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Professor Ian J. Kerr (1 October 1941 - 3 December 2020)

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Professor Ian J. Kerr (1 October 1941 - 3 December 2020) H-Asia Professor Ian J. Kerr (1 October 1941 - 3 December 2020) Discussion published by Frank Conlon on Thursday, December 10, 2020 IAN J. KERR (1 October 1941 – 3 December 2020) It is my sad duty to report the death after a long illness of Ian J. Kerr, Senior Scholar in History at the University of Manitoba, and Professorial Research Associate in History at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), London. In his distinguished career, he established himself as scholar of the history and culture of the Punjab and, particularly, as an internationally recognized dean of the history of the construction and consequences of railways in India. Ian was born in Aberdeen, Scotland and moved with his parents to various locations in England, Canada and the United States, ultimately settling in Youngstown, New York. It was there he met and married M. Kaye Stephenson entering a mutually supportive life partnership of 58 years. An early illustration of that partnership may be seen in how, during Ian’s doctoral studies, Kaye completed her B.A. in Zoology and M.A. and PhD. in Child Development. He completed his B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1962 and later that year joined the University of Minnesota where he studied with the late Professor Burton Stein. I first met Ian and Kaye in September, 1962 when I was filling in for Professor Stein who had been delayed in his return from India. From that time forward, I’ve treasured my friendship with the Kerrs and enjoyed seeing them at conferences, the India Office Library and in Seattle. Burton Stein’s remarkable intellectual breadth offered his students a tremendous introduction to the interplay of history and social science. Stein’s advice was to utilize social science to generate fresh questions to enrich our comprehension of the historical past. Ian’s academic career richly fulfilled Stein’s premise as he grew to be a recognized scholar of Citation: Frank Conlon. Professor Ian J. Kerr (1 October 1941 - 3 December 2020). H-Asia. 12-10-2020. https://networks.h-net.org/node/22055/discussions/6943097/professor-ian-j-kerr-1-october-1941-3-december-2020 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. 1 H-Asia the history and culture of the Punjab, and, I believe, the dean of the study of railways and their impact, first in India and subsequently in broader global contexts. Ian completed his PhD in 1975 with a dissertation "The Punjab Province and the Lahore District, 1849-1872: A Case Study of British Colonial Rule and Social Change in India.” Following a one year visit at the University of Missouri, Columbia, he joined the History faculty of the University of Manitoba in 1975 where he remained through his retirement in 1998. Subsequently he held appointments as Senior Scholar at Manitoba and Professorial Research Associate at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. He published many books and articles dealing with the labour and transportation history of India. These include Building the Railways of the Raj 1850–1900 (Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1995 and 1997); Railways in Modern India (Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2001 and 2005); Engines of Change: The Railroads that Made India (Westport: Praeger, 2007, Hyderabad: Orient Blackswan, 2012) and, with John Hurd, India's Railway History:A Research Handbook (Leiden: Brill, 2012). David Washbrook, in reviewing Building the Railways of the Raj for the American Historical Review [103:2 (1999-8) 575] praised Ian’s “very acute” contributions “reminding scholars of colonial India of what they may have lost in the turn of recent years away from social history and toward cultural criticism.” Washbrook noted that while the book was specifically on railroads, “[w]hat Kerr conveys very much enriches, but also complicates, understanding of the colonial relationship in India.” In Kerr’s edited Railways in Modern India, his introduction illuminated a continuing theme in his research, namely the idea that "railways were at the organizational and technological center of many of the interrelated economic, political, social and ecological transformations that produced modern India" (p. 3). Samantha Alvarez, in Technology and Culture 45(2004) 180, observed that Ian stressed the Citation: Frank Conlon. Professor Ian J. Kerr (1 October 1941 - 3 December 2020). H-Asia. 12-10-2020. https://networks.h-net.org/node/22055/discussions/6943097/professor-ian-j-kerr-1-october-1941-3-december-2020 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. 2 H-Asia need for for a "generously conceived railway history" (p. 23). Ian’s mastery may be seen in his review essay "Chugging into Unfamiliar Stations: A New History of India’s Railways:Tracks of Change: Railways and Everyday Life in Colonial India by Ritika Prasad”, Economic and Political Weekly 51:17 (May 7, 1996). Conceptually imaginative, broadly conceive and elegantly written—it might be termed a “charter” for the continued growth of the field. While much of his work might be characterized as "empiricist" in nature, he was prepared to engage with other approaches to his study--a wonderful example is his "Representation and Representations of the Railways of Colonial and Post-Colonial South Asia," Modern Asian Studies, 37:2 (May 2003), 287-326. Over the decades of his work, Ian’s collaborations with other scholars produced important contributions to the study of railroads and labor in global contexts. Ian’s interest in the role of railway labor paralleled his active concern with the conditions of labor in the groves of academe. He played a significant role in the University of Manitoba’s faculty union and served on the board of the Canadian Association of University Teachers. It is difficult to imagine the world without my friend Ian. He was a consummate scholar with an international reputation, yet he was always down-to-earth, open to conversations and friendships on all sides. He observed the world as if it were a diamond which, as one turned it, new facets were to be divined. I never saw him angry; he was always focused and engaged, even, I understand, as he endured his final illness. It was a privilege to have known him, a privilege shared with scholars around the world. I attach a partial bibliography which, possibly not complete, will illustrate the range of Ian’s scholarly contributions. Citation: Frank Conlon. Professor Ian J. Kerr (1 October 1941 - 3 December 2020). H-Asia. 12-10-2020. https://networks.h-net.org/node/22055/discussions/6943097/professor-ian-j-kerr-1-october-1941-3-december-2020 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. 3 H-Asia Frank F. Conlon Professor emeritus History, South Asian Studies & Comparative Religion University of Washington, Seattle Co-founder and editor, H-ASIA Partial Bibliography: Ian J. Kerr Books: Building the Railways of the Raj 1850-1900.(Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1995; paperback ed., 1997). Editor, Railways of Modern India (Oxford in India Readings. Themes in Indian History) (Delhi: Press, 2001; paperback, 2005). Engines of Change: The Railroads That Made India. (Westport: Praeger, 2007). Editor, 27 Down. New Departures in Indian Railway Studies, (Hyderabad: Orient Longman, 2007). [with John Hurd], India’s Railway History. A Research Handbook. (Leiden: Brill, 2012). Engines of Change: The Railroads That Made India. [revised paperback edition for India] (Hyderabad: Orient Blackswan, 2012). Articles, essays reviews, etc.: "The British and the Administration of the Golden Temple in 1859," Panjab Past and Present 10 (1976), 306-21. "Urbanization and Colonial Rule in 19th Century India: Lahore and Amritsar, 1849-1881." Panjab Past and Present 14:1 (1980), 210-24 Citation: Frank Conlon. Professor Ian J. Kerr (1 October 1941 - 3 December 2020). H-Asia. 12-10-2020. https://networks.h-net.org/node/22055/discussions/6943097/professor-ian-j-kerr-1-october-1941-3-december-2020 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. 4 H-Asia "Imperial Rule in the Punjab, India, 1849-1872: A Partial Test of Ronald Robinson's Theory of Collaboration," Journal of the Pakistan Historical Society 29 (July, 1981) 149-75 British Relationships with the Golden Temple, 1849-90,"Indian Economic and Social History Review 21 (1984) 139-51. “Constructing Railways in India—An Estimate of the Numbers Employed” Indian Economic and Social History Review 20:3 (July-Sept. 1983). “Working Class Protest in 19th Century India: Example of Railway Workers” Economic and Political Weekly 20:4 (Jan. 26, 1985) “Fox and the Lions: the Akali movement revisited” in Sikh history and religion in the twentieth century. twentieth century, Joseph T. O'Connell, Milton Israel and Willard Gurdon Oxtoby, eds. (Toronto: University of Toronto, Centre for South Asian Studies, 1988) Review of J. Royal Roseberry III, Imperial Rule in Punjab:The Conquest and Administration of Multan, 1818-1881, in Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 507:1 (Jan. 1990): 153. "Colonialism and Technological Choice. The Case of the Railways of India," Itinerario. European Journal of Overseas History, XIX:2 (1995) 91-111. Review essay."Chugging into Unfamiliar Stations: A New History of India’s Railways: Tracks of Change: Railways and Everyday Life in Colonial India by Ritika Prasad. Economic and Political Weekly 51:17 (May 7, 1996) “Discontent in Academia: Straws from Winnipeg”,Economic and Political Weekly 31:29 (July 20, 1996) 1924-26. Citation: Frank Conlon. Professor Ian J. Kerr (1 October 1941 - 3 December 2020). H-Asia. 12-10-2020. https://networks.h-net.org/node/22055/discussions/6943097/professor-ian-j-kerr-1-october-1941-3-december-2020 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
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