‘The world where dreams come true’- Using the novel The Reluctant Fundamentalist to explore the cultural and religious identity issues through an online literary exchange

Abstract

This paper presents original research which explores university students’ perceptions of cultural and religious identity issues in relation to Hamid’s The Reluctant Fundamentalist at two public sector universities in Sindh and Punjab, Pakistan. The theoretical concepts of dialogism and mestiza consciousness are used as major frameworks governing this study. The findings are based on data supplied by 16 students through google circles. The key arguments based on findings of this study are that the participants discussed and connected to cultural and religious identity in the novel that was geographically, socially and temporally close in terms of their local and global context. These results are important for curriculum designers, teachers and researchers in dialogism, mestiza consciousness, fiction and education in the context as they provide significant insights into students’ perceptions in relation to fiction