Migration, Ethnicity and Identity in Malay/sian Society

This PhD entitled “Migration, Ethnicity and Identity in Malay/sian Society” consists of a creative component as well as a critical component, both of which explore migration, ethnicity and identity in postcolonial literature.
The critical component, “Writing the Diaspora: Migration, Ethnicity and Identity in Malaysian Fiction” uses a dual – gender and postcolonial – lens to explore Malaysian diasporic fiction. The thesis analyses how colonial/postcolonial experiences intersect with gender-based oppression to shape the lived reality of Malaysian minority communities. It also focuses on unique aspects of Malaysian history and politics that affect manifestations of patriarchal power. The novels that form the basis of the critical component are Evening is the Whole Day by Preeta Samarasan and Rani Manicka’s The Rice Mother. Both novels, and my critical component, focus on the minority Tamil community in Malaysia.
In summary, by pairing creative practice with critical analysis, this PhD is not just an auto/biographical exercise, but instead uses the scaffolding of diasporic fiction to create a site of dialogue between personal narrative and sociopolitical context in postcolonial communities.