Sonita Sarkar holds the Luis Selis Visiting Fellowship at the IMLR, 2017. Here, she discusses the research she is undertaking as part of her fellowship:
Lecture 12 July 2017
The time for the presentation of the fellowship, a culminating event, is arriving soon! 12th July 2017. Given the facets of the experiences I recorded in the previous two blogs, about positionality and proximity, the thought that arises now is the connotation of the presentation itself. Traditionally, one assumes or expects that a ‘presentation’ offers ‘findings’ and some conclusions. I feel quite the opposite. Despite having researched and published on Antonio Gramsci, and presented on Grazia Deledda, as well as integrating their ideas in a monograph-in-progress, this fellowship and the presentation constitute a new journey.
A new journey for me in many senses: new in the juxtaposition of Deledda and Gramsci; new in the venue that will bring a general public and an academic audience; new in my own arrival upon this field of contemplation; and new in the negotiations between cultural studies, feminist studies, and anticolonial studies. This presentation aims to launch a conversation, in the mode of starting a voyage, rather than deliver a neatly wrapped package, even as I delineate some distinct strands of thought to see Sardinia and Italy in new ways.
In the fact that Sardinia is under-represented in all the fields that I have mentioned above, the question that arises for me is: Is presentation of minoritised subjects inevitably or invariably advocacy? I will address that in the next blog.
Come to the presentation and let me know freely and directly what you think!
The Luisa Selis Fellowship Lecture will take place at 7pm on 12 July 2017, at the Italian Cultural Institute, 39 Belgrave Square, London SW1X 8NX