In 2011, Rushdie became internet-famous when he challenged Facebook’s decision to deactivate and then change his account because he used “Salman Rushdie” as his name instead of his given name “Ahmed Salman Rushdie.” Within two hours of imploring his followers on Twitter to pressure Facebook to revise its strict naming policies, he won his name back, and the incident appeared many times over in the official news cycle. This episode signifies not only the scrutiny of Rushdie’s celebrity, but also his recent interest in controlling his image and engaging his public. Unlike many authors of his generation, Rushdie embraces a variety of social media platforms for personal use. However his behavior differs remarkably from one platform to the next. While his usage of some platforms is infrequent or designedly political and promotional, his use of Facebook is distinctive in its emphasis on images instead of words and personal posts instead of controversial opinions or marketing updates. A close analysis of this medium and his social media behavior offers unique insights into the author’s life as well as his literary persona. This project includes a digital archive of Rushdie’s Facebook feed and relies on a kind of qualitative analysis in addition to close reading in order to explore patterns in Rushdie’s social media behavior and his use of such platforms within a wider context as a legacy-shaping gesture.
About the presenterTawnya Ravy
Tawnya Ravy is a PhD candidate at The George Washington University. Her dissertation is on Salman Rushdie in the 21st century and she is the creator of the Salman Rushdie Archive. Her research interests include South Asian literature, Diaspora Studies, Digital Humanities, and Hybrid Pedagogy. Follow her @litambitions.