Postcolonial Play: South Asian Identity in Intercollegiate Debate

Presenter

Rishi Mukherjee

Campus

UMass Amherst

Sponsor

Leda Cooks, Department of Communication, UMass Amherst

Schedule

Session 3, 1:30 PM - 2:15 PM [Schedule by Time][Poster Grid for Time/Location]

Location

Poster Board A41, Campus Center Auditorium, Row 3 (A41-A60) [Poster Location Map]

Abstract

This paper examines South Asian identity in intercollegiate debate. Debate is a space which emphasizes the importance of diverse perspectives, thus it is imperative that South Asian points of view are included. It focuses particularly on a conception of South Asian subaltern subjects referencing authors like Gayatri Spivak and Edward Said to explain South Asian experiences from a postcolonial lens. Additionally, this paper describes intercollegiate debate using theories of play referencing authors like Edward Caillois and Aaron Trammell to understand debate as a game and explore the intersection of identity in debate. Drawing on these authors, this paper brings out a unique conception of South Asian identity in spaces like debate to create a theoretical argument that synthesizes this scholarship into a praxis. In addition, the paper delves into the historical and cultural contexts that have shaped South Asian identity, providing a comprehensive understanding of how these factors influence the dynamics of intercollegiate debate and the broader discourse on identity. This paper analyzes how certain norms of play and debate are seemingly neutral but enforced along racial lines. As a strategy to resist these concepts, this paper forwards postcolonial play---a praxis to resist racist practices and norms. The result is a methodology to be applied not only in debate, but also in other similar environments that intersect South Asian identity and standard normativity. 

Keywords

postcolonialism, subaltern, identity politics, praxis, intersectional analysis

Research Area

Race and Ethnicity Studies

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