Ayad Akhtar, the American Nation, and Its Others after 9/11: Homeland Insecurity

(Hardback)

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Ayad Akhtar, the American Nation, and Its Others After 9/11: Homeland Insecurity examines playwright and novelist Ayad Akhtars contributions to multiple genres including film and theatre. This book situates Akhtars oeuvre within the social and political context of post-9/11 American culture, marked by the creation of the Homeland Security State and the racialization of Muslims, Arabs, and South Asians. It departs from many traditional studies of 9/11 literature by challenging the binary of victim and perpetrator and examining the continuing impact of the event on questions of American nationalism and belonging. Tracing a literary genealogy for Akhtar, it explores a broad range of issues represented in Akhtars works such as globalization, the decline of American industry, terrorism, torture, generational conflicts, interracial love, gender and violence, the conflict between secular and religious valuesall issues which affect American nationalism both within and outside the nations borders, and shape the lives of South Asian American Muslims. Employing the lenses of trauma studies, transnational feminism, postcolonial theory, and performance studies, this book is attentive to the controversial reception of Akhtars works and the paucity of authentic representation of Muslim Americans. It combines literary interpretations of Akhtars works with sociological analysis of post-9/11 racial formation, a personal interview with Akhtar, and observations of plays and post-play discussions.

Reviews

A trenchant, much-needed rejoinder to the claim that Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Ayad Akhtar cynically fans the flames of Islamophobia, Lopamudra Basus study persuasively recasts his work as a critical response to neoliberal capitalism and American imperialism and as a savvy redeployment of genre conventions that date back to Shakespeare. -- Timothy Aubry, Baruch College
Ayad Akthar is rightly situated in the constellation of leading playwrights in the 21st century. Through rigorous theorizing, contextualization, and analysis, Basu yields striking new insights into Akthar's meditation on contemporary issues and themes pertinent to South Asian diasporic life and representations of Muslim American realities specifically. -- Jocelyn L. Buckner, Chapman University
Basu deftly explores Ayad Akhtars literary and creative work to study and complicate the conflation of national security with national interest as well as the befouling of institutional politics, which insidiously bled into the dominant political discourse in the United States and was used to promulgate Islamophobia. -- Nyla Ali Khan, Rose State College
This first book on Akhtars work contextualizes it well within an impressive range of scholarly debates and frameworks. Though I would wish for a tougher critical stance, especially regarding his play Disgraced, I appreciate the care Basu takes to situate his writing and establish its stakes in the aftermath of 9/11. -- Ambreen Hai, Smith College
I read Basus keenly insightful book while a Fulbright Scholar in Palestine. It illuminated the tensions within Islam globally and the construction of the Muslim as other. I will use Basus superb book with my Religious Studies and Creative Arts students to trouble the waters of Islamophobia and the homeland security state. -- Victoria Rue, San Jose State University

Author Bio

Lopamudra Basu is professor of English at University of Wisconsin-Stout.