Black and South Asian British Literatures

Postcolonial Literatures in English have become a central field of research and study all over the world. This series of introductory readers covers (1) South Asian Literatures, (2) Australian, New Zealand and Pacific Literatures, (3) African Literatures, (4) Canadian Litera-tures, (5) Black and South Asian British Literatures and (6) Caribbean Literatures. The edited collections of source materials are designed to help students and teachers in exploring the diversity of the global cultural networks which have arisen from the British Em pire and Commonwealth. Each volume contains an introduction that sketches out major trends and developments in the region and provides recommendations for further reading. The specificities of each respective region are explored within a framework focussing on histories, identities, language, education, movements and genres, as well as transcultural perspectives.

One of the lasting legacies of the British Empire is the presence of black and SouthAsian people in Britain. They came respectively from West Africa and the West Indies, as well as from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, and have played a major role in creating the multicultural society we see around us today. They have made their mark in fields such as sport, music, literature, and film, and in so doing they are revising what we mean by British culture and are contributing to a rethinking of what is meant by "Britishness". This volume traces their history from the 17th century to the present through a broad range of their writing including slave narratives, letters, essays, autobiography, fiction, poetry and drama. The texts selected seek to elucidate the historical, political and social contexts of the literary practice of black and South Asian people, taking account of the many issues that have determined their lives in the country and have been reflected in their writing such as slavery, racism, immigration legislation, language variety, educational