The Politics and Poetics of Authenticity : A Cultural Genealogy of Sinhala Nationalism

Rambukwella, Harshana

doi:10.14324/111.9781787351288

Download Url(s)

https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/29578/1/The-Politics-and-Poetics-of-Authenticity.pdf
---
https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/29578/1/The-Politics-and-Poetics-of-Authenticity.pdf
---
https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/29578/1/The-Politics-and-Poetics-of-Authenticity.pdf
---
https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/29578/1/The-Politics-and-Poetics-of-Authenticity.pdf
---
https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/29578/1/The-Politics-and-Poetics-of-Authenticity.pdf

Author(s)

Rambukwella, Harshana

Language

English

Show full item record

Abstract

What is the role of cultural authenticity in the making of nations? Much scholarly and popular commentary on nationalism dismisses authenticity as a romantic fantasy or, worse, a deliberately constructed mythology used for political manipulation. The Politics and Poetics of Authenticity places authenticity at the heart of Sinhala nationalism in late nineteenth and twentieth-century Sri Lanka. It argues that the passion for the ‘real’ or the ‘authentic’ has played a significant role in shaping nationalist thinking and argues for an empathetic yet critical engagement with the idea of authenticity.

URI

https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/29026

Keywords

Authenticity; Decolonisation; Nationalism; Sinhala; Buddhism; Dharmapala; Sri Lanka; thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies; thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NH History; thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NH History::NHB General and world history; thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NH History::NHF Asian history; thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JP Politics and government::JPF Political ideologies and movements::JPFN Nationalism