Human Rights and the Arts in Global Asia: An Anthology

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This anthology of literary and dramatic works introduces writers from across Asia and the Asian diaspora. The landscapes and time periods it describes are rich and varied: a fishing village on the Padma River in Bangladesh in the early twentieth century, the slums of prewar Tokyo, Indonesia during the anti-leftist purge of the 1960s, and contemporary Tibet. Even more varied are the voices these works bring to life, which serve as testimony to the lives of those adversely impacted by poverty, rapid social change, political suppression, and armed conflict. In the end, the works in this anthology convey an attitude of spiritual and communal survival and even of hope. This anthology presents the complex dynamic between a diversity of Asian lives and the universalized concept of the individual human entitled to clearly specified rights. It also asks us to think about what standards of analysis we should employ when considering a historical period in which universal human rights and civil liberties are considered secondary to the collective good, as has so often been the case when nation states are undergoing revolutionary change, waging war, or championing so-called Asian values. This books use of the term Global Asia reflects an interest in rethinking Asia as more than an area determined by national borders and geography. Rather, this book portrays it as a space of movement and fluidity, where societies and individuals respond not only to their local frames of reference, but also to broader ideas and ideals. Many of the works anthologized here are the subject of scholarly analysis in the companion volume Human Rights and the Arts: Perspectives on Global Asia, also published by Lexington Books.

Reviews

A compilation of creative writings powerfully evocative and richly diverse, yet united by themes of conflict between the home and the world. To most of us who think of home and belonging as unconditional givens, reading these may well topple us from the couch of complacency we choose to lie on within the comfort and security of our dwelling. Goossen and Hazra deserve laud for this fine pick. -- Mahesh Dattani, playwright

Author Bio

Theodore W. Goossen is professor of humanities at York University and founding member of the Department of Contemporary Literary Studies at the University of Tokyo. Anindo Hazra is a PhD candidate in English at York University.