National Identities· 2026Q1
The Bengali migrant and the (un)happy object: a study of select Bengali texts from Assam
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- Q1SCImago
- 2026year
Short summary
Bengali literary texts from Assam show how culturally significant and mundane objects embody migrant melancholia and displacement, gaining agency in shaping alienated migrant subjectivities.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Key points
- Emotions like hate and love reinforce and disrupt the 'Us-Other' binary in Assam's migrant context.
- Culturally significant and mundane objects embody migrant melancholia and displacement.
- Objects gain agency in shaping alienated migrant subjectivities.
- Literary representations are analyzed through theories of emotion and materiality.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
Assam has witnessed Bengali migration in large numbers, often leading to native-migrant conflicts. This paper examines how emotions like hate and love reinforce and disrupt the ‘Us-Other’ binary, revealing the fluidity of identity in Assam’s conflict-ridden context. It further explores how culturally significant artifacts as well as seemingly mundane objects embody migrant experiences of melancholia and displacement, gaining agency in shaping alienated migrant subjectivities. Drawing on Sara Ahmed’s theories of emotion and Maurizia Boscagli’s work on materiality, the paper analyses literary representations that contribute to critical estimations on affect and migration within Assam’s unique cultural and historical landscape.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. National Identities, 2026 · DOI ↗
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Field: Philosophy
PhilosophyArts and Humanities