The Handloom Industry of Begampur in Transition: Technology, Disjuncture and Development provides an ethnographic description of the handloom industry of the Begampur region, Hooghly district, West Bengal, India. While explaining the process of transformation within the industry, Abhradip Banerjee explores the uneasy relationship between technology, disjuncture, and development that has impacted the lives of this particular group of artisans for more than two decades. The novelty of this book lies in Banerjee’s approach, which allowed him to perceive and analyze the process of transition within the handloom weaving tradition of Begampur region from a more inclusive perspective, miles away from the pitfall of gross “technological determinism.” The “sociotechnical approach allowed him to gauge, analyze, and incorporate several important but neglected dimensions of this transformation, which were otherwise missing in many historiographic or empirical accounts regarding the process of industrialization, deindustrialization, and class formation in India.
By:
Abhradip Banerjee Singur Government General
Imprint: Lexington Books/Fortress Academic
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions:
Height: 236mm,
Width: 160mm,
Spine: 20mm
Weight: 476g
ISBN: 9781666960587
ISBN 10: 1666960586
Pages: 218
Publication Date: 30 August 2024
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
List of Tables and Figures Foreword Acknowledgments Introduction: Why Handlooms? Excavating the Trope Handloom Industry and the Indian Economy Perspectives on Indian Handlooms and the De-Industrialization Debate Within a Maze: My Early Research and Involvement Anthropology of Craft and Craftsmen: Concepts, Dimensions and Theoretical Perspectives The Backdrop of the Present Research The Handloom Industry of Begampur in Transition: Technology, Disjuncture and Development Methodology Structure of the Book Chapter 1: The Setting: People, the Place, Economy, and Lives History and Geographical Location of this Region Geology and Climate Flora and Fauna Population and the Ethnic Composition Education Occupations Infrastructure and Healthcare Facilities Literary and Cultural Traditions Chapter 2: Tracing the Historical and Cultural Landscape of the Handloom Industry in Begampur: From Past to the Present Historical And Cultural Geography of Indian Handlooms Handloom Industry of Bengal Handloom Weaving Tradition in Begampur and its Evolution Chapter 3: The Social and the Religious Life Handloom Weavers in Begampur Region Ethnic Origin and Religious Cohabitation Marriage Family Kinship Life-Cycle Rituals Religious Ceremonies and Festivals Chapter 4: The Craft of Handloom Weaving: Technology, Processes, Work Coordination, Products and their Market Loom and Other Implements Knowledge and Skills in Different Stages of Cloth Production Work Coordination and Division of Labour Raw Materials, Products and their Market Chapter 5: The Disjuncture and Juxtapositions of Cloth Production, Organization and Marketing Individual Creative Identity vs. Community-Level Collective Production Traditional Artisanal Craft vs. Technology-Driven Commercialized Mass-Production The Informal vs. Formal Organizational Setup: The Issue of Dependence and Relative Independence Empowerment vs. Exploitation: Types of Contracts and the Relations in Production The Utility Products vs. Items with High Aesthetic Content The Issue of Local vs. Global: Local Identity vs. the Process of Homogenization Chapter 6: Handloom Weavers Cooperatives Societies in Begampur: A Failed Experiment? A Brief History of Handloom Weavers’ Cooperative in India Handloom Weavers Cooperative Societies in Begampur Region Rise of Begampur Handloom Cluster Society Conclusion Notes Glossary References Index About the Author
Abhradip Banerjee is assistant professor of anthropology at Government General Degree College, Singur.
Reviews for The Handloom Industry of Begampur in Transition: Technology, Disjuncture, and Development
This volume critically depicts how the weavers/artisans of Begumpuri Saree, a traditional craft of Bengal, negotiate with changing socio-cultural dimensions, technological innovations, marketing and market forces. The volume will add a new body of knowledge in Anthropology, and would be engaging to those who are interested in the study of craft, craftsmanship, their economy and culture. --Subha Ray, University of Calcutta
