Mr Padmanabha Reddy Addula

(he/him)

BA (Motilal Nehru College, University of Delhi), MA (St. Stephen's College, University of Delhi)

Overview

Since October 2024, I am a full time Doctoral Researcher in English Literature at Cardiff University and University of Bristol. This project is fully funded by the SWW-DTP2 studentship and thus, I am priviliged to be under the supervision of Dr. Radhika Mohanram and Dr. Madhu Krishnan. Prior to my commencement at a Doctoral Researcher, I secured a First Division Masters degree in English at St. Stephen's College, University of Delhi in 2024 and First Division Honours degree in English at Motilal Nehru College, University of Delhi in 2022. 

My thesis argues that the literary production of Post-War era has to be seen as an assemblage of various aspects such as the spectres to memorialise the conflict and lingering trauma, position the geopolitical realities of Sri Lanka in the present time, and reconstructing cultural memory. Drawing on a wide range of sources, including novels, poetry, photographic and newspaper archives, journalistic articles and interviews, this research will demonstrate how the post war interstitial spaces deconstruct the idea of memory which subsists within the cultural framework of Sri Lanka. Situation of the war in post-colonial sphere suggests that the civil war grew out of a struggle for power and dignity between ethnic groups in the aftermath of the imperialism, rather than just ethnic incompatibilities. Deploying a methodology of literary and cultural criticism, my research will bridge the gap of the literary shift between civil war and post-war periods pertaining to the social and cultural impact of the conflict shaping and reconstructing Sri Lankan Cultural Memory. The work is thus situated within the emerging literatures on necropolitics, necropenology, and cultural trauma considering the ways in which reconstruction of cultural memory happens in Sri Lanka while also taking into consideration the geopolitical realities that shaped the conflict. With the investigation of the spectres in a geopolitical framework through a deconstructive prism, this project will also serve as a crucial instrument for future policy making in the context of Sri Lanka.

Research Themes:
- Postcolonial Literatures
- South Asian Literatures
- Violence and Memory Studies
- Trauma Studies

Please do not hesitate to write to me if you are interested in my research - or for any query