Milton and the modern Muslimah: paradise lost and British-Asian Muslim women readers

Momtaz, Eva Maliha (2023). Milton and the modern Muslimah: paradise lost and British-Asian Muslim women readers. University of Birmingham. Ph.D.

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Abstract

This thesis examines how John Milton’s Paradise Lost (1667) is read and understood today. It primarily gives voice to the reading experiences of British South-Asian Muslim women of Bangladeshi, Indian, and Pakistani descent. Comparing this group with non-Muslim readers, the study proceeds on the assumption that the individual backgrounds of readers colour their interpretations of the poem. The thesis uses mixed qualitative research methods of questionnaires and interviews to investigate this claim. A novel exploration of ‘readerprints’ is developed to describe the way in which a reader’s interpretative response is influenced by facets of their intersectional identity. The study finds that as well as the backgrounds of readers informing their viewpoints, other factors such as the personality of participants and the social dynamics of their learning environments also heavily influence their readings. The moment of interaction between researcher and respondent during data collection is revealed to be another contributing factor.

The investigation begins with ‘Part 1: Methods’ which details crucial critical background and explains the construction of the study. ‘Part 2: Reader Responses to Paradise Lost’ follows thereafter and considers reader-responses towards five key figures: God the Father, God the Son, Satan, Adam, and Eve. Each segment begins with a consideration of the reception history of each literary figure and then moves on to examine the responses of participants in this modern-day study. ‘Part 3: Teaching Paradise Lost in UK Higher Education’ explores the wider context of a reader’s experience of the text, showing how an individual’s educational environment has a powerful impact on their encounter with a literary text. This section reflects on tutors’ pedagogical practices in a rapidly changing socio- political climate, and their approach to working with students from Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic backgrounds (BAME) in their institutions.

Type of Work:

Thesis (Doctorates > Ph.D.)

Award Type:

Doctorates > Ph.D.

Supervisor(s):