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Literature Against Fundamentalism
Acclaimed novelist and academic Tabish Khair argues that literature as a distinct mode of thinking can counteract fundamentalism.
Literature is a mode of thinking, stories being one of the oldest thinking 'devices' known to humankind. The ways in which literature enables us to think are distinctive and necessary, because of the relationships between its material ('language') and its subject matter ('reality'). Although present in oral literature, these relationships are exposed in their full complexity with the rise of literature as a distinct form of writing. Literature Against Fundamentalism argues that literature enables us to engage with reality in language and language in reality, where both are mutually constitutive, constantly changing, and partly elusive.
Tabish Khair defines this mode of engagement as essentially an agnostic one, resistant to simple dogma. Hence, literature can provide an antidote to fundamentalism. Khair argues that reading literature as literature--and not just as material for aesthetic, sociological, political, and other theoretical discourses--is essential for humanity. In the process, he offers a radical re-definition of literature, an illuminating engagement with religion and fundamentalism, a revaluation of the relationship between the sciences and humanities, and, finally, a call to literature as in 'a call to arms'.
Literature is a mode of thinking, stories being one of the oldest thinking 'devices' known to humankind. The ways in which literature enables us to think are distinctive and necessary, because of the relationships between its material ('language') and its subject matter ('reality'). Although present in oral literature, these relationships are exposed in their full complexity with the rise of literature as a distinct form of writing. Literature Against Fundamentalism argues that literature enables us to engage with reality in language and language in reality, where both are mutually constitutive, constantly changing, and partly elusive.
Tabish Khair defines this mode of engagement as essentially an agnostic one, resistant to simple dogma. Hence, literature can provide an antidote to fundamentalism. Khair argues that reading literature as literature--and not just as material for aesthetic, sociological, political, and other theoretical discourses--is essential for humanity. In the process, he offers a radical re-definition of literature, an illuminating engagement with religion and fundamentalism, a revaluation of the relationship between the sciences and humanities, and, finally, a call to literature as in 'a call to arms'.
144 pages, Paperback
Published October 18, 2024
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About the author
Tabish Khair
42 books57 followersTabish Khair was born and educated in Bihar, India. He worked in Delhi as a Staff Reporter until his late twenties and is now a professor at Aarhus University, Denmark. Winner of the All India Poetry Prize, his novels have been shortlisted for the Man Asian Literary Prize (Hong Kong), the Hindu Best Fiction Prize and the Crossword Vodafone Literature Awards (India), the Encore Award (UK) and for translation prizes in Denmark and France.
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July 29, 2025
Literature against Fundamentalism stands true to its name, of course, as the author flexes his readership in a very streamlined manner to prove his statement and hypothesis. That is to simply ask, "Can we still read books and stay calm the fuck down?"
He suggests one do: agnostic reading. I do not want to simplify or water down the concept. Khair illustrates it sufficiently using multiple texts in reference, from litany to literary. Why not an atheistic reading, or an out-and-out critical reading per se? Well, there is the difference as the term agnosticism, which does not absolute or reject things altogether. An agnostic reading is, at best, a patient method with any text whatsoever, regardless of the intentions, bias and backgrounds of the writer/reader alike. It sits amid the turbulence of fundamentalism that waves its flag in different hues across continents at present. A case to be noted since the epochs of crusades, conversions and conquests. If we split 'agnosticism', 'a' standing for without and 'gnosis' for knowledge. Any act of reading is a process of seeking knowledge; however, there is always an impossibility of knowledge that one should be aware of--and maybe such knowledge is where we can find humility and patience amid the chaos of fundamentalism.
He suggests one do: agnostic reading. I do not want to simplify or water down the concept. Khair illustrates it sufficiently using multiple texts in reference, from litany to literary. Why not an atheistic reading, or an out-and-out critical reading per se? Well, there is the difference as the term agnosticism, which does not absolute or reject things altogether. An agnostic reading is, at best, a patient method with any text whatsoever, regardless of the intentions, bias and backgrounds of the writer/reader alike. It sits amid the turbulence of fundamentalism that waves its flag in different hues across continents at present. A case to be noted since the epochs of crusades, conversions and conquests. If we split 'agnosticism', 'a' standing for without and 'gnosis' for knowledge. Any act of reading is a process of seeking knowledge; however, there is always an impossibility of knowledge that one should be aware of--and maybe such knowledge is where we can find humility and patience amid the chaos of fundamentalism.
Displaying 1 of 1 review