Introduction

Waters, J. (2018) Introduction. In: The Mauritian Novel: Fictions of Belonging. Contemporary French and Francophone Cultures, 56. Liverpool University Press, Liverpool, UK, pp. 1-49. ISBN 9781786941497 doi: 10.3828/mlo.v0i0.256

Abstract/Summary

The introductory chapter provides an overview of the historical, political and socio-cultural factors that make belonging such a central but fraught issue in contemporary Mauritius and in its literature. It explores recent theories of ‘belonging’ from a range of disciplines, in order to demonstrate the usefulness of the term for an analysis of the diversity of the Mauritian situation. It offers an overview of recent Mauritian literature and of critical approaches, in order to show how my own approach offers a new perspective and fills gaps. It introduces the main corpus and the criteria for selection, as well as outlining the central research questions and the eclectic theoretical framework adopted in the close readings of ensuing chapters. Throughout, I show how the Mauritian context provides fruitful grounds for testing the assertion, by scholars such as Vertovec or Antonsich, that ‘contemporary societies [are] characterised by the co-presence of a plurality of forms of belonging.’

Additional Information	This is the Introduction. The full book, entitled: 'The Mauritian Novel: Fictions of Belonging', is referenced on CentAUR here: http://centaur.reading.ac.uk/76132/.
Item Type	Book or Report Section
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/91426
Identification Number/DOI	10.3828/mlo.v0i0.256
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Arts, Humanities and Social Science > School of Literature and Languages > Languages and Cultures > French
Additional Information	This is the Introduction. The full book, entitled: 'The Mauritian Novel: Fictions of Belonging', is referenced on CentAUR here: http://centaur.reading.ac.uk/76132/.
Publisher	Liverpool University Press
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