Exploring Space: Trends in Literature, Linguistics and Translation

This book embodies the current trends towards inter- and intra-disciplinary studies specifically within the areas of Literature, Linguistics, and Translation. It is a collection of original and insightful essays by Malaysian academics, reflecting state-of-the-art research, and seen through traditional and modern lenses of conceptualising reality or "spaces" within the fields mentioned. The uniqueness of this book lies in its attempts to provide textual and theoretical readings from a variety of positions and perspectives. The multi-disciplinary approach taken will appeal to readers from diverse backgrounds, particularly with the contemporary emphasis on and celebration of heterogeneity in all its forms within a global context.

About the Author :
Shakila Abdul Manan, PhD is Associate Professor of English Language Studies at the School of Humanities, Universiti Sains Malaysia. Her most recent publication includes a jointly-written paper "Women, Globalization and the Media: A Textual Analysis of Selected Women's Magazines in Malaysia" in an edited book Women, Globalization and Mass Media: International Facets of Emancipation (The Women Press, 2006). email:shakmanan@gmail.comLalita Sinha, PhD is a writer, researcher and literary translator with QUEST Services. Her major publications include Unveiling the Garden of Love: Mystical Symbolism in Layla Majnun and Gitagovinda (in press, World Wisdom, USA), and The Other Salina: A. Samad Said's Masterpiece in Translation (Universiti Sains Malaysia Publishers). email: lalitasinha@yahoo.com

Review :
'The new book titled Linguistics, Literature and Culture: Millennium Realities and Innovative Practices in Asia is an excellent introduction into language culture and literature in Asia. Written by a dedicated group of academics and young researchers from various universities around the world (including UK, Singapore and Malaysia) this book stems from papers delivered to the International Conference on Linguistics, Literature and Culture (ICLLIC 2010) organised by the School of Humanities, USM in 2010.The book is divided into three distinct yet complimentary parts: Part 1: Global meets local; Part 2: Realities and innovations in linguistics, literature and culture in Asia and Part 3: Innovations in language pedagogy. Each part serves to provide the reader with a broad yet focused set of contributions which stimulate and engage the reader as he or she seeks to grasp the diverse nature of the issues and dynamics that characterise language culture and literature in Asia.There is no doubt that this book with its broad ranging and incisive contributions is a significant and important contribution to a field that scholars now recognise as increasingly critical and central to our understandings of globalization. One of the key concerns in this volume is the nexus between the global and the local and this issue while the formal focus of the first section of the volume is also of critical importance throughout. The books capacity to showcase diverse research in the field of language culture and literature in Asia and engage critically with theory in diverse contexts and settings is of particular note.There is no doubt that this volume constitutes an important and illuminating contribution to the discourse and study of linguistics literature and culture in Asia. I whole heartedly recommend this volume to readers and can only hope that the directions set in this book help to inform scholarly effort in the field'Dr. James CampbellDeakin University