Historical Dictionary of Ancient India
Historical Dictionary of Ancient India

Author: Kumkum Roy

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2009

Total Pages: 490

ISBN-13: 0810853663

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India's history and culture is ancient and dynamic, spanning back to the beginning of human civilization. Beginning with a mysterious culture along the Indus River and in farming communities in the southern lands of India, the history of India is punctuated by constant integration with migrating peoples and with the diverse cultures that surround the country. Placed in the center of Asia, history in India is a crossroads of cultures from China to Europe, as well as the most significant Asian connection with the cultures of Africa. The Historical Dictionary of Ancient India provides information ranging from the earliest Paleolithic cultures in the Indian subcontinent to 1000 CE. The ancient history of this country is related in this book through a chronology, an introductory essay, a bibliography, and hundreds of cross-referenced dictionary entries on rulers, bureaucrats, ancient societies, religion, gods, and philosophical ideas.

Disquieting Gifts
Disquieting Gifts

Author: Erica Bornstein

Publisher: Stanford University Press

Published: 2012-05-30

Total Pages: 234

ISBN-13: 0804782083

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“[This] artful ethnography . . . challenges us to reconsider both what giving looks like, and the relational possibilities of anthropological practice itself.” —Jocelyn L. Chua, American Ethnologist While most people would not consider sponsoring an orphan’s education to be in the same category as international humanitarian aid, both acts are linked by the desire to give. Many studies focus on the outcomes of humanitarian work, but the impulses that inspire people to engage in the first place receive less attention. Disquieting Gifts takes a close look at people working on humanitarian projects in New Delhi to explore why they engage in philanthropic work, what humanitarianism looks like to them, and the ethical and political tangles they encounter. Motivated by debates surrounding Marcel Mauss’s The Gift, Bornstein investigates specific cases of people engaged in humanitarian work to reveal different perceptions of assistance to strangers versus assistance to kin, how the impulse to give to others in distress is tempered by its regulation, suspicions about recipient suitability, and why the figure of the orphan is so valuable in humanitarian discourse. The book also focuses on vital humanitarian efforts that often go undocumented and ignored and explores the role of empathy in humanitarian work. “Bornstein . . . delineate[s] a ‘global economy of giving’ while questioning Western preconceptions about humanitarianism.” —Jonathan Benthall, Times Literary Supplement “Insightful and beautifully written . . . accessible and engaging.” —Pierre Minn, Social Anthropology “Conveys deep insights into international and intra-Indian charity and volunteering.” —Jonathan Benthall, University College London “Reveals the complexity of the contemporary moral economies of the gift.” —Didier Fassin, Institute for Advanced Study, author of Humanitarian Reason: A Moral History of the Present

From Obscurity to Light
From Obscurity to Light

Author: Devika Rangachari

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2020-03-10

Total Pages: 288

ISBN-13: 1000073211

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This book attempts to reintegrate women into the socio-political milieu of early medieval Orissa. Its sources are inscriptions, mostly Sanskrit, that date from the seventh century to the end of the reign of the Imperial Ganga ruler, Anantavarman Codagangadeva (CE 1078-1147). The evidence indicates that royal and non-royal women had varying but undeniably important roles to play in the socio-political fabric of this prominent regional entity. The Bhauma-Kara dynasty (c. mid-eighth/ninth-late tenth century) that witnessed the rule of six women, four of them in succession, is a case in point. In addition, the palpable presence of several other royal and non-royal women is consistently documented in the epigraphic record. This is an aspect that has received very little attention in secondary works, thereby rendering this study a pioneering one. The work follows on from Rangachari’s earlier Invisible Women, Visible Histories: Gender, Polity and Society in North India (7th to 12th century ad), which had focused on important gendered aspects of early medieval north India through an analysis of literary and epigraphic sources of Kashmir, Kanauj, Bengal and Bihar. The invisibilization of women, whereby their presence is routinely ignored or trivialized, was, similarly, its underlying essence. Please note: This title is co-published with Manohar Publishers, New Delhi. Taylor & Francis does not sell or distribute the Hardback in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka

What Matters?
What Matters?

Author: Courtney Bender

Publisher: Columbia University Press

Published: 2012-05-08

Total Pages: 297

ISBN-13: 0231504683

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Over the past decade, religious, secular, and spiritual distinctions have broken down, forcing scholars to rethink secularity and its relationship to society. Since classifying a person, activity, or experience as religious or otherwise is an important act of valuation, one that defines the characteristics of a group and its relation to others, scholars are struggling to recast these concepts in our increasingly ambiguous, pluralistic world. This collection considers religious and secular categories and what they mean to those who seek valuable, ethical lives. As they investigate how individuals and groups determine significance, set goals, and attribute meaning, contributors illustrate the ways in which religious, secular, and spiritual designations serve as markers of value. Reflecting on recent ethnographic and historical research, chapters explore contemporary psychical research and liberal American homeschooling; the work of nineteenth and early-twentieth-century American psychologists and French archaeologists; the role of contemporary humanitarian and volunteer organizations based in Europe and India; and the prevalence of highly mediated and spiritualized publics, from international psy-trance festivals to Ghanaian national political contexts. Contributors particularly focus on the role of ambivalence, attachment, and disaffection in the formation of religious, secular, and spiritual identities, resetting research on secular society and contemporary religious life while illuminating what matters in the lives of ordinary individuals.

Theories of the Gift in South Asia
Theories of the Gift in South Asia

Author: Maria Heim

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2004-09-28

Total Pages: 220

ISBN-13: 113587851X

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This book explores the ethical and social implications of unilateral gifts of esteem, offering a perceptive guide to the uniquely South Asian contributors to theoretical work on the gift.

A Companion to Global Gender History
A Companion to Global Gender History

Author: Teresa A. Meade

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2020-11-19

Total Pages: 672

ISBN-13: 1119535824

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Provides a completely updated survey of the major issues in gender history from geographical, chronological, and topical perspectives This new edition examines the history of women over thousands of years, studies their interaction with men in a gendered world, and looks at the role of gender in shaping human behavior. It includes thematic essays that offer a broad foundation for key issues such as family, labor, sexuality, race, and material culture, followed by chronological and regional essays stretching from the earliest human societies to the contemporary period. The book offers readers a diverse selection of viewpoints from an authoritative team of international authors and reflects questions that have been explored in different cultural and historiographic traditions. Filled with contributions from both scholars and teachers, A Companion to Global Gender History, Second Edition makes difficult concepts understandable to all levels of students. It presents evidence for complex assertions regarding gender identity, and grapples with evolving notions of gender construction. In addition, each chapter includes suggestions for further reading in order to provide readers with the necessary tools to explore the topic further. Features newly updated and brand-new chapters filled with both thematic and chronological-geographic essays Discusses recent trends in gender history, including material culture, sexuality, transnational developments, science, and intersectionality Presents a diversity of viewpoints, with chapters by scholars from across the world A Companion to Global Gender History is an excellent book for upper-level undergraduate and graduate students involved in gender studies and history programs. It will also appeal to more advanced scholars seeking an introduction to the field.

Art and History
Art and History

Author:

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2021-12-30

Total Pages: 304

ISBN-13: 938961189X

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Art and History: Texts, Contexts and Visual Representations in Ancient and Early Medieval India seeks to locate the historical contexts of premodern Indian art traditions. The volume examines significant questions, such as: What were the purposes served by art? How were religious and political ideas and philosophies conveyed through visual representations? How central were prescription, technique and style to the production of art? Who were the makers and patrons of art? How and why do certain art forms, meanings and symbols retain a relevance across context? With contributions from historians and art historians seeking to unravel the interface between art and history, the volume dwells on the significance of visual representations in specific regional historical contexts, the range of symbolic signification attached to these and the mythologies and textual prescriptions that contribute to the codification and use of representational forms. Supplemented with over 60 images, this volume is a must-read for scholars and researchers of history and art.