Re inventing history a study of Amitav Ghoshs novels

Abstract

The doctoral thesis Re-inventing History: A Study of Amitav Ghoshand#8223;s Novels aims to examine Ghoshand#8223;s use of history with special newlineattention to his fictional works. Ghoshand#8223;s projection of history is viewed from two ways: Ghoshand#8223;s unconventional reading of the past and his preference to understand history from the perspective of the historically newlineunmapped, unexplored and unrepresented. His novels are read as models of history of the voiceless and the marginalised rather than those of historical figures; as novels that enhance family than nation in their newlinejuxtaposition of public and private histories; and as works that view migration and displacement only from the historical angle, thereby portraying migrants as victims trapped in the cauldron of history. History newlineas an indispensable reality is an integral quality that defines his novels. The research work would make use of primary and secondary sources on Amitav Ghoshand#8223;s works of fiction. The thesis has been organised into six sections as given below: Chapter I Introduction attempts definitions of history, examines the general use of history by historian and litterateur and relates the use of history by Indian English writers. It introduces Amitav Ghoshand#8223;s life, career, works and their dominant characteristics: Ghoshand#8223;s use of history is a common thread that unites most of his works. Chapter II Amitav Ghosh and Re-examination of History studies newlineGhoshand#8223;s novels in the context of an examination of history and the decoding of an alternative history. Ghosh debunks, deconstructs and repositions monumental historiography displaying a narration of ordinary individual rather than that of the nation to arrive at a revisionist view of newlinethe past. Chapter III History and Imagination in Amitav Ghoshand#8223;s Novels newlineexamines how Amitav Ghosh uses history against imagination or reality against fiction.