Literary Cartography | Mapping the Scars of History
A Memorable PhD Viva Voce | PSGK College for Women, Coimbatore
A Report
30th September 2026
Felt so happy to be the External Examiner for the PhD Viva-Voce Examination of Dr. Poornamathi Meenakshi’s second candidate Ms. Vasumathi S, today at 9 am in the Chandra Seminar Hall.
The candidate, Ms. Vasumathi S, presented a well-researched thesis, titled, Literary Cartographies of Memory: A Study of Rupture, Remembrance, and Reclamation in the Select Partition Novels. Her research promises a powerful exploration of how we map collective memory against the devastating geographical and emotional fractures of the Partition. By framing memory as a “cartography,” the work highlights how literature helps us chart, navigate, and ultimately reclaim identities torn apart by historical rupture.
There were a lot of insightful questions for the candidate as well, after which I read out the observations and the questions of the External Examiners.
Excerpts –
The candidate has analysed six distinct novels to understand how historical trauma is remembered, contested, and transmitted across generations, thereby treating literature as an alternative historical archive.
One noteworthy aspect of the thesis is that, it has a very effective theoretical foundation. The researcher has effectively made use of frameworks like Dr. Avishek Parui’s concepts of “Matter, Metaphor, and Memory,” Pierre Nora’s “Sites of Memory,” and Marianne Hirsch’s “Postmemory” to deeply anchor the literary analysis of the selected texts.
Secondly, the diverse selection of literary texts spanning different decades and genres - ranging from Veera Hiranandani’s young adult novel The Night Diary to Geetanjali Shree’s magically realist Tomb of Sand - provides a highly representative sample of Partition literature.
Moreover, the chapters are coherent in their impact, flowing logically, from literary manifestations of memory and spatial resonances to the politics of forgetting and intergenerational healing. Also, the researcher successfully argues that literature serves as a crucial alternative archive for women, children, and lower-caste individuals, whose deeply personal experiences are often erased from official state historiography.
Yet another feature that enriches this thesis is the researcher’s integration of interdisciplinarity into her research, by bridging literary criticism with cognitive psychology and neuroscience. Especially by applying concepts like Joseph LeDoux’s “synaptic plasticity” and “chunking,” as well as “cognitive dissonance,” the researcher has provided a scientific underpinning to how characters mentally process and narrate their respective traumas.
Also, the researcher has strived to connect the 1947 historical event to modern sociopolitical realities. By referring to contemporary art like Pritika Chowdhry’s anti-memorials, or pop culture (Coke Studio Pakistan), and recent geopolitical tensions, the thesis proves that Partition remains an ongoing, evolving legacy.
Following my final remarks, and official validation of her defence, as her External Examiner, I officially recommended the thesis to the University, marking the proud moment Ms. Vasumathi transitioned into Dr. Vasumathi S. A momentous academic transition!
Heartiest congratulations to both Dr Vasumathi S on this momentous occasion, and for defending your thesis exceptionally well, and to her Research Supervisor Dr. Poornamathi Meenakshi, on producing another PhD in such a socially relevant field. This thesis beautifully reminds us that literature does more than just mirror society - it acts as a vessel for remembering and healing by reclaiming our most difficult stories!
No comments:
Post a Comment