Let There Be Light

Engineering, Entrepreneurship and Electricity in Colonial Bengal, 1880-1945
Erscheinungsjahr 2020
ISBN: 978-1-108-83598-5
Verlag: Cambridge University Press

Buch, Englisch, 320 Seiten, Format (B × H): 196 mm x 234 mm, Gewicht: 544 g

Social and economic history of science and technology has emerged as a major theme of interdisciplinary research in South Asian history since the late 1990s. This book studies the correlation between technological knowledge and industrial performance, with the focus on electricity, an emerging technology during 1880 and 1945. The arrival of electricity necessitated the introduction of new institutional facilities, and with the growth of technological system, a new business culture grew - there was demand for trained manpower to handle machines and better educational facilities. Taking a broad view of the subject, the narrative of this book is built around the historical experiences of the local Bengali-speaking population. Adopting the social constructionist model, Let There Be Light presents an amalgamation of archival and Indian language source materials to delineate the diverse nature of the appropriation of technological ideas into Indian culture.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Sarkar, Suvobrata

Fachgebiete

• Wirtschaftswissenschaften Betriebswirtschaft Management Unternehmensführung
• Technische Wissenschaften Technik Allgemein Technikgeschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtswissenschaft Allgemein

Inhaltsverzeichnis

List of abbreviations; List of figures; Preface; Introduction; 1. Technical knowledge and its institutes; 2. Entrepreneurship, industry and technology; 3. Electrification: the shaping of a technology; 4. Domesticating electricity; 5. Assimilation of technological ideas; Conclusion; Bibliography; Index.

Über Autor(innen)

Sarkar, Suvobrata
Suvobrata Sarkar teaches at the Department of History, University of Burdwan, India. His research looks at the social history of technology in colonial India. He is also the recipient of the Maurice Daumas Prize 2019 awarded by the International Committee for the History of Technology.