Alamgir Hashmi
Encyclopedia
Alamgir Hashmi (also known as Aurangzeb Alamgir Hashmi) (born November 15, 1951) is a major English
poet
of Pakistan
i origin in the latter half of the 20th century. Considered avant-garde
, both his early and later works were published to universal critical acclaim and widespread influence. His was a remarkable new voice since the 1970s; each of his successive books attested to an expanding world of cultural discernment and harmony, which he created in poems of peerless beauty.
As a practicing transnational humanist
and educator in North America
n, Europe
an and Asia
n universities, he wrote and taught from a unique vantage. His contributions to literary theory
, literary criticism
, historiography
and cultural studies
had a far-reaching impact as several disciplines began to be remade in the 1980s. As a result, curriculum
and pedagogy
underwent substantial changes, so that a paradigm shift
was clearly in view. However, its full significance was not to be realized until a couple of decades later, through the period of globalization
, in a world where fast communication
still had to find the means to meet the twin challenge of ignorance
and mis-understanding
partly caused by knowledge
. Hashmi had begun to deal with such (what then appeared, or as he termed, hypothetical) questions a quarter century earlier than anyone else, offering sharp canonical analysis and effectively arguing for a "comparative" aesthetic to foster humane cultural norms. He showed new paths of reading the classical
and modern
texts,
and also emphasized upon the sublime nature, position and pleasures of language arts
to be shared when these were being reduced to social
or professional
utilities
. Alongside his scholarly books and articles in journals, his series of lectures and essays (like "Modern Letters") in the general press (print as well as radio and television) also drew interest both for the originality of their content and their lucid prose.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
of Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
i origin in the latter half of the 20th century. Considered avant-garde
Avant-garde
Avant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....
, both his early and later works were published to universal critical acclaim and widespread influence. His was a remarkable new voice since the 1970s; each of his successive books attested to an expanding world of cultural discernment and harmony, which he created in poems of peerless beauty.
As a practicing transnational humanist
Humanism
Humanism is an approach in study, philosophy, world view or practice that focuses on human values and concerns. In philosophy and social science, humanism is a perspective which affirms some notion of human nature, and is contrasted with anti-humanism....
and educator in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an and Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
n universities, he wrote and taught from a unique vantage. His contributions to literary theory
Literary theory
Literary theory in a strict sense is the systematic study of the nature of literature and of the methods for analyzing literature. However, literary scholarship since the 19th century often includes—in addition to, or even instead of literary theory in the strict sense—considerations of...
, literary criticism
Literary criticism
Literary criticism is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often informed by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of its methods and goals...
, historiography
Historiography
Historiography refers either to the study of the history and methodology of history as a discipline, or to a body of historical work on a specialized topic...
and cultural studies
Cultural studies
Cultural studies is an academic field grounded in critical theory and literary criticism. It generally concerns the political nature of contemporary culture, as well as its historical foundations, conflicts, and defining traits. It is, to this extent, largely distinguished from cultural...
had a far-reaching impact as several disciplines began to be remade in the 1980s. As a result, curriculum
Curriculum
See also Syllabus.In formal education, a curriculum is the set of courses, and their content, offered at a school or university. As an idea, curriculum stems from the Latin word for race course, referring to the course of deeds and experiences through which children grow to become mature adults...
and pedagogy
Pedagogy
Pedagogy is the study of being a teacher or the process of teaching. The term generally refers to strategies of instruction, or a style of instruction....
underwent substantial changes, so that a paradigm shift
Paradigm shift
A Paradigm shift is, according to Thomas Kuhn in his influential book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions , a change in the basic assumptions, or paradigms, within the ruling theory of science...
was clearly in view. However, its full significance was not to be realized until a couple of decades later, through the period of globalization
Globalization
Globalization refers to the increasingly global relationships of culture, people and economic activity. Most often, it refers to economics: the global distribution of the production of goods and services, through reduction of barriers to international trade such as tariffs, export fees, and import...
, in a world where fast communication
Communication
Communication is the activity of conveying meaningful information. Communication requires a sender, a message, and an intended recipient, although the receiver need not be present or aware of the sender's intent to communicate at the time of communication; thus communication can occur across vast...
still had to find the means to meet the twin challenge of ignorance
Ignorance
Ignorance is a state of being uninformed . The word ignorant is an adjective describing a person in the state of being unaware and is often used as an insult...
and mis-understanding
Understanding
Understanding is a psychological process related to an abstract or physical object, such as a person, situation, or message whereby one is able to think about it and use concepts to deal adequately with that object....
partly caused by knowledge
Knowledge
Knowledge is a familiarity with someone or something unknown, which can include information, facts, descriptions, or skills acquired through experience or education. It can refer to the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject...
. Hashmi had begun to deal with such (what then appeared, or as he termed, hypothetical) questions a quarter century earlier than anyone else, offering sharp canonical analysis and effectively arguing for a "comparative" aesthetic to foster humane cultural norms. He showed new paths of reading the classical
Classics
Classics is the branch of the Humanities comprising the languages, literature, philosophy, history, art, archaeology and other culture of the ancient Mediterranean world ; especially Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome during Classical Antiquity Classics (sometimes encompassing Classical Studies or...
and modern
Modernism
Modernism, in its broadest definition, is modern thought, character, or practice. More specifically, the term describes the modernist movement, its set of cultural tendencies and array of associated cultural movements, originally arising from wide-scale and far-reaching changes to Western society...
texts,
and also emphasized upon the sublime nature, position and pleasures of language arts
Language arts
Traditionally, the primary divisions in the language arts are Literature and Language, where language in this case refers to both linguistics, and specific languages....
to be shared when these were being reduced to social
Social
The term social refers to a characteristic of living organisms...
or professional
Professional
A professional is a person who is paid to undertake a specialised set of tasks and to complete them for a fee. The traditional professions were doctors, lawyers, clergymen, and commissioned military officers. Today, the term is applied to estate agents, surveyors , environmental scientists,...
utilities
Utility
In economics, utility is a measure of customer satisfaction, referring to the total satisfaction received by a consumer from consuming a good or service....
. Alongside his scholarly books and articles in journals, his series of lectures and essays (like "Modern Letters") in the general press (print as well as radio and television) also drew interest both for the originality of their content and their lucid prose.