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UC San Diego UC San Diego Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title Racial Encounters: Queer Affiliations in Black and South Asian Diasporas Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7n62j2p1 Author Kini, Ashvin Rathnanand Publication Date 2016 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO Racial Encounters: Queer Affiliations in Black and South Asian Diasporas A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Literature by Ashvin Rathnanand Kini Committee in charge: Professor Lisa Lowe, Co-chair Professor Shelley Streeby, Co-chair Professor Patrick Anderson Professor Page duBois Professor Fatima, El-Tayeb Professor Kalindi Vora 2016 Copyright © Ashvin Rathnanand Kini, 2016 All rights reserved. The dissertation of Ashvin Rathnanand Kini is approved, and it is acceptable in quality and form for publication on microfilm and electronically: ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ Co-Chair ______________________________________________________________________ Co-Chair University of California, San Diego 2016 iii DEDICATION For my grandmother, Savitri Sharma and my parents, Aravinda and Mridula Kini In memory of Rosemary Marangoly George iv EPIGRAPH If, as the saying goes, the past is another country, then all memory is diasporic. Rosemary Marangoly George v TABLE OF CONTENTS Signature Page……………………………………………………………………………iii Dedication………………………………………………………………………………...iv Epigraph…………………………………………………………………………………...v Table of Contents…………………………………………………………………………vi Acknowledgements………………………………………………………………………vii Vita………………………………………………………………………………………...x Abstract of the Dissertation………………………………………………………………xi Prologue…………………………………………………………………………………...1 Chapter One Diasporic Relationality: Queer Memory Discourses and Narratives of Indian Indenture…………………………………………………………………………………13 Chapter Two Black British Cinema and the Queer Politics of Memory…………………….…………47 Chapter Three Black-South Asian Intimacies and the Legacies of Colonialism………………..……….73 Chapter Four Transnational U.S. Exceptionalisms: Neoliberal Bollywood…………………....……..100 Epilogue………………………………………………………………………………...127 Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………134 vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS While writing and research are often solitary tasks, I have been incredibly fortunate to have people in my life who have demonstrated that intellectual work can and should be a collective endeavor. It is because of their care, friendship, and love that this project came into being at all, and I extend my gratitude to them here. Lisa Lowe has been the most gracious and compassionate adviser I ever could have asked for. Her profound generosity takes many forms: it is in her genuine commitment to mentorship, teaching, and her students’ well-being; it is in the numerous avenues of inquiry that her work opens up for all of her readers; it is in her incredible ability to always remain present, even when she is physically far away. Throughout my experience at UC San Diego, which at times has been marked by frustration, uncertainty, and grief, Lisa has been a constant, and I thank her here from the bottom of my heart. Working with Shelley Streeby has been an absolute joy. Shelley taught the first class I truly loved at UCSD, the Literature department’s core feminist and queer theory seminar, and since then she has provided immense support and guidance to me. She came on as co-chair of my committee at a time of profound loss, when writing had stopped and the work seemed unimportant, but the encouragement she offered during this period enabled me to realign myself and complete this dissertation. Rosemary Marangoly George passed away while I was in the midst of working on this project, but I feel her presence everywhere in it. Rosemary was the person who convinced me to come to UCSD, and her warmth, humor, and her ability to make what is often a very isolating place somehow seem like home is something that I will always cherish. She was truly an exceptional mentor, scholar, and woman, and her influence on vii my thinking is profound. This dissertation is dedicated to her memory. It is so little compared to what she gave. The members of my committee have been unwavering in their support. Kalindi Vora has consistently offered the most thoughtful advice and guidance. Patrick Anderson has pushed me to think more creatively. Fatima El-Tayeb asks the most incisive questions and has motivated me to think about gender and queerness in radically new ways. And Page duBois has been a source of abiding kindness and encouragement. Each of you has been a critical influence on this work. I cannot thank you enough. In addition to my committee, numerous faculty at UCSD have been generous with their time and support, including Lisa Yoneyama, Nayan Shah, Sara Clarke Kaplan, Kirstie Dorr, Dennis Childs, Yingjin Zhang, Roshanak Kheshti, K. Wayne Yang, Nitin Govil, Jody Blanco, Camille Forbes, Jorge Mariscal, Stephanie Jed, Luis Martin-Cabrera, Rosaura Sanchez, and most recently Kamala Visweswaran. I thank Chandan Reddy and Grace Kyungwon Hong for making time and space for me. I also thank former teachers and mentors who believed in me and my work when I was an MA student at the University of Illinois at Chicago and an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin- Madison: Gayatri Reddy, Helen Jun, Madhu Dubey, Anna Kornbluh, John D’Emilio, Norma Moruzzi, A. Finn Enke, and Anne McClintock. I thank Sue Hawkinson, Kristin Carnohan, and Joje Marie Reyes-Alonzo for, among so many other things, always making sure that I was employed. I made some of the best friends of my life in San Diego, and I hope that someday we can found a university so that we can all be together again. Much love to Josen Diaz, Morelia Portillo Rivas, Davorn Sisavath, Lauren Heintz, Sara Mameni, Joo Ok Kim, viii Chris Perreira, Sarika Talve-Goodman, Rujeko Hockley, Yumi Pak, Thea Quiray Tagle, Chien-ting Lin, Amanda Solomon Amorao, Reema Rajbanshi, and Allia Homoyoun. Thank you to Niall Twohig and Jeff Gagnon for always being available to talk about work, teaching, and life. Throughout the years, near and far, Imin Yeh, Justine Wenger, Diana Parker, Emily Lord Fransee, Amy Barber, Emily Long, Kareem Khubchandani, Beth Lach and Sherlyn Ongtengco have always had my back. The love of my family has been the most sustaining thing in the world. To Seema, Nutan, and Rohini: you are the best sisters and friends I could ever want. I love you. Thank you Uncle Pami, Aunty Maja, Uncle Ashok, Uncle Neelam, and the entire Sharma family. To my grandmother, Savitri Sharma: we all learn from you everyday; you are an inspiration. To my father, Aravinda Kini: thank you for instilling in me a love of learning and for always pushing me to do better. To my mother, Mridula Kini: you are without question the most incredible mother ever to have lived. Of all the things you have taught me, I thank you most for teaching me how to love. Victor Betts arrived at just the right time, and over the past five years has brought immense joy, laughter, and affection into my life. His support and presence have shaped this work in ways I cannot describe. Portions of chapter one have been previously published as “Diasporic Relationalities: Queer Affiliations in Shani Mootoo’s ‘Out on Main Street,’” in South Asian Review 35, no. 3 (2014): 185-202. I thank the publishers of South Asian Review for permission to reprint this material here, of which I was the sole researcher and author. ix VITA 2006 Bachelor of Arts, English University of Wisconsin, Madison 2009 Master of Arts, English (Certificate in Gender and Women’s Studies) University of Illinois-Chicago 2012 Candidate in Philosophy, Literature University of California, San Diego 2014 Dissertation Fellow, Literature Department University of California, San Diego 2016 Doctor of Philosophy, Literature University of California, San Diego PUBLICATIONS “Diasporic Relationalities: Queer Affiliations in Shani Mootoo’s ‘Out on Main Street.’” South Asian Review 35.3 (2014): 185-202. Review of Cultural Transformations: Perspectives on Translocation in a Global Age, edited by Chris Prentice, Vijay Devadas and Henry Johnson. The Journal of Intercultural Studies, Vol. 32, No. 4 (2011): 433-458. FIELDS OF STUDY Major Field: Literature and Cultural Studies Studies in American Studies and U.S. Multiethnic Literature Professors Lisa Lowe and Shelley Streeby Studies in Postcolonial Literature and Theory Professors Rosemary Marangoly George and Kalindi Vora Studies in Gender and Sexuality Studies Professors Patrick Anderson and Fatima El-Tayeb x ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION Racial Encounters: Queer Affiliations in Black and South Asian Diasporas by Ashvin Rathnanand Kini Doctor of Philosophy in Literature University of California, San Diego, 2016 Professor Lisa Lowe, Co-chair Professor Shelley Streeby, Co-chair Racial Encounters: Queer Affiliations in Black and South Asian Diasporas examines diasporic Black and South Asian cultural production to chart the shifting politics of race, gender, and sexuality in British and U.S. imperial projects. I argue that diasporic Black and South Asian cultural production