Mimetic desires : impersonation and guising across South Asia / edited by Harshita Mruthinti Kamath and Pamela Lothspeich.

Other author Kamath, Harshita Mruthinti, 1982- editor.
Other author Lothspeich, Pamela, editor.
Format Electronic
PublicationHonolulu : University of Hawaiʻi Press, [2023]
Description1 online resource (x, 285 pages) : illustrations.
Supplemental ContentEBSCOhost
Subjects
Impersonation.
Performing arts--South Asia.

Physical mediumillustration
SeriesMusic and performing arts of Asia and the Pacific
Music and performing arts of Asia and the Pacific.
Contents Public Impersonators: Gender, Caste, and Social Ontology in the Marathi Vernacular Moment / Christian Lee Novetzke -- Racial Impressions, Capital Characters: Dave Carson Brownfaces the Empire / Kellen Hoxworth -- Remembering the Hunterwali's Whip: The Ghosts of Fearless Nadia and Her Many Guises / Rosie Thomas -- In Gandhi's Guise / Chaya Chandrasekhar, Janice Glowski, and Sumathi Ramaswamy -- Playing the Yogi: The Making of Swami Baba Ramdev / Shehzad Nadeem -- The Freedom to Dance: Performance and Impersonation in Lagan / Aniruddha Dutta -- Mediatizing "Fake" Khwaja Siras: The Limits of Impersonation / Claire Pamment -- "We Are Better than the Women": Understanding the Popularity of Female Artists in Kerala / Shilpa Menon -- Cosplay, Fandom, and the Fashioning of Identities at Comic Con India / Sailaja Krishnamurti -- Possessed Impersonation: Divine Mimesis in Malabar / Rich Freeman -- Divine Embodiment in the Theatre of Ramlila / Pamela Lothspeich -- Resisting Brahminical Patriarchy in Kuchipudi Dance: The Story of Haleem Khan / Harshita Mruthinti Kamath.
Abstract "Through an exploration of subjects such as Gandhi impersonators, "God-men," performance artists, and participants in ritual enactments of sacred stories through dance and theatre, Mimetic Desires makes an intervention toward understanding the phenomenon of impersonation and guising in South Asia and the world. This volume defines impersonation as the temporary assumption of an identity or guise in performance that is perceived to be not one's own, regardless of whether this assumption is deliberate, intentional, and conscious or not. Interrogating the legitimacy of the purported dialectic between the "real/original" and "fake/dupe," Mimetic Desires refutes any ordering of identity along the lines of a binary or dichotomy that presupposes the myth of an original identity. Guising captures sartorial and kinetic play more generally. By peeling back the layers of performative masks to reveal the process of the masquerade itself, we can see that those with the most social capital are often those with the most power and opportunities to impersonate "up"-and "down"-social hierarchies. The twelve chapters in Mimetic Desires disclose sites and processes of socio-political power facilitated by normative markers of social status relating to race, ethnicity, gender, caste, class, and religion--and how those markers can be manipulated to express and enhance individual and group power. The first comprehensive study to focus on impersonation in South Asia, Mimetic Desires expands on previous scholarship on impersonation and guising in vernacular theatre, dance, public processions, and religious ritual. It is particularly in conversation with the robust scholarship on gender performance and trans-kothi-hijra engagement in theatrical and dance forms in South Asia. Mimetic Desires explores some of the contexts and forms of impersonation in South Asia, with its remarkable array of performing arts, to gain insight into the very human and quotidian practices of impersonation and guising"-- Provided by publisher.
Bibliography noteIncludes bibliographical references and index.
Source of descriptionDescription based on online resource; title from digital title page (viewed on December 06, 2022).
Issued in other formPrint version: Mimetic desires Honolulu : University of Hawaiʻi Press, 2022 9780824892777
LCCN 2022026305
ISBN9780824894764 electronic book
ISBN0824894766 electronic book
ISBN9780824894108 electronic book
ISBN0824894103 electronic book
ISBN9780824894757 electronic book
ISBN0824894758 electronic book
ISBNhardcover
Stock number22573/ctv2csprrk JSTOR

Availability

Library Location Call Number Status Item Actions
Electronic Resources Access Content Online ✔ Available