Reading Subaltern Studies: Critical History, Contested Meanings, and the Globalisation of South Asia

In recent years, the most important and influential change in the historiography of South Asia, and particularly India, has been brought about by the globally renowned ‘subaltern studies’ project which began twenty years ago. The present volume of critiques and ‘readings’ of that project represents the first comprehensive historical introduction to subaltern studies and the worldwide debates it has generated among scholars of history, politics and sociology. This book provides a reliable point of departure for new readers of subaltern studies and a resource base for experienced readers who want to review critical debates. It includes twelve essays on subaltern studies – from early reviews to recent interpretive essays; a complete list of ‘subaltern’ authors; a bibliographic guide to literature in and around subaltern studies; and an extensive introduction that narrates the history of subaltern studies as a specific project within the wider field of historical studies ‘from below’. Reading Subaltern Studies also provides a guide to techniques for critical historical reading. It uses subaltern studies to indicate how readers can read themselves, their context, the text, the author, the author’s sources, and the subject of study into a single, contentious field of historical analysis.