This collection of original essays by eminent scholars in multi-ethnic U.S. and South Asian Studies, many of whom lean on postcolonial theory, centers on the idea of "crossing borders," a paradigm that is critical to discourses of modernity, diaspora, exile, and trans-nation, as well as to the formation of nations, communities and identities. The essays are premised upon a recognition that although we live presumably in a "borderless world," recurrent recent crises over migrants trapped and dying in international waters demonstrate yet again that borders are still real and that the material existence of individuals, living within and between borders, is fraught with difficulty. As such, nations are much more than "imagined communities" (Benedict Anderson) and the boundaries between nations have real impact on people's lives even though they may also be interrogated as fictional inventions, what Amitav Ghosh calls "shadow lines."
Borders, of course, exist within countries as well, and are in many cases the legacy of the very processes of globalization that have resulted in the movement of individuals and groups of people from one destination to another, within one national border and in different unfamiliar parts of the world. The flip side of the resultant cosmopolitanism is often the longing for what Salman Rushdie has memorably called "imaginary homelands," translating, sooner or later, into the acknowledgement of spaces of diaspora and trans-nation that both extend and undercut the power of narratives based on nation and its borders. At the same time, the United States, the fabled melting pot of ethnicities, finds itself contending time and time again with the internal obduracy of the "unmeltable ethnics" as Michael Novak terms it. As contemporary events have shown, racial tensions are a persistent reality in the U.S. and India, intersecting with class schisms within the city and between the city and the suburbs. Our collection is thematically eclectic but it retains a disciplinary commonality and we expect it to become an important new contribution to the field.
Industry Reviews
Readers will easily conclude that Singh is not only beloved by the participants gathered in these pages, but deeply respected.. . . . A forty-six-page appendix to the volume includes reminiscences (all warm, some straight-laced, some funny) of Amritjit Singh by a healthy number of prominent scholars and writers, including K.D. Verma, Meena Alexander, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, Shauna Singh Baldwin, Houston A. Baker, John C. Hawley, and Marsha L. Dutton. These, along with a tight preface, thoughtful introduction, a thorough index, and ample biographies of all contributors, help make this carefully edited volume of essays a fitting and invaluable tribute to Singh. * South Asian Review *
From its title to its delightful stories, Crossing Borders speaks perfectly to the rich contributions Amrit has made to literary study. It crosses borders of identity, nation, and art in ways that open our eyes-and our minds-to the multiple cultures he has been so instrumental in enabling us to see and to engage. A brilliant festschrift to celebrate the importance of Amritjit Singh's work-and also his life as a colleague and friend. -- Paul Lauter, Allan K. & Gwendolyn Miles Smith Professor of Literature (emeritus), Trinity College
Crossing Borders promises to be one of the most exciting publishing events in the academy in a decade, inscribing a long overdue tribute to Amritjit Singh, one of my finest colleagues and a leading humanist scholar of his generation. That Amrit is the subject of honor here is itself remarkable testimony to the real and symbolic value of different cultural subjects gathering across borders to express their affectionate regard for an unrelenting worker in the 'contact zone' of a plethora of cultures. -- Hortense Spillers, Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Professor of English, Vanderbilt University
A rigorous, coherent, and superbly timed collection of essays, Crossing Borders pays rich and eloquent tribute to Professor Amritjit Singh's distinguished and ongoing contributions to perennial 'border crossings' and does justice not just to the uniqueness of Amritjit's conjunctural presence and significance as a scholar, teacher, and public intellectual, but also to the themes and issues that have constituted his cosmopolitan agenda over the years. -- R. Radhakrishnan, Chancellor's Professor of English and Comparative Literature, University of California, Irvine
This excellent collection of essays does the nearly impossible task of representing both the depth and range of Amritjit Singh's work, extending across national borders, historical periods, and literary boundaries to represent an incredibly broad range of topics that, in the end, all seem intricately interconnected. Singh's work has been a challenge to those less willing to follow those global and historical dynamics, and Crossing Borders, including essays by many of the best scholars working in these fields today, is a gift and an example for all those who have taken up Singh's call to action. -- John Ernest, Judge Hugh M. Morris Professor of English, University of Delaware
Amritjit Singh is a respected scholar, teacher, and friend. This fine collection of essays is a tribute to Amrit's personal courage and intellectual willingness to transgress borders and establish a common humanity with people everywhere. These are important attributes in our times when people want to assert their differences than seek a conversation which is always inconclusive. Maybe the question King Vikramaditya asks in an ancient text of moral riddles best describes Amrit's life-history: "What country is foreign to the learned?" -- Alok Bhalla, author of Partition Dialogues and Stories About the Partition of India (4 Volumes)
In this imagined salon of notable international scholars joined by their friendship and admiration for Amritjit Singh, transnational studies and border studies intersect with feminist recuperation of historical oversights, South-Asian remappings, and African American literary analyses to explore the permeability of race and other borders. Highly recommended. -- John C. Hawley, Santa Clara University
In order to understand the scope and breadth of Amritjit Singh's contributions to global letters, one need only look at the list of contributors, who are among the most important voices in the field. Indeed, Crossing Borders makes a strong and persuasive argument that African American literary and cultural studies is a global project taking place in multiple locations both inside and outside the U.S. Beyond a doubt, Amrit has been witness to myriad configurations of knowledge production-including multiculturalism, gender studies, transnationalism, and literary historiography. -- Herman Beavers, Professor of English and African American Studies, U of Pennsylvania
