Masood Ashraf Raja
Masood Ashraf Raja specializes in postcolonial studies, globalization theory, and the study of Islamic cultures and politics. His critical essays have been published in various journals such as the South Asian Review, Caribbean Studies, South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies, Prose Studies, Mosaic, Radical Teacher and others. He is currently working on his next book, entitled Democratic Criticism: Poetics of Incitement and the Muslim Sacred.
Biography
Masood Ashraf Raja moved from Pakistan to the United States in 1996 after ten years of military service as an officer in the Pakistan army. Raja earned his Masters from Belmont University and his Ph.D in Postcolonial Literature from Florida State University.Raja is an Associate Professor of Postcolonial Literature and Theory at University of North Texas and editor of Pakistaniaat: A Journal of Pakistan Studies.
Education
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PhD. Florida State University, 2006
Areas of Research / Professional Expertise
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Postcolonial Studies
Political Islam
Pakistan Studies
Personal Interests
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Orchid Growing
Gardening
Books
Articles
Democratic Criticism and the Importance of the Islamic Hermeneutics of Reading in the Twenty-First Century
Published: Sep 10, 2013 by South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies
Authors: Masood Ashraf Raja
Subjects:
Literature, Area Studies, Asian Studies
Relying on major debates in reception and reader response theory, this essay attempts to explore the possibilities of reading metropolitan texts about Islam and Islamic culture with an understanding of the Islamic modes of meaning-making and interpretation. Geared toward scholars and students of literature and culture, the essay hopes to foster a more nuanced and complex approach to reading texts that appropriate Islamic raw materials in order to represent a mostly Western poetics and politics.