Transcultural Displacements: A Study of Cultural Dichotomies and Spatiotemporality in Select South Asian Migrant Literature

Abstract

The research aims to investigate the existing studies on culture and migration by examining select South Asian female migrant narratives. It also aims to examine the occurrence of cultural dichotomies in the narratives. The research further aims to explore the field of migration as a system of negotiation between past and present. Furthermore, it aims to analyze migration as a tool for seeking and shaping identity. The methods that are used in this research include, analysis and interpretation of primary, secondary, and tertiary resources in the fields of Cultural Studies, Migrant Literature, Geography, and Sociology. The research analyses the select texts to determine narrative paradigms. It further employs the interpretation of spatial, temporal, cultural, and differential elements through critical analysis of literary theories in the concerned areas. The research finds that migration accounts to transcultural shift through various stages that include, geographical displacement, cultural dichotomy, negotiation between past and present, and hyphenated identity. It also brings out the interpretation of migration beyond the established norms of gender and spotlights the impact of migration on women. It further highlights the cultural similarities between India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. The research concludes that migration is a precursor to transcultural displacement. It further deduces that, in the process of migration and resettlement, migrants travel beyond the limits of their own culture and evolve from cultural to transcultural beings through various stages.