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US-American Inoutside Perspectives in Globalized Anglophone Literatures Dissertation zur Erlangung des Grades Dr. phil. an der Fakultät für Geisteswissenschaften der Universität Duisburg-Essen vorgelegt von Claudia Elisabeth Perner, M. A., geboren in Erlenbach am Main Datum der mündlichen Prüfung: 22. Dezember 2011 Gesamtprädikat: summa cum laude Erstgutachterin: Prof. Dr. Annette Kern-Stähler Zweitgutachter: Prof. Dr. Jens Martin Gurr Vorsitzender der Prüfungskommission: Prof. Dr. Helmut C. Jacobs 2 Table of Contents Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................... 3 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................... 5 Part I ........................................................................................................................................................ 12 1. The USA in the Context of Globalization Debate(s) ............................................................... 13 2. Inquiries into Anti-Americanism ............................................................................................. 29 3. Dead-Ending Imagology? ........................................................................................................ 42 4. Performative Depictions and Creative Stereotypes ................................................................. 54 Part II ....................................................................................................................................................... 71 1. The Transnationalization of American Studies and the Complex Fate of Not Being an American Migrant Novel ......................................................................................................... 72 2. Social Ties: The Intricacy of Interacting and Belonging ................................................... 81 2.1 The Pervasiveness of Class, Race and Nationality: Zadie Smith, On Beauty (2005) ......... 82 2.2 Off the Grid: Intercultural Encounter in Peter Carey’s His Illegal Self (2008) ................ 104 2.3 Criminal Cosmopolitans: Imraan Coovadia, Green-Eyed Thieves (2006) ....................... 120 2.4 Social Ties ........................................................................................................................ 135 3. The Artist: Reflections of the Narcissistic Self .................................................................. 138 3.1 The Rage of the Self-Absorbed Observer: Salman Rushdie, Fury (2001) ....................... 139 3.2 The Gloomy Side of Comedy: Caryl Phillips, Dancing in the Dark (2005) .................... 158 3.3 The City as a Canvas: Chris Abani, The Virgin of Flames (2007) ................................... 175 3.4 The Artist .......................................................................................................................... 187 4. The ‘Terrorist’: Anatomies of Reluctant Emigration ...................................................... 190 4.1 The 9/11 Emigrant Novel: Mohsin Hamid, The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2007) ......... 191 4.2 Virtual Attack on a Globalized World: Hari Kunzru, Transmission (2004) .................... 208 4.3 The Outsider Dares to Speak from Within: DBC Pierre, Vernon God Little (2003) ........ 225 4.4 The ‘Terrorist’ .................................................................................................................. 235 The Cosmopolitan Perspective in Literary Studies ........................................................................... 238 Bibliography .......................................................................................................................................... 255 3 Hong Kong Pizza, 2013 Acknowledgements I wish to thank this projects’s three ‘parents’: Professor Frank Schulze-Engler, who guided my early steps in the field; Professor Annette Kern-Stähler, who took me on board in Essen and whose sharp mind, integrity and humor I admire; Professor Jens Gurr, who treated me like one of his own and whose advice has been invaluable. I am indebted to Professor Christoph Heyl, Dr. Rebecca Lindner and Professor Marc Priewe for giving me temporary academic shelter at the University of Duisburg and Essen, at Amsterdam University College and at Stuttgart University, respectively. Thanks to Professor Zoë Wicomb for being an inspiration and an exemplary teacher; to Professor Diana Brydon, the generous mistress of academic networking; to Dr. Gordon Collier for his helpful feedback for the completed manuscript and to Professor Timothy Brennan for reading and commenting on an earlier version of the chapter on cosmopolitanism. Heartfelt thanks to my companions from the doctoral colloquium of the Frankfurt NELK department, especially Dr. Doreen Strauhs, Dr. Ellen Grünkemeier, Dr. Carla Müller-Schulzke, Cosima Wittmann and Jenny Diederich. I am grateful for the support of Professor Christa Buschendorf, Nicola Nowak, Arja Drexler and Sabine Frank. Over the past decade, I have benefitted greatly from being associated with the German Association for the Study of the New Literatures in English (ASNEL/ GNEL – soon to be known as GAPS). I would like to express my particular 4 appreciation to Professor Mark Stein, Professor Susi Reichl, Dr. Ursula Kluwick, Professor Katja Sarkowsky and Professor Kylie Crane. Thanks also to the teams behind the 8 th Summer School of the New English Literatures (Frankfurt, 2007), above all Malte Schudlich, and of the 10 th Summer School (Berne, 2011), especially Patricia Bieder. The doctoral colloquium at the Department of Anglophone Studies in Essen has been a source of valuable feedback and, in many cases, of friendship. I am deeply grateful to all members and contributors, especially Professor Josef Raab, Gregor Pudzich, Dr. Roman Bartosch, Mayannah Dahlheim, Dr. Wanja von der Goltz, Dr. Alexandra Berlina, Georg Drennig, Alexia Schemien and PD Dr. Pascal Fischer. I also wish to thank those friends and colleagues who made my time in Essen and in Stuttgart worthwhile and enjoyable, in particular the late Andrea Grün, who will be remembered for her wit and honesty, Sandarenu Kumarasamy, Dr. Michaela Meyer, Adam von Wald and Nina Jürgens. Thanks as well to my students in Frankfurt, Essen, Joensuu and Stuttgart for many challenging and (mostly) enjoyable hours. I am grateful to all friends who offered their support and/or chocolates and reminded me of the world beyond the books. Baci to PD Dr. Sabrina Brancato (and the three Ciccarelli), Mahsa Mahamied and Franziska Jahn-Madell. Thanks to everyone associated with the Sneakpod podcast, the Pinke Bar and the Cocktailpodcast. Merci to Silvio Foscan for taking a photo of his pizza in Hong Kong – and for letting me use it. The soundtrack for the final writing stretch (January to June 2011) was provided by Daft Punk. The last chapters and corrections were completed amidst the marvelous scenery of Staffelsee, to the sound of cows mooing and Taffertshofer children trampolining. I owe the greatest debt of gratitude to my parents, Angela and Friedrich Perner, for having raised me to read and to voice opinions (sometimes too forcefully – which is not their fault) and for supporting my choices. Finally, thanks to my companions in years past and for many years to come: Christoph W. and Teresa Perner, Johannes Perner and Marc Nördinger. Claudia Perner, Frankfurt am Main, August 2013 Introduction 5 “[T]his is now the most dangerous power the world has ever known – the authentic ‘rogue state’, [...] a fully-fledged, award-winning, gold-plated monster. It has declared war on the world. It knows only one language – bombs and death.” Harold Pinter in What We Think of America “America gives every man a second chance. Success or failure are not determined by family origins, or bound by the rules of class. The pursuit of personal happiness is not just a right, but almost a duty.” Ian Buruma in What We Think of America “People here are like silkworms wrapped in their cocoons. Why is America empty? Where are the people?” Hanan al-Shaykh in What We Think of America Introduction In this study, I examine contemporary literary encounters with US-American locations, lifeworlds and characters. The novels that are the object of analysis originate from the global sphere of anglophone literatures beyond the USA and ‘mainstream’ Great Britain. In this field, the former colonial ‘motherland’ England and the colonial metropolis London have traditionally been considered central points of reference. Until today, the postcolonial subject’s engagement with the former colonizer and with legacies of colonialism constitutes one central objective of the ‘postcolonial approach’.1 However, since the middle of the twentieth century the world has witnessed a reorientation towards the USA, in political, economic and intellectual contexts but also in the form of cultural and creative projects. As Ramachandra Guha has pointed out referring to India, “[i]n cultural terms, America, rather than Britain has become the locus of [...] emulation.” 2 This study pays tribute to the shift that has been taking place, tracing its echoes in a selection of contemporary novels. In doing so, it covers ground that has been scarcely examined: the novels considered here might conventionally either be approached from a postcolonial studies perspective or incorporated into the field of American studies as ‘American migrant fiction’. In