FISM - Fighting with a Smile: Satirical and Humourist Voices of Resilience from Hindi Speaking Subaltern Subjects and Communities

ID Call: MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships

Sapienza's role in the project: Host Institution

Supervisor: Giorgio Milanetti

Fellow: Fabio Mangraviti

Department: Italian Institute of Oriental Studies

Project start date: July 1, 2024

Project end date: June 30, 2027

Abstract:

The FISM project investigates from an interdisciplinary perspective the functions expressed by "satire" (vyangya) and "humour" (hasya) in the Hindi language in the Indian socio-cultural reality. The use of these expressive methods will be analyzed both in the literary and performative field, and in the context of new media. Moving in this theoretical direction, we will especially investigate the dynamics of agency expressed through satire and humor that are implemented by marginalized subjects and communities in India. The objective of the research, which will investigate in particular the urban and peri-urban areas of metropolises and second tier cities in northern India, is to describe and theorize contemporary Hindi satire as a specific tool of resilience, activism and empowerment of marginalized individuals and communities.