Writing Zoological Natural History for British India (eBook)

John Mathew (Autor)

eBook Download: PDF

2025
OUP Oxford (Verlag)
978-0-19-893219-2 (ISBN)

Infos

This book examines the critical role played by colonial peripheries, specifically British India, in shaping the development of zoology and other disciplines emerging from 19th-century natural history. Through an analysis of publications such as the monumental Fauna of British India series (1888-1949), it explores how zoology became a site of contestation between European metropolitan centres and colonial territories. While taxonomy and comparative anatomy dominated scientific endeavours in Europe, colonial naturalists-primarily European expatriates-engaged in a localized form of natural history and taxonomy that significantly influenced the field. Central to this narrative is the figure of the 'translocate,' a term introduced to describe Europeans who lived and worked extensively in colonial contexts. These intermediaries bridged colonial and metropolitan scientific communities, asserting dual authority: they claimed a superior understanding of the local environment while navigating and often dismissing indigenous knowledge systems within an asymmetrical power dynamic. By doing so, it repositions the colonial periphery as a critical space in the global development of zoological knowledge, highlighting the complex interplay of authority, power, and knowledge production during the colonial era.

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 15.10.2025
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Geisteswissenschaften ► Geschichte ► Regional- / Ländergeschichte
• Themenwelt: Geschichte ► Teilgebiete der Geschichte ► Wirtschaftsgeschichte
• Themenwelt: Naturwissenschaften ► Geowissenschaften ► Geografie / Kartografie
• ISBN-10: 0-19-893219-7 / 0198932197
• ISBN-13: 978-0-19-893219-2 / 9780198932192