1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910282250503321

Autore

Rambukwella Harshana

Titolo

The Politics and Poetics of Authenticity / Harshana Rambukwella

Pubbl/distr/stampa

UCL Press, 2018

London : , : UCL Press, , 2018

ISBN

9781787351288

1787351289

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (176)

Soggetti

Literature & literary studies

History

Regional & national history

Asian history

Nationalism

Anthologies

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Sommario/riassunto

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.