The role of postmodern philosophies, modernity and technology in constructing transcultural reality in Hari Kunzru’s fiction
The role of postmodern philosophies, modernity and technology in constructing transcultural reality in Hari Kunzru’s fiction

Summary/Abstract: The article presents the influence of postmodern theories of Jean Baudrillard, Jacques Derrida and Francois Lyotard on the works of British-Indian writer Harry Kunzru. One of the main subjects of the stories and then novels of the author is how omnipresent technology, media and broadly defined modernity affect all the possible spheres of human life such as national identity, human realtionships and even spirituality in the transcultural reality. Therefore, the concepts of hyperrealism, autoimmunity and the breakdown of master narratives which all attempt to define the role of technology in the contemporary world of intermingling cultures appear to be highly inspiring for the Indian writer. References to previously mentioned theories are especially visible and at times explicitly stated in the story collection of Hari Kunzru entitled Noise. The title itself is at the same time the name of the key concept of the theory of hyperreality introduced by Jean Baudrillard. However, the concept of noise, although not named directly, is also a crucial element or even a construction material of further novels of the author. Hence the main purpose of this article is to highlight the theories of postmodern philosophers, indicate their role in constructing transcultural reality and trace their continuation and evolution in the writer’s novels. The article also aims at showing how Hari Kunzru modifies some of the concepts of the French scholars and equips them with new, positive quality. The knowledge gained from reading the collection of stories enriches the meaning of several concepts, plots and even characters present in Hari Kunzru’s prose. It could even be stated that some images included in Hari Kunzru’s novels could have remained unnoticed if it had not been for, sometimes direct, broadcast sent from his short stories.

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