Cultural Melange in Aesthetic Practices

The process of globalization has left no corner of the world untouched. Although many studies use post-colonial theory to understand its large-scale effects, the contributors to this book show how such theory can be drawn on for productive use in other contexts, such as the Scandinavian. In doing so, they also rework the well-worn concept of "hybridity" to one of "cultural melange," creating a lens by which to take a broader view of the phenomenon: from Africa to Poland, from France to Norway, various forms of globalization processes have accelerated an interpenetration of cultures which takes place on a number of widely different cultural arenas. Using a variety of different textual and non-textual aesthetic practices - within literature, theater, and music - cultural and linguistic mixes are explored in a wide variety of areas, including "shotgun theater," travel literature, rap music, children's literature, and, last but not least, Leonard Cohen's songs. Oftentimes, translation - either in a metaphorical or a non-metaphorical sense - is seen to play an essential part, and the processes of mixing and blending are rarely seen as something anyone is passively giving in to. There is always a strong sense of agency, even in "merely" responding. As such, the book makes an important contribution to the sense of cultural mlange as a creative process that opens up to multiple forms of participation and positive change. [Subject: Post-Colonial Studies, Scandinavian Studies, Cultural Studies, Literary Criticism, Performance Art]