Modernity, Nationalism, and the Colonial Uncanny
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4273P CALCUTTA-PT/jr 14/3/05 12:40 pm Page i 1111 2 Representing Calcutta 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1011 1 2 3111 Representing Calcutta: Modernity, nationalism, and the colonial uncanny is a spatial 4 history of the colonial city, and addresses the question of modernity that 5 haunts our perception of Calcutta. The book responds to two inter-related 6 concerns about the city. First is the image of Calcutta as the worst case 7 scenario of a Third World city – the proverbial “city of dreadful nights.” 8 Second is the changing nature of the city’s public spaces – the demise of 9 certain forms of urban sociality that has been mourned in recent litera- 20111 ture as the passing of Bengali modernity. By examining architecture, 1 city plans, paintings, literature, and official reports through the lens of 2 postcolonial, feminist, and spatial theory, the book explores the conditions 3 of colonialism and anti-colonial nationalism that produced the city as a 4 modern artifact. At the center of this exploration resides the problem of 5 “representing” the city, representation understood as description and narra- 6 tion, as well as political representation. In doing so Chattopadhyay 7 questions the very idea of colonial cities as creations of the colonizers, and 8 the model of colonial cities as dual cities, split in black and white areas, 9 in favor of a more complicated view of the topography. 30111 1 Swati Chattopadhyay is an associate professor in the Department of 2 History of Art and Architecture at the University of California, Santa 3 Barbara. She is an architect and architectural historian, and specializes in 4 modern architecture, the cultural landscape of British colonialism, and 5 post-colonial theory. 6 7 8 9 40111 1 2 3 4 45111 4273P CALCUTTA-PT/jr 14/3/05 12:40 pm Page ii 1111 2 Asia’s Transformations 3 Edited by Mark Selden 4 Binghamton and Cornell Universities, USA 5 6 The books in this series explore the political, social, economic and cultural 7 consequences of Asia’s transformations in the twentieth and twenty-first 8 centuries. The series emphasizes the tumultuous interplay of local, national, 9 regional and global forces as Asia bids to become the hub of the world 1011 economy. While focusing on the contemporary, it also looks back to analyze 1 the antecedents of Asia’s contested rise. This series comprises several strands: 2 3111 Asia’s Transformations aims to address the needs of students and teachers, and 4 the titles will be published in hardback and paperback. Titles include: 5 Genders, Transgenders and The Making of Modern Korea 6111 Sexualities in Japan Adrian Buzo 7 Edited by Mark McLelland and Korean Society 8 Romit Dasgupta Civil society, democracy and the state 9 China in War and Revolution, Edited by Charles K. Armstrong 20111 1895–1949 Remaking the Chinese State 1 Peter Zarrow 2 Strategies, society and security 3 Confronting the Bush Doctrine Edited by Chien-min Chao and 4 Critical views from the Asia-Pacific Bruce J. Dickson Edited by Mel Gurtov and Peter Van Ness 5 Mao’s Children in the New China 6 Japan’s Quiet Transformation Voices from the Red Guard 7 Social change and civil society in the generation 8 twenty-first century Yarong Jiang and David Ashley Jeff Kingston 9 Chinese Society 30111 State and Society in Twenty- Change, conflict and resistance 1 first-century China Edited by Elizabeth J. Perry and Mark Selden Edited by Peter Hays Gries and 2 Opium, Empire and the Global Stanley Rosen 3 Political Economy 4 The Battle for Asia Carl A. Trocki 5 From decolonization to globalization Japan’s Comfort Women Mark T. Berger 6 Sexual slavery and prostitution during 7 Ethnicity in Asia World War II and the US occupation 8 Edited by Colin Mackerras Yuki Tanaka 9 40111 Chinese Society, second edition Hong Kong’s History Change, conflict and resistance State and society under colonial rule 1 Edited by Elizabeth J. Perry and Mark Selden Edited by Tak-Wing Ngo 2 3 The Resurgence of East Asia Debating Human Rights 4 500, 150 and 50 year perspectives Critical essays from the United States 45111 Edited by Giovanni Arrighi, Takeshi and Asia Hamashita and Mark Selden Edited by Peter Van Ness 4273P CALCUTTA-PT/jr 14/3/05 12:40 pm Page iii 1111 Asia’s Great Cities 2 Each volume aims to capture the heartbeat of the contemporary city from 3 multiple perspectives emblematic of the authors’ own deep familiarity with 4 the distinctive faces of the city, its history, society, culture, politics and eco- 5 nomics, and its evolving position in national, regional and global frame- 6 works. While most volumes emphasize urban developments since the 7 Second World War, some pay close attention to the legacy of the longue 8 durée in shaping the contemporary. Thematic and comparative volumes 9 address such themes as urbanization, economic and financial linkages, archi- 1011 tecture and space, wealth and power, gendered relationships, planning 1 and anarchy, and ethnographies in national and regional perspective. 2 Titles include: 3111 Representing Calcutta Singapore 4 Modernity, nationalism, and the Carl Trocki 5 colonial uncanny Beijing in the Modern World 6 Swati Chattopadhyay 7 David Strand and Madeline Yue Dong Hong Kong 8 Bangkok Global city 9 Place, practice and representation Stephen Chiu and Tai-Lok Lui 20111 Marc Askew 1 Shanghai 2 Global city 3 Jeff Wasserstrom 4 5 Asia.com is a series which focuses on the ways in which new information 6 and communication technologies are influencing politics, society and 7 culture in Asia. Titles include: 8 9 The Internet in Indonesia’s New Japanese Cybercultures Democracy Edited by Mark McLelland and 30111 David T. Hill and Krishna Sen Nanette Gottlieb 1 2 Asia.com 3 Asia encounters the Internet 4 Edited by K. C. Ho, Randolph Kluver and 5 Kenneth C. C. Yang 6 7 Literature and Society is a series that seeks to demonstrate the ways in which 8 Asian literature is influenced by the politics, society and culture in which it 9 is produced. Titles include: 40111 1 Chinese Women Writers and the The Body in Postwar Japanese Feminist Imagination (1905–1945) Fiction 2 Haiping Yan Edited by Douglas N. Slaymaker 3 4 45111 4273P CALCUTTA-PT/jr 14/3/05 12:40 pm Page iv 1111 Routledge Studies in Asia’s Transformations is a forum for innovative new research 2 intended for a high-level specialist readership, and the titles will be available 3 in hardback only. Titles include: 4 1. Developmental Dilemmas 6. Internationalizing the 5 Land reform and institutional change Pacific 6 in China The United States, Japan and the 7 Edited by Peter Ho Institute of Pacific Relations in war 8 2. Japanese Industrial and peace, 1919–1945 9 Governance Tomoko Akami 1011 Protectionism and the licensing state 7. Koreans in Japan 1 Yul Sohn 2 Critical voices from the margin 3. Remaking Citizenship in Edited by Sonia Ryang 3111 Hong Kong 4 Community, nation and the global city 8. The American Occupation of 5 Edited by Agnes S. Ku and Ngai Pun Japan and Okinawa* 6 4. Chinese Media, Global Literature and memory 7 Contexts Michael Molasky 8 Edited by Chin-Chuan Lee 9 5. Imperialism in South East Asia * Now available in paperback 20111 ‘A fleeting, passing phase’ 1 Nicholas Tarling 2 3 Critical Asian Scholarship is a series intended to showcase the most important 4 individual contributions to scholarship in Asian Studies. Each of the 5 volumes presents a leading Asian scholar addressing themes that are central 6 to his or her most significant and lasting contribution to Asian studies. The 7 series is committed to the rich variety of research and writing on Asia, and 8 is not restricted to any particular discipline, theoretical approach or 9 geographical expertise. 30111 1 China’s Past, China’s Future Women and the Family in 2 Energy, food, environment Chinese History 3 Vaclav Smil Patricia Buckley Ebrey 4 China Unbound Southeast Asia 5 Evolving perspectives on the Chinese A testament 6 past George McT. Kahin 7 Paul A. Cohen 8 9 40111 1 2 3 4 45111 4273P CALCUTTA-PT/jr 14/3/05 12:40 pm Page v 1111 2 Representing 3 4 Calcutta 5 6 Modernity, nationalism, and 7 8 the colonial uncanny 9 1011 1 2 3111 Swati Chattopadhyay 4 5 6 7 8 9 20111 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 30111 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 40111 1 2 3 4 45111 4273P CALCUTTA-PT/jr 14/3/05 12:40 pm Page vi 1111 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1011 1 2 3111 First published 2005 by Routledge 4 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN 5 Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 6 207 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016 7 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group 8 9 This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2005. 20111 “To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s 1 collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.” 2 © 2005 Swati Chattopadhyay 3 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted 4 or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, 5 mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, 6 including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing 7 from the publishers.