The alchemy of empire : abject materials and the technologies of colonialism / Rajani Sudan.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Sudan, Rajani, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Technology transfer--History--18th century.

Technology transfer.

Civilization.

History.

Europe--Civilization--Oriental influences--History--18th century.

Europe.

Enlightenment.

Technology in literature.

Imperialism--History--18th century.

Imperialism.

Great Britain--Colonies--History--18th century.

Great Britain.

Colonies.

British colonies.

Civilization--Oriental influences.

Genre:

History.

Physical Description:

223 pages ; 23 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Fordham University Press, 2016.

Summary:

"The Alchemy of Empire unravels the non-European origins of Enlightenment science. Focusing on the abject materials of empire-building, this study traces the genealogies of substances like mud, mortar, ice, and paper, as well as forms of knowledge like inoculation. Showing how East India Company employees deployed the paradigm of alchemy in order to make sense of the new worlds they confronted, Rajani Sudan argues that the Enlightenment was born largely out of Europe's (and Britain's) sense of insecurity and inferiority in the early modern world. Plumbing the depths of the imperial archive, Sudan uncovers the history of the British Enlightenment in the literary artifacts of the long eighteenth century, from the correspondence of the East India Company and the papers of the Royal Society to the poetry of Alexander Pope and the novels of Jane Austen"-- Provided by publisher.

"The Alchemy of Empire unravels the non-European origins of Enlightenment science. Focusing on the abject materials of empire-building, this study traces the genealogies of substances like mud, mortar, ice, and paper, and forms of knowledge like inoculation, arguing that East India Company employees deployed the paradigm of alchemy in order to make sense of the new worlds they confronted"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Machine generated contents note:

Introduction: Mud, Mortar, and Empire

1. The Alchemy of Empire

2. Mortar and the Making of Madras

3. Ice and the Production of British Climate

4. Inoculation and the Limits of British Imperialism

5. "Plaisters," Paper, and the Labor of Letters

Conclusion

Notes

Works Cited.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Online version: Sudan, Rajani. Alchemy of empire.

ISBN:

9780823270675

082327067X

9780823270682

0823270688

OCLC:

925500039