Description: "An interconnected history of the regions surrounding the Bay of Bengal in the 19th and 20th centuries, weaving together themes of migration, diaspora, ethnicity, religion, culture and the emergence of nationalist politics and state policies"--
Brief description: Michael Laffan is Professor of History at Princeton University, USA. He is also the author of Islamic Nationhood and Colonial Indonesia: The Umma Below the Winds (2003), The Makings of Indonesian Islam: Orientalism and the Narration of a Sufi Past (2011), and Facing Fear: The History of an Emotion in Global Perspective (2012).
Review Quotes:
"Ambitious and exhilarating, this collection weaves together the people, places, and temporalities of the Bay of Bengal (and beyond). The essays look back to the longer arcs of religion and migration and forward to colonial categorizations and postcolonial exclusions. Like resonant intellectual soundings, the essays offer multi-layered and multi-scalar histories that illuminate the complexities of the present. Bustling with memorable characters, and bobbing with "dhows, steamers and lifeboats", the collection is a model of global history." --Isabel Hofmeyr, Professor of African Literature, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa and Global Distinguished Professor, New York University, USA
"This compelling collection of essays features some of the most creative scholars working on the cultural history of the Indian Ocean world. Breaking down the boundaries of area studies, the volume charts the multiple forms of belonging that both connected and divided communities across the Bay of Bengal. The essays here bring a vivid sense of place and personality to their analysis of how deep historical ties, familial and spiritual, flourished even under European domination; yet they are equally attentive to the points where connections rupture. This rigorous, thoughtful volume represents the very cutting edge of the field." --Sunil Amrith, Mehra Family Professor of South Asian Studies and Professor of History, Harvard University, USA