The secrets of the postcolonial subaltern : psychoanalytic and postmemory configuration in Adib Khan’s Seasonal Adjustments and Michael Ondaatje’s Anil’s Ghost
department or school: Arts, Faculty of
department or school: English Language and Literatures, Department of
data provider: DSpace
degree campus: UBCV
creator: Fateha
issued: 2024-08-29T17:11:39Z
issued: 2024
related degree: Master of Arts - MA
degree grantor: University of British Columbia
description: This thesis contributes to the ongoing conversation in postcolonial and subaltern studies by locating a psychoanalytic pathway to decrypt the phantom presence within the locus of postcolonial and postwar psyches and bodies. It traverses the multi-narrative locale(s) of post-independence Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, where a chimeric phantom—born from an intricate amalgamation of political, economic, cultural, and colonial forces—has emerged. This thesis examines the representation of subaltern lives in Adib Khan’s Seasonal Adjustments and Michael Ondaatje’s Anil’s Ghost to interpret the phantom presence. The narratives of these texts situate the subaltern in a unique position as they represent not only innumerable dead subalterns but also living ones subjected to relentless violence, death, and degradation in the postcolony. My introductory chapter briefly explores the histories of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, outlining how lingering colonial tensions transform these postcolonial states into necropolitical landscapes where subaltern populations are reduced to the status of the living dead. The second chapter explores Bangladesh and Sri Lanka’s triple bind, encompassing colonial, postcolonial, and post-partition constitutional entanglements that shape these postcolonial nations. Its objective is to investigate how the long-term impacts of the civil war and the institutional processes that perpetuate violence have silenced the subaltern. With this intention, it examines the pervasive silence and lack of resistance within the subaltern population to emphasize the complexities of their struggle for justice by delving into the multifaceted dimensions of violence beyond the overt theatre of war, unravelling its insidious manifestations within the spheres of surveillance, dismemberment, and deaths under the grip of state authority. The third chapter shifts from the physical realm to the metapsychological nature of the phantom by exploring the myth engulfing the living and the dea…
aggregated CHO: https://circle.library.ubc.ca/rest/handle/2429/89091
note: The Secrets of the Postcolonial Subaltern: Psychoanalytic and Postmemory Configuration in Adib Khan’s Seasonal Adjustments and Michael Ondaatje’s Anil’s Ghost by Fateha B.A., North South University, 2021 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE AND POSTDOCTORAL STUDIES (English) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) August 2024 © Fateha, 2024 ii The following individuals certify that they have read, and recommend to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies for acceptance, the thesis entitled: The Secrets of the Postcolonial Subaltern: Psychoanalytic and Postmemory Configuration in Adib Khan’s Seasonal Adjustments and Michael Ondaatje’s Anil’s Ghost submitted by Fateha in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in English Examining Committee: Judith Paltin, Associate Professor, English Language and Literatures, UBC Supervisor Janice Ho, Associate Professor, English Language and Literatures, UBC Supervisory Committee Member iii Abstract This thesis contributes to the ongoing conversation in postcolonial and subaltern studies by locating a psychoanalytic pathway to decrypt the phantom presence within the locus of postcolonial and postwar psyches and bodies. It traverses the multi-narrative locale(s) of post-independence Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, where a chimeric phantom—born from an intricate amalgamation of political, economic, cultural, and colonial forces—has emerged. This thesis examines the representation of subaltern lives in Adib Khan’s Seasonal Adjustments and Michael Ondaatje’s Anil’s Ghost to interpret the phantom presence. The narratives of these texts situate the subaltern in a unique position as they represent not only innumerable dead subalterns but also living ones subjected to relentless violence, death, and degradation in the postcolony. My introductory chapter briefly explores the histories of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, out…
has type: Thesis/Dissertation
date issued: 2024-11
is shown at: 10.14288/1.0445221
language: eng
degree discipline: English
provider: Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
publisher: University of British Columbia
rights: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
rights URI: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
scholar level: Graduate
contributor: Paltin, Judith, 1959-
type: Text
identifier URI: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/89091