Revisiting Social Theory and History of Science in Early Modern South Asia and Colonial India

Historiographies of the sciences in Asia have undergone a major revision over the last three decades—inspired by changes in the social theory of science, a robust contextualism, and growing scholarship in local histories. These revisions have equally been an outcome of the mutual shaping of social t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Extrême-Orient, Extrême-Occident Extrême-Occident, 2014-10, Vol.36 (36), p.191-210
Main Author: Raina, Dhruv
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Astronomy
Colonialism
History instruction
History of science
India
Indian culture
Indian literature
Mathematical knowledge
Modern science
Postcolonial literature
Regards extérieurs
Social history
Social theories
Social theory
South Asia
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Summary:Historiographies of the sciences in Asia have undergone a major revision over the last three decades—inspired by changes in the social theory of science, a robust contextualism, and growing scholarship in local histories. These revisions have equally been an outcome of the mutual shaping of social theory and historical practices. Responding to the role of “itinerants,” be they scholars, missionaries, officials, or scientists in the circulation and transmission of knowledge in East Asia, the present essay synchronously moves to the geographical region of South Asia and attempts to draw the landscape of the circulation of knowledge in early modern and colonial South Asia. In the second part, it briefly instantiates the process of translation of modern mathematical knowledge in colonial India, illustrating the different strategies of legitimation of new knowledge in varied national and cultural contexts.
ISSN:0754-5010
2108-7105
DOI:10.4000/extremeorient.315