Representing Calcutta

Modernity, Nationalism and the Colonial Uncanny

Swati Chattopadhyay (University of California, USA)

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English

Routledge
25 April 2005

Interdisciplinary studies; Regional studies; Ethnic studies; Sociology; Politics & government; Human geography

Series: Asia's Transformations/Asia's Great Cities

This major new post-colonial study addresses the questions of modernity and space that haunt our perceptions of Calcutta. It explores the politics of representation and the cultural changes that occurred in the city as its residents negotiated the idea of being 'modern'. Its dynamic range encompasses Asian Studies and History, Architecture and Urbanism The text responds to two inter-related concerns about the city. First is the image of Calcutta as the worst-case

scenario of a Third World city -- the proverbial ""city of dreadful nights"". Second is the changing nature of the city's

public spaces - the demise of certain forms of urban sociality that have been mourned in recent literature as the passing of Bengali modernity. Drawing on its post-colonial and spatial theory, it examines the city under British colonial rule as well as its later incarnations and explores issues such as gender, identity and nationalism. We begin with an analysis of the British attitudes that produced a dominant image

of a problem-ridden city in the nineteenth century, and then proceed to explore other ways of envisioning it, emphasizing various modes of Bengali spatial imagination and practice. The crafting of a nationalist identity was central to modern Bengali spatial imagination and was animated by the conflicting responses of Bengali residents to city life as they attempted to work out the ethics of their public and private selves in literature, art, residential design, and in the creation of new urban spaces. This new text problematizes the idea of representing the city - both colonialist and nationalist. It argues for models of urbanism, nationalism, and modernity that cannot be fathomed by neat renderings into black/white, spiritual/material, but must be understood in terms of strategic D ranslations D "" between cultural and political

domains. An essential and challenging new work from this leading author.

By: Swati Chattopadhyay (University of California USA)
Imprint: Routledge
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 156mm, Spine: 21mm
Weight: 703g
ISBN: 9780415343596
ISBN 10: 0415343593
Series: Asia's Transformations/Asia's Great Cities
Pages: 330
Publication Date: 25 April 2005
Audience: College/higher education , Primary , A / AS level
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

"Introduction: The City in Historical Imagination 1. The Colonial Uncanny 2. The Limits of ""White"" Town 3. Locating Mythic Selves 4. Telling Stories 5. Death in Public. Conclusion: The Politics of Representation"

Swati Chattopadhyay is a Professor in the Department of History of Art and Architecture, University of California, Santa Barbara, USA. She is an architect and architectural historian, specializing in modern architecture and the cultural landscape of British colonialism.

Reviews for Representing Calcutta: Modernity, Nationalism and the Colonial Uncanny

'The author ably juggles racial, gendered, moral, architectural, literary and artistic geographies to craft a highly innovative, scholarly and stylishly executed study ... on a personal note, as the granddaughter of a suburban Calcutta architect I particularly welcome this book.' - Social & Cultural Geography