Space and Time in Three Works by Amitav Ghosh
Sarah N. Birman
Dr. Betsy Delmonico, Faculty Mentor
In three of his works—The Shadow Lines, In an Antique Land, and The Calcutta Chromosome—Amitav Ghosh shows how knowledge of yourself, awareness of the present, and understanding personal, community, and global history creates a unique sense of space and time. In these texts, he shows how history can be seen as ongoing, changing, and constantly fluctuating. What is considered truth today may one day be proven misleading or false. People influence one another and make decisions based on the people they meet. Entire groups of people, cultures, or countries, can be greatly influenced by a colonizing country invading their nation, or by a friendship made with a nation nearby. As an Indian post-colonial writer and as a social anthropologist, Ghosh uses his writing to show how space and time are deeply connected in both fiction and autobiographical settings.
Keywords: time, space, post-colonial, Amitav Ghosh
Topic(s):English
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 5-2
Location: VH 1320
Time: 8:30