1. A short history of English Literature from South Asia (How we got here) 2. Re-thinking literature from South Asia and the “Islamic world” (Where we are) –Language (Urdu or English? Local or Alien? Complicity or Dissent? And what about the “others” – Punjabi, Pashto, Sindhi, Seraiki, to name only a few?) –Narrative (from poetry to fiction) –Islam –Gender

Languages Which languages are most widely spoken as a first language? –Punjabi 44% + –Pashto 15% –Sindhi 14% –Seraiki10% –Urdu - 8% (49% of this populous lives in Karachi) For how much of the population is Urdu a first or a second language? –60% (100 million +) What is Pakistan’s population? –170 (165) million + (sixth most populated country in the world) What are the three most populous countries to use English as an official language? –India, United States, Pakistan. –Pakistan is the third most populous, though how many claim English as a “first” language is unknown. Certainly, there are now more English speakers in South Asia than anywhere else in the world.

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