Texts of Power: Emerging Disciplines in Colonial BengalPartha Chatterjee U of Minnesota Press, Jan 1, 1995 - 220 pages Bengal was the first "modern" province in India - the first, that is, to undergo a forced encounter with Western modernity. Beginning with this premise, the writers in Texts of Power consider what the case of Bengal says about the workings of Western modernity in a colonial setting. A truly interdisciplinary effort, this collection probes questions of pedagogy, nationalism, and gender. Among the subjects explored are colonialist and nationalist surveillance of Bengali literature; the disposition of the nation's art; the politics of child rearing; the mapping of Calcutta; and the disciplining of historical memory. By applying the theoretical insights of recent historical and cultural studies to the specific circumstances of Bengal, the authors develop a new approach to Indian intellectual and cultural history. Their work makes a significant contribution to our understanding of contemporary intellectual modernity. |
Contents
1 The Disciplines in Colonial Bengal | 1 |
Colonial and Nationalist Surveillance of Bengali Literature | 30 |
3 Recovering the Nations Art | 63 |
4 A Modern Science of Politics for the Colonized | 93 |
Child Rearing in the New Family | 118 |
The Mapping of Calcutta | 145 |
The Disciplining of Historical Memory | 167 |
Bibliography | 201 |
Contributors | 209 |
211 | |
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Abanindranath Abanindranath Tagore aesthetic Anandachandra annas architecture art history artistic Aryan authority Babur Bandyopadhyay Bazar Bengali books Bengali language Bengali literature Bowbazar Calcutta caritra cartography Chandra character child Chitpur civilization claims classical College colonial court cultural Dhalbhum dharma directories disciplinary disciplines discourse dranath emergence English European forest GOB Home Poll Havell's Hindu Ibid Indian architecture Indian art indigenous institutions Jambani Jhargram joint family Jorasanko Jungle Mahals Kalighat knowledge literature located Long Long's Mahato mandal Maniktala mauzas ment Midnapore modern moral nation nationalist native natural nineteenth century NMML Orientalist painting parents Peddie percent poetry popular praja Press printed published punishment Purna Rajendralal Ramanath religion ruler rupee Sanskrit Santhals Satischandra science of politics scientific sculpture Shyamacharan Silda smá¹›ti social society Srirampur Street survey tion tradition trees unrest vernacular village Western writing zamindar