:: JUST PUBLISHED

Hegel’s Lectures on the Philosophy of World History: The Essentials

Thomas L. Pangle

Hegel’s Lectures on the Philosophy of World History brings together the works of Georg W. F. Hegel (1770–1831), one of the greatest philosophers of history, who, prior to his death, did not execute a treatise setting forth his philosophy of world history.

All that remains are fragmented and truncated manuscript materials and meticulous student transcripts from his lectures on the philosophy of world history, which are assembled in this book to present what Hegel might call the “essential phases” or “moments” in his philosophy of world history as an articulated, unfolding, organic whole.

Drawing from historical-critical editions, Thomas L. Pangle has compiled a range of passages that provide the fullest and clearest expression of Hegel’s teachings on the philosophy of history as divine reason expressing itself dynamically in the whole of existence. Hegel’s Lectures on the Philosophy of World History provides lucid, vivid, and concrete access to Hegel’s political philosophy, as the most ambitious and thorough attempt to demonstrate that world history overall, starting with ancient China and India, exhibits God’s providence for humanity as a truly rational divine plan.

Kings and Dervishes: Sufi World Renunciation and the Symbolism of Kingship in the Persianate World

Said Amir Arjomand

Saïd Amir Arjomand's Kings and Dervishes is a pioneering study of the emergence and development of Sufism during the formation of the Persianate world. Whereas Sufi doctrine was expressed in the New Persian language, its social organization was detached from the civic movement among the urban craftsmen and artisans known as the fotovva(t) and was politically shaped by multiple forces—first by the revival of Persian kingship, and then by the emergence of the Turko-Mongolian empires.

The intermingling of Sufism’s developmental path with the transformation of the Persianate political regimes resulted in the progressive appropriation of royal symbols by the Sufi shaykhs. The original Sufi world renunciation gave way first to world accommodation and the medieval love mysticism of Jalāl al-Din Rumi and Hāfez of Shiraz, and then to world domination. This comprehensive work of historical sociology traces these spiritual and political evolutions over the course of some six centuries, showing how the Sufi saints’ symbolic sovereignty was eventually made real in the imperial kingship of the Persianate world’s early modern empires.

The Life of Shariʿa: A Comparative Anthropology of Law

Youssef Belal

Is there a way to think about contemporary life with knowledge that is neither modern nor Western? Rather than confining Islam to a “religion” and shariʿa to its “law,” Youssef Belal provocatively argues that Islamic shariʿa is a mode of knowledge with its own concepts and scholarly categories through which the world and the self are grasped. The Life of Shariʿa considers two intertwined lineages: how Islamic scholars have formulated knowledge from the classical period to today and how Westerners have understood the law and its origins. By melding these two traditions, Belal puts the formation of modern law under a new light and offers, through a compelling conceptualization of shariʿa, a powerful argument for its continued relevance to the life of contemporary Muslims.

Tibetan Manuscripts and Early Printed Books, Volume II: Elaborations

Matthew T. Kapstein (editor)

Tibetan Manuscripts and Early Printed Books, Volume II explores the major categories of traditional Tibetan books, introducing their specific features and the main approaches to their study.

In five major sections, it surveys manuscript collections including Buddhist scriptural canons, official and administrative documents, works on technical subjects—medicine, veterinary practice, liturgical chant, and the arts of divination—and Tibetan books from China and Mongolia. Two case studies exemplify the roles of paleographic and iconographic analysis in the examination of antique manuscripts.

Like Volume I, the second volume of Tibetan Manuscripts and Early Printed Books has been written by the foremost experts in the field, whose wide-ranging essays are illustrated with numerous full-color images of original works. Addressing students and scholars of Tibetan Buddhism and Tibetan history and culture in their varied dimensions, this volume will also interest scholars and other readers oriented more broadly to the global history of the book. Volume I was published simultaneously with Volume II and is also now available.

Tibetan Manuscripts and Early Printed Books, Volume I: Elements

Matthew T. Kapstein (editor)

In Tibetan Manuscripts and Early Printed Books, Volume I, Matthew T. Kapstein and an international team of specialists provide a comprehensive introduction to the material and aesthetic features of the wide range of Tibetan books, described in detail and illustrated with copious full-color photographs.

With a documented history of over thirteen centuries, Tibetan books have long served as a medium of culture and learning throughout Central and East Asia. Major collections of Tibetan manuscripts and printed books—for Tibetan works were put into print even before the age of Gutenberg—are found in libraries and museums far from the traditional centers of Tibetan learning. Yet the history, production, and design of these works remain poorly understood.

Topics covered in volume I include the manufacture of paper and ink, format and layout, scripts and scribal conventions, illumination and decoration, woodblock printing, book storage, preservation, and the use of contemporary digital technologies for the documentation of traditional works. Volume I of Tibetan Manuscripts and Early Printed Books is an essential resource for all students of Tibetan civilization, as well as for scholars, collectors, and others interested in the diverse book cultures of Asia. Volume II was published simultaneously with Volume I and is also now available.

Winner of the Toshihide Numata Book Award in Buddhism of the Center for Buddhist Studies at the University of California, Berkeley.

The House of the Satrap: The Making of the Ancient Persian Empire

Rhyne King

Starting in the sixth century BCE, the conquests of the Persian kings Cyrus, Cambyses, and Darius transformed the lives of humans on a continental scale, as their empire reached from the Iranian plateau to eastern Europe, Central Asia, and North Africa. Beyond the imperial center, the kings’ vast territory was ruled by royal representatives known as satraps, who managed the practicalities of running the empire. In this book, Rhyne King explores how the empire was governed by investigating how the satraps and the structures supporting them—their “houses”—operated across great distances. Examining satrapal houses in Egypt, Anatolia, Mesopotamia, and Central Asia, King demonstrates how these systems encouraged local self-interest and advancement even as they benefited the imperial whole. Ultimately, he argues, it was these Persian forms of transregional governance that were key in enabling the vast polity to endure for more than two centuries.

Parting Gifts of Empire: Palestine and India at the Dawn of Decolonization

Esmat Elhalaby

Parting Gifts of Empire narrates an untold story of how Arabs and South Asians in the twentieth century sought to decolonize their minds. The histories of Palestine and India—both partitioned by the British Empire—are intimately linked. In the face of similar imperially created chasms, Arab and Indian intellectuals reinvigorated centuries of shared histories to forge new horizons, new solidarities, new institutions, and new fields of knowledge. In this book, Esmat Elhalaby traces the forgotten lives of scholars like Wadi’ al-Bustani, revisits Arab and Indian feminist meetings, highlights gatherings such as Delhi’s 1947 Asian Relations Conference, and argues for the centrality of Palestine to the rise of the Third World. This book breaks new ground to unfold a global intellectual history of anticolonialism, Asian unity, pan-Islamism, and nonalignment in the making of what became known as the Global South.

Caste-Communal-Politics Nexus in Higher Education Policy: The Case of Southern States and Maharashtra

A. Mathew (author), Kuldeep Mathur (foreword)

While quantitative analyses of higher education in India are plentiful, informed research on higher education policy at the State level remains limited. This volume seeks to fill that gap. It is the outcome of a multi-state study sponsored by the ICSSR, examining higher education policies in four southern States—Andhra Pradesh (pre-bifurcation), Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu—and the western State of Maharashtra. Set against both historical contexts and contemporary realities, each State-specific case study offers a critical assessment of higher education policy and reflects on the factors that have significantly influenced policy processes.

A common feature across these States is the overwhelming presence and influence of unaided private educational institutions, whose dominance has shaped policy orientations and enabled their largely unchallenged expansion within the higher education system. However, the factors shaping State policies on expansion and qualitative development vary considerably. In Andhra Pradesh, political affiliations and caste considerations have influenced policy directions; in Karnataka, policy responses have oscillated in reaction to expert recommendations; in Tamil Nadu, higher education policy has been shaped by competitive politics centred on vision, access, and affordability. Maharashtra provides a striking example of an education-politics nexus that has weakened university autonomy, while Kerala stands apart with relatively slower growth but a sustained focus on equity-driven expansion through regulated privatisation.

Together, these States account for more than 40 percent of all higher education institutions in the country. The policy trends explored in this volume, therefore, offer important insights into the evolving trajectory of higher education in India as a whole. This work will be of considerable value to planners, administrators, researchers, and students engaged in a deeper analysis of education policy in India.

Origin and Growth of Satī in Early Medieval India: A Historical Investigation

G.C. Chauhan and Sachin Chahal (authors), Mahesh Sharma (foreword)

Origin and Growth of Satī in Early Medieval India: A Historical Investigation explores the historical background and evolution of the Satī practice in early medieval India. The ancient custom of a widow immolating herself on her husband’s funeral pyre—known as Satī—has a complex and multifaceted history. Initially viewed as an expression of devotion and fidelity, the practice gradually transformed over time and was, in many instances, imposed upon widows.

This study traces the evolution of Satī from a rare and voluntary act to a more institutionalised and widespread ritual, particularly among the upper social strata. It examines the social and economic forces that contributed to its proliferation, including the emergence of warrior and royal cultures, inheritance disputes, and the consolidation of patriarchal norms.

Drawing upon literary and epigraphic sources, the authors provide a detailed analysis of various dimensions of the Satī tradition. They also consider the influence of colonial interpretations, orientalist discourses, and indigenous cultural frameworks. Through this comprehensive and nuanced approach, the book offers a deeper understanding of the complex historical trajectory of Satī in early medieval India.

The Future of Futurity: Affective Capitalism and Potentiality in a Global City

Purnima Mankekar and Akhil Gupta

In The Future of Futurity, Purnima Mankekar and Akhil Gupta examine the lives and experiences of call center agents in India’s business process outsourcing (BPO) industry, who live in Bengaluru and work for customers in the Global North. Mankekar and Gupta show how futurity—an affective-temporal potentiality and mode of being that emphasizes the unfolding of time—enables BPO workers to strive for hopeful futures despite their experiences of growing inequality, volatility, and violence. Drawing on long-term fieldwork with managers, owners, and workers of BPO companies, the authors explore how workers find pathways for navigating a globalized world and for imagining their futures in it. They point to the heterogeneous lives, yearnings, and anxieties of BPO workers, foregrounding the disjunctions and conjunctions between labor, corporeality, intimacy, family life, and mobility. Mankekar and Gupta show how workers’ daily lives and imaginings of the future point to the relationships between futurity, capital, and technology as well as futurity’s imbrications with contemporary racial capitalism. In so doing, the authors insist on the transformative potential of futurity even in conditions of extreme precarity.

The Dancer’s Voice: Performance and Womanhood in Transnational India

Rumya Sree Putcha

In The Dancer’s Voice, Rumya Sree Putcha theorizes how the Indian classical dancer performs the complex dynamics of transnational Indian womanhood. Putcha argues that the public persona of the Indian dancer has come to represent India in the global imagination—a representation that supports caste hierarchies and Hindu ethnonationalism, as well as white supremacist model minority narratives. Generations of Indian women have been encouraged to embody the archetype of the dancer, popularized through film cultures from the 1930s to the present. Through analyses of films, immigration and marriage laws, histories of caste and race, advertising campaigns, and her own family’s heirlooms, photographs, and memories, Putcha reveals how women’s citizenship is based on separating their voices from their bodies. In listening closely to and for the dancer’s voice, she offers a new way to understand the intersections of body, voice, performance, caste, race, gender, and nation.

The Greater Second World War: Global Perspectives

Andrew N. Buchanan and Ruth Lawlor (editors)

The Greater Second World War challenges the traditional temporal and geographic frameworks of World War II, expanding the timeline to include a series of regional conflicts and revolutions that began in 1931 and continued into the mid-1950s.

These conflicts bookended a “central paroxysm” defined by the intervention of the United States into every theater of the war, rendering it genuinely global. The essays within this volume bring top-level accounts of US, European, and Axis strategic maneuvering into conversation with social histories of “bottom-up” agency in ways that destabilize conventional narratives.

Working with novel and overlapping scales of time and space and attuned to ongoing and lively debates about the place of the nation-state in global history after 1945, the scholars featured in The Greater Second World War seek to not only describe the war’s beginnings in Asia and Africa—rather than in Europe—but also trace its ends to the shatter zones of the Soviet frontier, the struggles for sovereignty in contested spaces, and the long-reaches of US imperialism well into the late twentieth century. Together, their contributions reveal how the cascading imperial and economic crises of the mid-twentieth century triggered a series of discrete local and regional struggles that took on the character of a singular, unified “world war” after the entry of the United States into every theater and almost every corner of the world.

City of Lyrics: Ordinary Poets and Islamicate Popular Culture in Early Modern Delhi

Nathan L. M. Tabor

Chronicling the origins of a global poetry phenomenon.

For centuries, Urdu-speaking poets and their audiences have gathered for mushāʿirahs, literary competitions for spoken-word verse. Today the mushāʿirah is a global phenomenon, as audiences in the millions convene in person and online for hours of poetic performance. Tracing these modern gatherings back to their origins, Nathan L. M. Tabor introduces readers to the popular emergence of the mushāʿirah in eighteenth-century Delhi. Scores of poets composed two-line lyric poems, called ġhazals, that they muttered, sang, shouted, and spat out in contentious salon spaces across India’s largest metropolis. Delhi’s mushāʿirahs circulated lyrics, satires, and songs for both common and elite poets, who traded and assessed words as an urban commodity that defined hierarchy, taste, and notions of delight.

Via poets’ verse exchanges and their histories of Delhi’s literary scene, City of Lyrics reconstructs the social networks the mushāʿirahs produced. By understanding the roots of this uniquely Islamic literary practice, readers will gain insight into global popular culture today, which increasingly takes shape according to the tastes and values of the Muslim world yet is enjoyed by wide audiences of Muslims and non-Muslims alike.