Post on 21-Dec-2015
A Malaysian Literary Researcher’s Explorations and Contributions in the
Context of Current Trends in Literary Analysis
Malachi Edwin Vethamani, PhD Professor and Dean
School of Education, Languages & Communication Wawasan Open University
Introduction
• Why carry out research?• What do you want to research on?• Will your research contribute to a body of
knowledge?• Do you or anyone care?• Do you present your research findings at
conferences?• Do you publish your research findings and
papers?
The Beginning …
• Finding a niche area of one’s own• Researching on an area that would of
interest• Researching on an area that has both
academic and personal interest• Sustaining interest in research area• Researching in area that has continued
academic interest
Contemporary literary research concerns:
1. Driven by critical theory reading of texts
2. Various forms of discourse analysis:• Stylistic analysis• Text analysis: Examines texts as
communication systems and uncovering and describing text grammars.
Critical Theories
Reading literary texts using a range of critical/literary theories from Formalist reading to Deconstruction to gender-based, politically-based and post-modernist readings
Discourse Analysis
Stylistic analysis:
A more scientific reading of texts that examines the effects writers affect through the use of words on readers
Textualinguistic Analysis:
Examines texts as communication systems and uncovers and describes text grammars.
My research journey
• Choosing a niche area of research• Bibliographical research• Anthologising creative writing• Discourse analysis: • Stylistic Analysis• Post-colonial theory• Malaysian Literature in English in the
Malaysian school system
Choosing a niche area of research
• Malaysian Writing
• Malaysian Literature in English
Bibliographical research
• Bibliography of Malaysian Literature in English– Long-term project– 7 years of research before publication in
2001– Still on-going
Anthologising creative writing
• Compiling literary texts for publications– 2003 Published anthology of Malaysian
poems– Currently working on a volume of short
stories and second volume of poetry
Discourse analysis
Reading literary texts:
modalitytransitivityconversation analysis
Stylistic Analysis
Reading literary texts:From lexis to syntax to discourse
Cohesion
Graphology
Phonology
Dialect
Register
Period
Post-colonial theory
• Theorising Malaysian literature in English
• Diaspora
• Hegemony
• National and Sectional literature
• Emergency of Malaysian literature in English as a literary tradition
Malaysian Literature in English in the Malaysian school system
• Malaysian Literature in English in language education
• Malaysian Literature in English and current issues
• Malaysian Literature in English for multiculturalism
Conclusion
There is a need to document the development of Malaysian writing in English, especially by Malaysians, when there are misreadings by foreign critics. … These omissions and misreadings of Malaysian Literature in English indicate a need for Malaysian scholarship on one’s own literary tradition.
Vethamani (2005:1)