Madras School of Orientalism

Trautmann, Thomas R. (Hrsg.):
The Madras School of Orientalism : producing knowledge in colonial South India / ed. by Thomas R. Trautmann. - New Delhi : Oxford Univ. Press, 2009. - ix, 334 S. : Ill., Kt.
ISBN 978-0-19-806314-8
Rs. 875,00
US$ 18,62 (Eastern Book Corp.)
US$ 38,15 (D.K. Agencies)
DDC: 954.82

Beschreibung
Exchange of ideas among Indian and European scholars in early nineteenth century Madras led to unprecedented new discoveries about the history, literatures, religion, law and land systems of India. Giving name to this distinctive form of knowledge coming from Madras during the early nineteenth century, this volume presents the Madras School of Orientalism (MSO), an intellectual formation whose impact is only beginning to become apparent in recent studies.
   A string of fresh ideas emerged from the MSO— even though it patterned itself on the Asiatic Society of Calcutta—challenging several generalizations about India’s history and culture. The vast collection of maps, drawings, and manuscripts of Colin Mackenzie, the publications of F.W. Ellis, and the holdings at the college of Fort St George bring forth a view from the South, of India as a whole. This significant perspective enables the contributors of this book to rethink early colonial interactions, evolving institutions, and altering language systems.
   Analysing the projects undertaken, The Madras School of Orientalism examines Mackenzie’s archive and his investigations at Mahabalipuram. Another theme explored here is the effective engagement on the state of Islamic learning at Madras that led to a common platform for the development of Orientalism. Subsequently, the Indian intellectuals—Tamil pandits, Telugu lineages of state servants such as the Kavali brothers, poets—associated with the projects are studied to elucidate the long-term effects of European–Indian interchange.
   The scrutiny of changing forms of scribal culture, philology, and documentation in South India facilitate a better understanding of the interactive patterns. Together the essays open up avenues for further investigation and research on not only these facets but also about other objects of study such as law, religion, and land.
   In the introduction, Trautmann considers the influence of indigenous knowledge in the emergence of Orientalism. He highlights the transition from a regime of knowledge based on royal patronage to one based on government and university scholarship and print culture. [Verlagsinformation]

Inhalt
Preface and Acknowledgements
Thomas R. Trautmann: Introduction
SECTION I: PROJECTS
   1. Nicholas B. Dirks: Colin Mackenzie: Autobiography of an Archive
   2. Sylvia Vatuk: Islamic Learning at the College of Fort St George in Nineteenth-century Madras
   3. Jennifer Howes: Colin Mackenzie, the Madras School of Orientalism, and Investigations at Mahabalipuram
SECTION II: INDIAN INTELLECTUALS
   4. A.R. Venkatachalapathy: 'Grammar, the Frame of Language': Tamil Pandits at the College of Fort St. George
   5. Rama Sundari Mantena: The Kavali Brothers: Intellectual Life in Early Colonial Madras
   6. Lisa Mitchell: Knowing the Deccan: Enquiries, Points, and Poets in the Construction of Knowledge and Power in Early-Nineteenth-century Southern India
   7. Phillip B. Wagoner: From Manuscript to Archive to Print: The Mackenzie Collection and Later Telugu Literary Historiography
SECTION III: LANGUAGE IN SOUTH INDIA
   8. Bhavani Raman: Tamil Munshis and Kacceri Tamil under the Company's Document Raj in Early-Nineteenth-Century Madras
   9. Sascha Ebeling: The College of Fort St George and the Transformation of Tamil Philology during the Nineteenth Century
SECTION IV: OBJECTS OF STUDY: HISTORIES OF RELIGION, LAW, AND LAND
   10. Leslie Orr: Orientalists, Missionaries, and Jains: The South Indian Story
   11. Donald R. Davis Jr.: Law in the Mirror of Language: The Madras School of Orientalism on Hindu Law
   12. Thomas R. Trautmann: Riot over Ryotwar

Herausgeber
THOMAS R. TRAUTMANN, Marshall Sahlins Collegiate Professor of History and Anthropology, University of Michigan, USA. Faculty profile.

Quellen: Oxford University Press (India); Eastern Book Corp.; WorldCat; Amazon.