Noted Indian author Kiran Nagarkar has been selected as the international visiting scholar by the prestigious Ithaca College in New York for the upcoming academic year during which his works would also be the focus of a programme.
A novelist, playwright, critic and screenwriter, Nagarkar is critically acclaimed as one of the most significant writers in post-colonial India. Nagarkar's works have been written in both English and Marathi.
The novels include "Six Sevens are Forty Three" (originally published in Marathi as "Saat Sakkam Trechalis"), "Ravan and Eddie," "Cuckold" and "God's Little Soldier.
'Cuckold' was awarded the 2001 Sahitya Akademi Award, one of the subcontinent's most prestigious literary prizes by the Indian National Academy of Letters.
Nagarkar's visit will be funded by the Scholar-in- Residence programme of the Fulbright Commission as well as the Ithaca College School of Humanities and Sciences.
During his residence, he will teach one seminar per semester in the Honors Program.
One seminar will focus on his major literary works, while a second will cover experimental and progressive Indian cinema.
"The Honors Program will provide Nagarkar with a
robust and welcoming scholarly environment," said Robert Sullivan, honors program director and associate professor of speech communication.
"The International Visiting Scholar fellowship will also encourage Nagarkar to pursue his literary career and travel throughout the United States," Sullivan said.
The Ithaca College Honors Program will choose one of ocus on for the year, along with themes
related to South Asia, a media statement said.
Comprised of about 400 students, the Honors Program is an invitation-only minor in which students take interdisciplinary seminars that enhance their liberal arts education.