{"id":515,"date":"2014-06-19T12:57:04","date_gmt":"2014-06-19T12:57:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/scholarblogs.emory.edu\/postcolonialstudies\/?p=515"},"modified":"2020-09-06T22:33:25","modified_gmt":"2020-09-06T22:33:25","slug":"bahri-deepika","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scholarblogs.emory.edu\/postcolonialstudies\/2014\/06\/19\/bahri-deepika\/","title":{"rendered":"Bahri, Deepika"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Deepika<\/a>
Image provided by Deepika Bahri<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Works<\/h3>\n

Bahri has a particular interest in aesthetics, and has worked to develop this area in postcolonial studies. In\u00a0Native Intelligence: Aesthetics, Politics, and Postcolonial Literature<\/em>\u00a0(2003), she writes about the \u201caesthetic dimension\u201d of postcolonial literature, borrowing a phrase from the Frankfurt School theorist, Herbert Marcuse (see also\u00a0Theodor Adorno<\/a>).\u00a0 This book argues that postcolonial literature needs to be read not only as postcolonial, but also as literature. How, Bahri asks, do aesthetic considerations contest the social function of postcolonial literature? In answering, her book takes on two tasks: first, it identifies the burden of representation borne by postcolonial literature through its progressive politicization. Second, it draws on Frankfurt School critical theory to reclaim a place for aesthetics in literary representation by closely engaging with the works of Rohinton Mistry<\/a>, Salman Rushdie<\/a>, and Arundhati Roy<\/a>. Throughout, Bahri shows how attention to the aesthetic innovations and utopian impulses of postcolonial works uncovers their complex and uneven relationship to ideology, reanimating their potential to make novel contributions to the larger project of social liberation (see Postcolonial Novel<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Her 2017 publication, Postcolonial Biology: Psyche and Flesh after Empire<\/em> uses theories of neurobiological plasticity, embodied cognition, and epigenetics to explore the impact of imperial domination on colonized bodies and minds, and their ongoing transformation in today\u2019s global order. Moving beyond \u201cNorth\/South\u201d thinking, the book power examines questions of power over life and lifeways in the relay from colonialism to a late-capitalist, consumption-driven world under new forms of empire in all societies.<\/p>\n

Bahri has edited two collections of essays. Co-edited with Mary Vasudeva,\u00a0Between the Lines: South Asians and Postcoloniality<\/em>\u00a0(1996) is a collection of new interviews, critical essays, and commentary exploring South Asian identity and culture. Sensitive to the false homogeneity implied by categories such as \u201cSouth Asian,\u201d \u201cdiaspora,\u201d \u201cpostcolonial,\u201d and \u201cAsian American,\u201d the contributors attempt to unpack these terms (see Languages in South Asia<\/a>, Christianity in India<\/a>, Jews in India<\/a>, Kerala<\/a>). By examining the social, economic, and historical particularities of people who live \u201cbetween the lines,\u201d on and between borders, they reinstate questions of power and privilege, agency and resistance (see Caste in India<\/a>). As South Asians living in the United States and Canada, each to some degree must reflect on the interaction of the personal \u201cI,\u201d the collective \u201cwe,\u201d and the world beyond. The South Asian scholars gathered together in this volume speak from a variety of theoretical perspectives; in the essays and interviews that cross the boundaries of conventional academic disciplines, they engage in intense, sometimes contentious, debate.\u00a0 Included in the roster of participants are\u00a0Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak<\/a>, Gauri Viswanathan, Meena Alexander<\/a>, M. G. Vassanji,<\/a> Amritjit Singh, Sukeshi Kamra, Amitava Kumar and others.<\/p>\n

Realms of Rhetoric: Inquiries into the Prospects of Rhetoric Education<\/em>\u00a0(2003), co-edited with Joseph Petraglia, explores the challenges and opportunities faced in building a curricular space in the academy for rhetoric. Although rhetoric education has its roots in ancient times, the modern era has seen it fragmented into composition and public speaking, obscuring concepts, theories, and skills. With a foreword by Wayne Booth, the collection considers the prospects for rhetorical education outside narrow disciplinary constraints and, together with leading scholars, examine opportunities that can propel and revitalize rhetoric education at the beginning of the millennium.\u00a0 Contributors include leading thinkers in the field such as David Bleich, Walter Jost, Carolyn Miller, and others.<\/p>\n

In 2006, Bahri edited\u00a0Empire and Racial Hybridity<\/em>, a special issue of the journal\u00a0South Asian Review<\/em>\u00a0 (see Mimicry, Ambivalence, Hybridity<\/a>)\u00a0In the area of global health, she has written a report entitled AIDS Prevention and Control in Tamil Nadu<\/em> for USAID (APAC-VHS Publications, 2002) .<\/p>\n

Other Contributions<\/h3>\n

In 2010, Bahri curated the exhibition,\u00a0A World Mapped by Stories<\/em>, for the opening of the Salman Rushdie archive at Emory University.\u00a0 She participated in a panel with Salman Rushdie, Christopher Hitchens, and Deepa Mehta on a symposium titled,\u00a0 \u201cThe Only Subject is Love.\u201d The conversation is available on YouTube\u00a0here<\/a>.\u00a0 Also available on YouTube is a talk by Deepa Mehta, followed by a panel discussion with Deepa Mehta and Salman Rushdie on the making of the film version of the novel,\u00a0Midnight\u2019s Children<\/em>,\u00a0\u00a0\u201cApproaching Midnight.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

Books<\/h3>\n

Postcolonial Biology: Psyche and Flesh after Empire. Minneapolis: U of Minnesota P, 2017.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

Editor.\u00a0 Editor. \u201cEmpire and Racial Hybridity.\u201d Special Issue of South Asian Review<\/em>. 2006.
\nNative Intelligence: Aesthetics, Politics, and Postcolonial Literature<\/em>. Minneapolis: U of Minnesota P, 2003.
\nEditor, with Joseph Petraglia. Realms of Rhetoric: Inquiries into the Prospects for Rhetoric Education<\/em>.\u00a0 Albany, NY: SUNY P, 2003.
\nPartners in Prevention: AIDS Prevention and Control in Tamil Nadu<\/em>. USAID\/CDC, 2002. .pdf format. Published as AIDS Prevention: It Works<\/em>. Chennai: APAC\/USAID, 2002.
\nEditor, with Mary Vasudeva.\u00a0 Between the Lines: South Asians and Postcoloniality<\/em>.\u00a0 Philadelphia: Temple UP, 1996.<\/p>\n

Selected Articles<\/h3>\n