Niketa Narayan - 2020 cohort

Niketa Narayan ngn25@cam.ac.uk

  USA

  English, Hughes Hall

PhD thesis: Through the Bow Window: Prismatic Interests in Victorian Narrative, Science, and Empire

  (working title)

Research interests:

  1. Victorian literature and culture

  2. The novel

  3. History of science

                                          4. History of liberalism

My PhD examines the tension between autonomous deliberation and collective forms of truth in the writings of the mid- to late Victorian imaginary. I am interested in how writers represent ideas about detachment and disinterest in the context of group membership across a variety of arenas, from science to empire. While the project is rooted in the literature and culture of the nineteenth century – it will examine Victorian novels, memoirs, and the periodical press, among others - it seeks to address wider questions, such as:

• How do we reconcile individual identity with belonging to a group?
• How does this kind of membership impact our ability to think objectively?

Who or what inspired you to pursue your research interests?

My research is inspired by the turn to liberalism in Victorian studies and, more generally, by recent moves towards nationalism worldwide. Globally, we are shifting away from even the pretence of a liberal ethos and towards a climate of especially toxic political tribalism. We are confronted by the spectres of “echo chambers” that close us off from real, productive debate, and thus the possibility of objective thinking. In many ways, the Victorians are still very much with us, and many of the problems that perplexed them remain pertinent to us today.