Habitations of Modernity: Essays in the Wake of Subaltern Studies

by Dipesh Chakrabarty

In Habitations of Modernity , Dipesh Chakrabarty explores the complexities of modernism in India and seeks principles of humaneness grounded in everyday life that may elude grand political theories. The questions that motivate Chakrabarty are shared by all postcolonial historians and How do we think about the legacy of the European Enlightenment in lands far from Europe in geography or history? How can we envision ways of being modern that speak to what is shared around the world, as well as to cultural diversity? How do we resist the tendency to justify the violence accompanying triumphalist moments of modernity?

Chakrabarty pursues these issues in a series of closely linked essays, ranging from a history of the influential Indian series Subaltern Studies to examinations of specific cultural practices in modern India, such as the use of khadi —Gandhian style of dress—by male politicians and the politics of civic consciousness in public spaces. He concludes with considerations of the ethical dilemmas that arise when one writes on behalf of social justice projects.

Genres: History, Theory, Nonfiction, Post Colonial

173 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Dipesh Chakrabarty (b. 1948) is a Bengali historian who has also made contributions to postcolonial theory and subaltern studies.

He attended Presidency College of the University of Calcutta, where he received his undergraduate degree in physics. He also received a Post Graduate Diploma in Management (MBA) from Indian Institute of Management Calcutta. Later he moved on to the Australian National University in Canberra, from where he earned a PhD in history.

He is currently the Lawrence A. Kimpton Distinguished Service Professor of History, South Asian Languages and Civilizations and the College at the University of Chicago. He was a visiting faculty at the Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta. Chakrabarty also serves as a contributing editor for Public Culture, an academic journal published by Duke University Press.

He was a member of the Subaltern Studies collective. He has recently made important contributions to the intersections between history and postcolonial theory (Provincializing Europe [PE]), which continues and revises his earlier historical work on working-class history in Bengal (Rethinking Working-Class History). PE adds considerably to the debate of how postcolonial discourse engages in the writing of history (e.g., Robert J. C. Young's "White Mythologies"), critiquing historicism, which is intimately related to the West's notion of linear time. Chakrabarty argues that Western historiography's historicism universalizes liberalism, projecting it to all ends of the map. He suggests that, under the rubric of historicism, the end-goal of every society is to develop towards nationalism.

In 2011 he received an Honorary degree from the University of Antwerp.

Reviews

[Sourav Chattopadhyay · Rating 5 out of 5]

In nine essays, divided in three parts Prof Chakrabarty writes a "small history" of subaltern studies, replies to Sumit Sarkar's criticism, critiques Ashis Nandy's "decisionism" and then proceeds to trace different "habitations of modernity" in the postcolonial reception of colonial traditions, criticises "hyperrationalism" and participates in ethical conversations with modern indian political desires. In the last part he also deals with the issue of communal violence and focuses on myth and individual and collective memories.

[محمد DGome95 · Rating 5 out of 5]

مدخل عظيم لتيار حداثي مهم بالعالم الثالث

[Mohadgome · Rating 4 out of 5]

إصدار مهم لمجال مجتمعي غير مطروق بعالمنا العربي
الخطاب مابعد حداثي يسأل من هم التابعون الواقعون
بمجال الإستعمار الثقافي للشعوب

[Freddie Bishop · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chakrabarty’s style of writing is very clear and it adds perfectly to the intresting new perspective he adds to history.