Research Gateway

The recent spurt of ‘theory’ and the popularity of postcolonial cultural studies within English departments has led to a certain diversification and innovation regarding interpretation of literary texts. The text is no more considered an autotelic structure which contains all the ‘contexts’ required for its analysis. Text is now considered a site of diverse cultural forces. The production/interpretation of texts does not take place in ideologically neutral zones, but is affected by numerous socio-cultural factors. The poststructural theories have blurred the boundary between the literary/non-literary texts and interdisciplinarity is in vogue. While it has proved largely fruitful for literary studies, the trend is not without its pitfalls. It has resulted in a lot of pseudo-sociology being produced in the name of literary studies. Interdisciplinarity should ideally imply bringing to bear upon the text a wide frame of reference from extra-literary sources, leading to a comprehensive, exhaustive and more useful understanding of the literary discourse; rather than blatant erosion of all boundaries.