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The Politics and Poetics of Authenticity - A Cultural Genealogy of Sinhala Nationalism - cover

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The Politics and Poetics of Authenticity - A Cultural Genealogy of Sinhala Nationalism

Harshana Rambukwella

Publisher: UCL Press

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Summary

What is the
  role of cultural authenticity in the making of nations? Much scholarly and
  popular commentary on nationalism dismisses authenticity as a romantic
  fantasy or, worse, a deliberately constructed mythology used for political
  manipulation. The Politics and Poetics of
  Authenticity places authenticity at the heart of Sinhala nationalism in late nineteenth and twentieth century Sri Lanka. It argues that the passion for the ‘real’ or
  the ‘authentic’ has played a significant role in shaping nationalist thinking
  and argues for an empathetic yet critical engagement with the idea of
  authenticity. 
   
Through a
  series of fine-grained and historically grounded analyses of the writings of
  individual figures central to the making of Sinhala nationalist ideology the
  book demonstrates authenticity’s rich and varied presence in Sri Lankan
  public life and its key role in understanding post-colonial nationalism in Sri
  Lanka and elsewhere in South Asia and the world. It also explores how notions
  of authenticity shape certain strands of postcolonial criticism and offers a
  way of questioning the taken-for-granted nature of the nation as a unit of
  analysis but at the same time critically explore the deep imprint of nations
  and nationalisms on people lives.Praise for The Politics and Poetics of Authenticity'An excellent synopsis of society’s socio-political and economic evolution to readers interested in understanding colonial and post-colonial Sri Lanka in the 19th and 20th centuries.  ... Simultaneously, the book is also a reference point and guide to local and global scholarship that have attempted to read various aspects of nationalism.’The Island, 2021'An important scholarly contribution to the many ways in which the nation can be narrated.'Sri Lanka Journal of Social Sciences'This is a refreshing contribution to the growing body of scholarly literature on Sri Lanka’s Sinhalese nationalism, its politics and intellectual strands. Its value is enhanced by the marshalling of sources available in the Sinhalese language that are usually ignored in scholarly work on contemporary Sri Lanka.'Jayadeva Uyangoda'This is an impressive work that guides the reader with compassion through the cultural and political whirlwind of colonial and postcolonial Sri Lanka. Rambukwella breathes fresh air into old debates, probing the ironies of authenticity and inauthenticity through the lives and works of three leading nationalist thinkers. Timely and inspiring.'Nira Wickramasinghe. Professor of Modern South Asian Studies, Leiden University'The strength of [Politics and Poetics of Authenticity] lies squarely in the rereading of history through the lens of authenticity and the self-fashioning process of protagonists. Authenticity is not a disinterested discursive trope; it shapes people’s careers, and also helps shape history as an agential force'The Island, 2018 'To a long list of works that engage with Sinhala nationalism, Dr. Harshana Rambukwella’s The Politics and Poetics of Authenticity: A Cultural Genealogy of Sinhala Nationalism is an important addition. 'Daily FT (Sri Lanka)
Available since: 07/02/2018.

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