Narrating Literary Transnationalism in Zake Smith and Dave Eggers

<p>This work argues for a greater reception of transnationalism in literary studies. Though the steady rise of transnationalism has already been studied in many areas of academia, literary studies has only begun to pay attention to it, and scholars appear to remain largely rooted in postcolonial or nationalistic thought. Refusing to read current texts through the lens of transnationalism hinders the literary academy's relevancy since creative writers today are addressing changes to the national structure in their fictive works. This study suggests why a new theoretical construct is needed to understand those texts, and it uses two representative examples: Zadie Smith's novel <em>White Teeth</em> and Dave Eggers' novel <em>What Is the What</em>. Smith's work focuses intently upon the friction people experience in the face of transnationalism when they refuse to let go of their colonial mindset. Eggers' text centers on a Lost Boy from Sudan and, through an alternative form of narration, examines how storytelling itself will have to change, since simple narratives no longer exist in a transnational world and people no longer identify with one nation or setting.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts in English (M.A.)

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis (open access)

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Department of Literature and Philosophy

Year dc:date.available

2013

Author dc:creator

• Shake, Nelson

Contributors dc:contributor

• Gautam Kundu
• Joe Pellegrino

• ETD
• Literary transnationalism
• Nationalism
• Samad Iqbal
• Achak Deng
• Necropolitics
• American Literature
• Comparative Literature
• Literature in English, British Isles

Repository record dc:identifier

https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd/49

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu:etd-1049