Article ID: CBB527847129

Hylozoic Anticolonialism: Archaic Modernity, Internationalism, and Electromagnetism in British Bengal, 1909–1940 (2019)

unapi

Imperial ideology identified “science” and “progress” as the prerogative of the “West,” while “religion” and “spirituality” were located in the “East.” Yet, in practice, these neat dichotomies were far more difficult to sustain. Science and religion were braided together by spiritually inquisitive scientists as much in the West as in the East. Various strands of hylozoic thought that undermined the dichotomy of matter and spirit were located in the liminal space between these orthogonal categories. One such strand of hylozoism, engendered in electromagnetic ideas, was articulated in the early science fiction of authors like Edward Bulwer-Lytton. Dinendrakumar Ray, a Bengali novelist, inserted this science-fictional hylozoism into his translations of the novels of the Australian author Guy Boothby. By selectively adapting and blending Boothby’s international plot lines with Lytton-like electromagnetic hylozoism, Ray was able to craft a “hylozoic anticolonialism” that resonated emphatically with the thought of Sri Aurobindo, a revolutionary nationalist turned neo-Hindu spiritual master.

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Article Amanda Rees; Iwan Rhys Morus (2019) Presenting Futures Past: Science Fiction and the History of Science. Osiris: A Research Journal Devoted to the History of Science and Its Cultural Influences (pp. 1-15). unapi

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https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB527847129/

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Authors & Contributors
Mukharji, Projit Bihari
Tapti Roy
Samiparna Samanta
Bhattacharyya, Debjani
Wisnicki, Adrian S
Sivaramakrishman, Kavita
Concepts
Colonialism
Great Britain, colonies
Science and literature
Cross-cultural interaction; cultural influence
Globalization; internationalization
India, civilization and culture
Time Periods
19th century
20th century, early
18th century
Early modern
17th century
16th century
Places
Bengal (India)
India
Great Britain
Africa
South Asia
Calcutta (India)
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