In the past few decades, as a growing presence worldwide, Tamil has become an important component of the South Asian diaspora. As one of the few classical languages of the world that is still a living one, it continues to remain a vehicle of secularism while celebrating diverse religious and political traditions. It has served Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism, Jainism, and Christianity, while articulating politics from the time of the ancient kings, through colonialism, to modern times. The essays in this volume offer a nuanced view of "Being Human; Being Tamil" in the context of South Asia and the diaspora. They explore the multiple ways of being Tamil, and the cultural, religious, and poetic linkages that have contributed to the emergence and articulation of Tamilness in a global context.

"The essays included in this volume are a selection of those presented at the Third Annual Toronto Tamil studies conference in 2008"--Introduction.

Introduction -- World without walls: being human, being Tamil /Chelva Kanaganayakam and R Cheran -- Arivoli's humanism: literacy activism and the senses of enlightenment / Francis P Cody -- Glimpses of the unitary self in 16th century Tamil literature / D Shulman -- Gender, language and the quest for a Tamil identity: a study of the politics and persona of Neelambikai Ammaiyar / Vijaya Ramaswamy -- Nature, identity and Tamil literature / A Veluppollai -- Translating literary beauty and some of its ugly consequences: the case of some of the real people in Thiru-k-Kutrala-k-Kuravanji / David C Buck -- Nayaja elaborations of personhood: a reading of the Descent of Ganga by Nilakantha Diksita / Gil Ben-Herut -- "Hey, girl! Dance the Kummi called 'Motcam'!": the Sufi poetics of Ilaiyankuti Kaccippillaiyammai / Susan Schomburg -- From temple to battlefield: dance in Jaffna / Janet O'Shea -- Brown masculinities and the contours of social marginality: implications for psychological well-being / Jennifer Young Yim and Ramaswami Mahalingam -- Situating Adivasi identity: contested resources among castes and tribes of the Palni hills in Tamil Nadu, South India / Christer Norstom -- Suffering and celebration: older Tamils in multicultural Toronto / Glynis George -- "Madrasi" identity in Guyana / Paul Younger -- Being Tamil in Norway: negotiations of well-being and identity / Ann Sigfrid Gronseth -- Being Dalit, being human: celebrating a world without walls / Bama.