Author Description

"Contours of the Heart comes at a critical time in the history of South Asians in North America. There has been a dramatic increase in the number of South Asian immigrants to the United States and Canada, with an increasingly visible second generation trying to create a space in which to explore identities. A familiar tension has been the immigrant conflict between home as a physical site in North America and home as an emotional concept tied to the ancestral country, and the second generation's questioning of both notions."--BOOK JACKET. "This anthology critically explores this familiar tension and the concept of "home." It focuses on the transformative experiences that lead individuals to declare or reject new forms of belonging in North America. Setting up "home" may require contesting existing roles, inventing hybrid identities, or seeking social and political change. The anthology challenges undifferentiated, stereotypical images of South Asians in North America, portraying instead the subtleties of their varied, sometimes invisible experiences."--BOOK JACKET.