Media, Coventry University
Thesis title:
My PhD is an exploration of the relationship between Dalit activism and literature through an analysis of literature published in the 21st century. I argue that contemporary literature has a fundamentally different relationship with the activist project than that of forty years ago. In this thesis, I argue that this close relationship has changed as we have entered the 21st century. I argue that although contemporary Dalit literature often reflects the concerns of political and social activists, contemporary writers are becoming ever more concerned with literary aesthetic and innovation.
This research offers a radically different perspective of Dalit literature that does not position it as a sociological account of Dalit life. Instead, my research views Dalit literature as art in its own right that is infused with the creative energy of Dalit communities. This creativity, in the form of Dalit literature, points towards a positive route towards self-respect for Dalits that does not need to rely on the suffering narrative that Dalit literature was founded upon. By focusing on contemporary texts that offer positive visions of Dalit life, my research will break new ground in the field of Dalit literary studies and offer a framework for analysing Dalit literature that is not rooted in the sociological analysis of pain and suffering.
'Dalit Literature: 'Dalit Literature: Space and Trauma', at ECSAS 2016, Warsaw', Postcolonial Studies Centre at NTU (2016) <https://postcolonialstudiescentre.wordpress.com/2016/09/29/dalit-literature-space-and-trauma-at-ecsas-2016-warsaw-by-daniel-bilton/>
'Dalit poetry: Response to Gopika Jadeja "You keep the cow's tail: The Dalit Movement and Dalit Poetry in Gujarat"', Postcolonial Studies Centre at NTU (2017) <https://postcolonialstudiescentre.wordpress.com/response-to-gopika-jadeja-you-keep-the-cows-tail-the-dalit-movement-and-dalit-poetry-in-gujarat-by-daniel-bilton/>
2016
NTU Research Fair 16/03/16, 'Dalit Literature and Trauma'.
European Conference of South Asian Studies 2016 (ECSAS), Warsaw, 28/07/16, 'Dalit Literature: Space and Trauma'.
2017
British Association for South Asian Studies 2017 (BASAS), 20/04/2017, 'Tamil Dalit Literature and the Representation of Political History'.
NTU Postgraduate Research Seminar 03/05/17, 'Tamil Dalit Literature and the Representation of Political History'.
Troubling Globalisation 3 Symposium, 20/09/17, 'From Victim to Empowered: The Changing Message of Dalit Literature'.
2018
NTU English Research Fair 28/02/2018, 'In search of a Dalit Culture: Reinterpreting Dalit History in Contemporary Contexts'.
Gave a presentation about my thesis at the University of Leeds as part of the NTU-Leeds Postcolonial Knowledge Exchange, 02/05/2018
Movements: Protest, Politics and Activism in the 21st Century, Nottingham Contemporary, 06/07/2018, 'Educate, Agitate, Organise: Dalit Activism and Writing in the 21st Century'.
European Conference of South Asian Studies 2018 (ECSAS), ?cole des Hautes ?tudes en Sciences Sociales, Paris 25/07/2018, 'Negotiating Activist and Cultural Spaces in Contemporary Dalit Literature'
2019
Caste, Gender and Race : A Politics of Hegemony, Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University, Nagpur India, 22/02/2019, 'The Use of Dalit Culture in Dalit Literature'.
New Voices in Postcolonial Studies: Interdisciplinary Imaginations, Critical Confrontations Symposium, University of Leeds, 13/06/2019, 'In search of a Dalit Culture: Reinterpreting Dalit History in Contemporary Contexts'
Contemporary Indian literature and film
Caste Studies
Postcolonial Literature
Experimental Literature
Graphic Novel Studies
European Association of South Asian Studies
2018/19
Black Writing in Britain (2nd year undergraduate module, half year)
2019/2020
Writing Self and Nation (1st year undergraduate module, full year)
Privacy | Cookies | EDI Policy | VPP