
Sign up to save your podcasts
Or


Bureaucratic Archaeology: State, Science and Past in Postcolonial India (Cambridge UP, 2022) presents a novel ethnographic examination of archaeological practice within postcolonial India, focusing on the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) as a site where scientific knowledge production intersects with state bureaucracy. Through granular analysis of ASI's quotidian operations, this monograph demonstrates how archaeological micro-practices materially influence the construction of political and religious identities, while simultaneously serving as empirical evidence in India's highest judicial proceedings.
This unprecedented study illuminates the epistemological ecology of postcolonial knowledge production from within the bureaucratic apparatus itself. As the first book-length investigation of archaeological practice beyond the Euro-American tradition, it reveals how non-Western archaeological theory and methodology generate distinct forms of knowledge, thereby expanding our understanding of archaeology's role in postcolonial state formation.
About the Author:
Ashish Avikunthak is a distinguished scholar working at the intersection of archaeology, cultural anthropology, and avant-garde filmmaking. He is Professor of Film Media at the University of Rhode Island's Harrington School of Communication, where his research bridges theoretical and practical approaches to cultural production. His experimental films have been exhibited internationally at prestigious institutions including Tate Modern, Centre Georges Pompidou, and Pacific Film Archive, as well as major film festivals such as Rotterdam and Locarno.
About the Host:
Stuti Roy has recently completed her MPhil in Modern South Asian Studies at the University of Oxford.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/south-asian-studies
By New Books Network4.5
1818 ratings
Bureaucratic Archaeology: State, Science and Past in Postcolonial India (Cambridge UP, 2022) presents a novel ethnographic examination of archaeological practice within postcolonial India, focusing on the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) as a site where scientific knowledge production intersects with state bureaucracy. Through granular analysis of ASI's quotidian operations, this monograph demonstrates how archaeological micro-practices materially influence the construction of political and religious identities, while simultaneously serving as empirical evidence in India's highest judicial proceedings.
This unprecedented study illuminates the epistemological ecology of postcolonial knowledge production from within the bureaucratic apparatus itself. As the first book-length investigation of archaeological practice beyond the Euro-American tradition, it reveals how non-Western archaeological theory and methodology generate distinct forms of knowledge, thereby expanding our understanding of archaeology's role in postcolonial state formation.
About the Author:
Ashish Avikunthak is a distinguished scholar working at the intersection of archaeology, cultural anthropology, and avant-garde filmmaking. He is Professor of Film Media at the University of Rhode Island's Harrington School of Communication, where his research bridges theoretical and practical approaches to cultural production. His experimental films have been exhibited internationally at prestigious institutions including Tate Modern, Centre Georges Pompidou, and Pacific Film Archive, as well as major film festivals such as Rotterdam and Locarno.
About the Host:
Stuti Roy has recently completed her MPhil in Modern South Asian Studies at the University of Oxford.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/south-asian-studies

6,784 Listeners

7,724 Listeners

290 Listeners

112 Listeners

212 Listeners

161 Listeners

62 Listeners

26 Listeners

186 Listeners

163 Listeners

23 Listeners

23 Listeners

60 Listeners

87,613 Listeners

112,802 Listeners

2,325 Listeners

10,287 Listeners

989 Listeners

16,241 Listeners

5 Listeners

16,097 Listeners

2,511 Listeners

16,872 Listeners

333 Listeners

1,018 Listeners