Appropriating Feminist Paradigms in Transnational Configurations: A Comparative Study of Bharti Mukherjee’s Jasmine and Chimamnda Nigozi Adichie’s Americanah

Abstract

The historical patterns of global events which bring together women from the Third World, the women of color, the native, enslaved and immigrant carries forward the legacy of colonialism and predominant structures of global patriarchy. At the same time, the configurations of transnationalism unravels profound yet unexplored implications of movement of people, texts, languages and art forms across the world. Admittedly, the transnational feminist paradigms with emphasis on colonialist legacies and social, political, economic and political oppression of women across the globe challenges the belief that women from different regions have the same subjectivities. On this note, the paper aims to investigate appropriations of feminist paradigms, such as US multicultural feminism or negofeminism through a closed and contextualised analysis of Bharti Mukherjee’s Jasmine and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Americanah. Focussing on spaces of conflict and contradiction which paves path for spaces of possibility and collaboration, the paper makes a comparative study of Jasmine and Americanah as transnational feminist texts through an exploration of the relationship between global feminism and transnational cultural patterns that affect women of color and women from the Third World, thereby, seeking to propose that cross – racial, cross – national and cross – disciplinary strategies must be developed to overcome institutionalised barriers.