarni, Ryan North, Lisa Perdigao, Tara Prescott-Johnson, Philip Smith, and Maite Ucaregui The explosive popularity of San Diego’s Comic-Con, Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Rogue One, and Netflix’s Jessica Jones and Luke Cage all signal the tidal change in superhero narratives and mainstreaming of what were once considered niche interests. Yet just as these areas have become more openly inclusive to an audience beyond heterosexual white men, there has also been an intense backlash, most famously in 2015’s Gamergate controversy, when the tension between feminist bloggers, misogynistic gamers, and internet journalists came to a head. The place for gender in superhero narratives now represents a sort of battleground, with important changes in the industry at stake. These seismic shifts—both in the creation of superhero media and in their critical and reader reception—need reassessment not only of the role of women in comics, but also of how American society conceives of masculinity. Gender and the Superhero Narrative launches ten essays that explore the point where social justice meets the Justice League. Ranging from comics such as Ms. Marvel, Batwoman: Elegy, and Bitch Planet to video games, Netflix, and cosplay, this volume builds a platform for important voices in comics research, engaging with controversy and community to provide deeper insight and thus inspire change.

Mystic Leeway

Mystic Leeway

Author: Frances Gregg

Publisher: McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP

Published: 1995-06-15

Total Pages: 205

ISBN-13: 0773573968

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Who is Frances Gregg? In her youth she was a poet in her own right, a friend of Ezra Pound, and an intimate of Hilda Doolittle and John Cowper Powys. In our literary history, particularly the history of Modernism, she has been a mysterious presence. Now, with this publication for the first time of The Mystic Leeway, we have Gregg's testament to her lovers, her life, her deeply troubled times, and to Art. Written over the three years before her tragic death in the bombing of Plymouth in 1941, this memoir marks the course of Gregg's journey, both spiritual and physical, through a passionate life. With painful and amusing honesty, Gregg records her experience of other icons of Modernism, including William Butler Yeats, May Sinclair, Alice Meynell, George Moore, Jacob Epstein, Walter Rummel, and Louis Wilkinson.


Book Synopsis Mystic Leeway by : Frances Gregg

Download or read book Mystic Leeway written by Frances Gregg and published by McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP. This book was released on 1995-06-15 with total page 205 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Who is Frances Gregg? In her youth she was a poet in her own right, a friend of Ezra Pound, and an intimate of Hilda Doolittle and John Cowper Powys. In our literary history, particularly the history of Modernism, she has been a mysterious presence. Now, with this publication for the first time of The Mystic Leeway, we have Gregg's testament to her lovers, her life, her deeply troubled times, and to Art. Written over the three years before her tragic death in the bombing of Plymouth in 1941, this memoir marks the course of Gregg's journey, both spiritual and physical, through a passionate life. With painful and amusing honesty, Gregg records her experience of other icons of Modernism, including William Butler Yeats, May Sinclair, Alice Meynell, George Moore, Jacob Epstein, Walter Rummel, and Louis Wilkinson.

Stories of women

Stories of women

Author: Elleke Boehmer

Publisher: Manchester University Press

Published: 2013-07-19

Total Pages: 386

ISBN-13: 1847796060

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This electronic version has been made available under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-ND) open access license. Elleke Boehmer's work on the crucial intersections between independence, nationalism and gender has already proved canonical in the field. 'Stories of women' combines her keynote essays on the mother figure and the postcolonial nation, with incisive new work on male autobiography, 'daughter' writers, the colonial body, the trauma of the post-colony, and the nation in a transnational context. Focusing on Africa as well as South Asia, and sexuality as well as gender, Boehmer offers fine close readings of writers ranging from Achebe, Okri and Mandela to Arundhati Roy and Yvonne Vera, shaping these into a critical engagement with theorists of the nation like Fredric Jameson and Partha Chatterjee. This edition will be of interest to readers and researchers of postcolonial, international and women's writing; of nation theory, colonial history and historiography; of Indian, African, migrant and diasporic literatures, and is likely to prove a landmark study in the field.


Book Synopsis Stories of women by : Elleke Boehmer

Download or read book Stories of women written by Elleke Boehmer and published by Manchester University Press. This book was released on 2013-07-19 with total page 386 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This electronic version has been made available under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-ND) open access license. Elleke Boehmer's work on the crucial intersections between independence, nationalism and gender has already proved canonical in the field. 'Stories of women' combines her keynote essays on the mother figure and the postcolonial nation, with incisive new work on male autobiography, 'daughter' writers, the colonial body, the trauma of the post-colony, and the nation in a transnational context. Focusing on Africa as well as South Asia, and sexuality as well as gender, Boehmer offers fine close readings of writers ranging from Achebe, Okri and Mandela to Arundhati Roy and Yvonne Vera, shaping these into a critical engagement with theorists of the nation like Fredric Jameson and Partha Chatterjee. This edition will be of interest to readers and researchers of postcolonial, international and women's writing; of nation theory, colonial history and historiography; of Indian, African, migrant and diasporic literatures, and is likely to prove a landmark study in the field.