New Cultural Histories of India: Materiality and Practices (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9780198090373)

This book examines the new orientations in the writing of cultural histories of India from the pre-colonial and early modern period into the postcolonial and contemporary era. It analyses the 'materialist' turn through wide-ranging textual, visual, aural, ritual, and spatial resources like eighteenth-century scribal literature in western India, art deco architecture in twentieth century Calcutta, contemporary urban spaces, early illustrated Bengali almanacs, circulating heads in Naga hills, football in Calcutta's politics, performance and film-making studies in south India, and Mayawati's monuments in Lucknow. The essays examine how recent interdisciplinary studies have enriched our understanding of cultural pasts and presents. Providing an overview of the popular and public manifestations of cultures over time, this volume traces the distinct trajectory of cultural histories of India. It highlights the need for a more dynamic formulation of new cultural history of India in the present era of globalization.

Author: Partha Chatterjee
ISBN-10: 0198090374
ISBN-13: 9780198090373
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Language: English
Published: 07/08/2014
Pages: 480
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.85lbs
Size: 9.40h x 6.40w x 1.60d