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Thesis (Ph. D.)--West Virginia University, 2009. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains vi, 178 p. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 163-178).

Die Dissertation India Book House und die Comic-Serie Amar Chitra Katha (1970-2002) ist eine interdisziplinär angelegte Studie. Sie vermittelt Erkenntnisse über einen vernachlässigten Bereich der Mediengeschichte Indiens. Im ersten Teil wird das Modell "Kreislauf der Kultur" auf das Medienprodukt Amar Chitra Katha angewandt. Dabei werden fünf Prozesse berücksichtigt: Repräsentation, Produktion, Identität, Konsum und Regulierung. Im zweiten Teil werden ausgewählte ACK-Ausgaben aus den Kategorien Mythologie und Geschichte formal-inhaltlich analysiert und verglichen. Die jeweiligen Unterschiede in der Bearbeitungsform der ACK-Ausgaben werden auf die Erkenntnisse des ersten Teils bezogen. Dadurch konnten die arbeitsbedingten und verlagspolitischen Motive der Transformationen der ACK-Serie belegt werden.

This project argues that there is a previously unnamed canon of literature called Magical Feminism which exists across many current popular (even lowbrow) genres such as science-fiction, fantasy, so-called realistic literature, and contemporary television and film. I define Magical Feminism as a genre quite similar to Magical Realism, but assert that its main political thrust is to model a feminist agency for its readers. To define this genre, I closely-read the image of the female magic user as one of the most important Magical Feminist metaphors. I argue that the female magic user–commonly called the witch, but also labeled priestess, mistress, shaman, mambo, healer, midwife– is a metaphor for female unruliness and disruption to patriarchy and as such, is usually portrayed as evil and deserving of punishment. I assert that many (although not all) of the popular texts this genre includes are overlooked or ignored by the academy, and thus, that an important focus for contemporary feminism is missed. When the texts are noticed by parts of the academy, they are mostly considered popular culture novelty acts, not serious political genres. As part of my argument, I analyze third wave feminism’s attempt to reconcile traits previously considered less than feminist, such as the domestic. I also deconstruct the popular media’s negative portrayal of contemporary feminism and the resulting reluctance for many young women to identify themselves as feminist. I also argue that this reluctance goes hand in hand with a growing attempt to seek new models for empowering female epistemologies. My assertion is that these texts are the classrooms where many readers learn their feminism. Finally, I list a short bibliography as a way of defining canon of texts that should be considered Magical Feminist.