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Chaiti Basu, M.A.
Associate Member
Position
- Ph.D. Candidate
Contact information
Karl Jaspers Centre
Voßstraße 2, Building 4400
Room 118
69115 Heidelberg
Germany
- Email:
- basu@asia-europe.uni-heidelberg.de
- Phone:
- +49 (0) 6221 54 4306
Projects
Curriculum vitae
born 1972 in Howrah, India
Education
since 07.2008: Team member of the project “Gauging Cultural Asymmetries: Asian Satire and the Search for Identity in the Era of Colonialism and Imperialism” (B1) of the Cluster of Excellence at the Ruprecht-Karls-University Heidelberg, Germany, Ph.D. Candidate
2002-2004: M.A. in South Asian Studies and English at Martin-Luther-University, Halle-Wittenberg, Germany
2000-2002: M.A. in English Literature at Vidyasagar University, India
1998-1999: B.Ed. at University of Calcutta, India
1994-1996: M.A. in Comparative Literature at Jadavpur University, India
Working Experience
4.-09.2003: Substitute lecturer of Bengali, Martin-Luther-University, Halle-Wittenberg, Germany
1997-2000: Freelance journalist for cultural events in Bengali Newspapers
PhD-Project
"Panchu Thakur: Indranath Bandyopadhyay’s Response to the Colonial Cultural Encounter in 19th Century Bengal"
My work attempts to trace the Bengali satire of the late 19th century, especially concentrating on Indranath Bandyopadhyay and his works. Though Indranath was a representative of the orthodox group of writers of his time, he himself was a product of the colonial education system. His opinions and thoughts found adequate expression in the figure of the popular narrator, Panchu Thakur, one of his many pseudonyms.
Indranath is also believed by many literary historians to be the author of the first satirical novel in Bengali. Keeping in mind these considerations, his works seem to be apt for analyzing the reactions of, and repercussions among the middle class Bengali intelligentsia, especially of the more conservative social strata, towards the constant cultural flows taking place during the colonial rule in late 19th century Bengal.
