Theatre, History, Criticism, Soviet Union, Russia, Western countries, Drama, Asian,

This handbook offers a comprehensive overview of the international relations of South Asia. South Asia as a region is increasingly assuming greater significance in global politics for a host of compelling reasons. This volume offers the most comprehensive collection of perspectives on the international politics of South Asia, and it it covers an extensive range of issues spanning from inter-state wars to migration in the region. Each contribution provides a careful discussion of the four major theoretical approaches to the study of international politics: Realism, Constructivism, Liberalism, and Critical Theory. In turn, the chapters discuss the relevance of each approach to the issue area addressed in the book. The volume offers coverage of the key issues under four thematic sections: - Theoretical Approaches to the Study of the International Relations of South Asia - Traditional and Emerging Security Issues in South Asia - The International Relations of South Asia - Cross-cutting Regional Issues Further, every effort has been made in the chapters to discuss the origins, evolution and future direction of each issue. This book will be of much interest to students of South Asian politics, human security, regional security, and International Relations in general.

Dating from the seventeenth century at the height of the Ming Dynasty, the Selden Map of China reveals a country very different from popular conceptions of the time, looking not inward to the Asian landmass but outward to the sea. Painted in multiple colours on three pieces of Mitsumata paper, this beautifully decorative map of China was discovered to be a seafaring chart showing Ming Dynasty trade routes. It is the earliest surviving example of Chinese merchant cartography and is evidence that Ming China was outward-looking, capitalistic and vibrant. Exploring the commercial aims of the Ming Dynasty, the port city of Quanzhou and its connections with the voyages of the early traveller Zheng He, this book describes the historical background of the era in which the map was used. It also includes an analysis of the skills and techniques involved in Chinese map-making and the significance of the compass bearings, scale and ratios found on the map, all of which combine to represent a breakthrough in cartographic techniques. The enthralling story revealed by this extraordinary artefact is central to an understanding of the long history of China's relationship with the sea and with the wider world.

"John Stratton Hawley miraculously manages to braid the charged erotic and divine qualities of Krishna, the many-named god, while introducing us-with subtle occasional rhyme-to a vividly particularized world of prayers and crocodile earrings, spiritual longing and love-struck bees." -Forrest Gander, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry An award-winning translation of Hindi verses composed by one of India's treasured poets. The blind poet Surdas has been regarded as the epitome of artistry in Hindi verse from the end of the sixteenth century, when he lived, to the present day. His fame rests upon his remarkable refashioning of the widely known narrative of the Hindu deity Krishna and his lover Radha into lyrics that are at once elegant and approachable. Surdas's popularity led to the proliferation, through an energetic oral tradition, of poems ascribed to him, known collectively as the Sursagar. This award-winning translation reconstructs the early tradition of Surdas's verse-the poems that were known to the singers of Surdas's own time as his. Here Surdas stands out with a clarity never before achieved.

This book examines five features of Japan's 'Lost Decades': the speed of the economic decline in Japan compared to Japan's earlier global prowess; a rapidly declining population; considerable political instability and failed reform attempts; shifting balances of power in the region and changing relations with Asian neighbouring nations; and the lingering legacy of World War Two. Addressing the question of why the decades were lost, this book offers 15 new perspectives ranging from economics to ideology and beyond. Investigating problems such as the risk-averse behaviour of Japan's bureaucracy and the absence of strong political leadership, the authors analyse how the delay of 'loss-cutting policies' led to the 1997 financial crisis and a state of political gridlock where policymakers could not decide on firm strategies that would benefit national interests. To discuss the rebuilding of Japan, the authors argue that it is first essential to critically examine Japan's 'Lost Decades' and this book offers a comprehensive overview of Japan's recent 20 years of crisis. The book reveals that the 'Lost Decades' is not an issue unique to the Japanese context but has global relevance, and its study can provide important insights into challenges being faced in other mature economies. With chapters written by some of the world's leading Japan specialists and chapters focusing on a variety of disciplines, this book will be of interest to students and scholars in the areas of Japan studies, Politics, International Relations, Security Studies, Government Policy and History.

Exam Board: AQA, Edexcel, OCR & WJEC Level: A-level Subject: History First Teaching: September 2015 First Exam: June 2016 Give your students the best chance of success with this tried and tested series, combining in-depth analysis, engaging narrative and accessibility. Access to History is the most popular, trusted and wide-ranging series for A-level History students. This title: - Supports the content and assessment requirements of the 2015 A-level History specifications - Contains authoritative and engaging content - Includes thought-provoking key debates that examine the opposing views and approaches of historians - Provides exam-style questions and guidance for each relevant specification to help students understand how to apply what they have learnt This title is suitable for a variety of courses including: - OCR: The Cold War in Asia 1945-1993

Analyzing the multifaceted receptions of Machiavelli from early modernity to the present history of Northeast Asia, this book explores a better East-West dialogue through which Machiavelli's political philosophy can be appropriated properly in Northeast Asian practices. First, comparing the receptions of Machiavelli in Europe with the early introduction of his texts in Northeast Asia, it investigates what has been missing from the reception of his ideas in Northeast Asia. Second, examining the imperative issues which haven't been construed appropriately even in recent reinterpretations of Machiavelli's political philosophy in Northeast Asia, it searches for a direction of East-West dialogue through which Machiavelli's political philosophy is not inordinately contextualized within the sociopolitical demands of Northeast Asian societies in accordance with time and place. Third, given the continuing interest in Machiavelli's political realism, it examines the different conjunctions of his political realism with diverse traditional and contemporary political thinking in Northeast Asia. This book will be attractive to scholars in political philosophy, history, political theory, comparative philosophy, and area studies focused on East Asia, as well as scholars working in the field of comparative literature.

The fifth edition of Modern South Asia draws on the newest historical research and scholarship in the field to interpret and debate key developments in modern South Asian history and historical writing, covering the diverse spectrum of the subcontinent's social, economic and political past. Jointly authored by two leading Indian and Pakistani historians, this definitive study offers a rare depth of historical understanding of the politics, cultures and economies that have shaped the lives of more than a fifth of humanity. This new edition on the 75th anniversary of independence and partition brings the narrative up to the present day, discussing recent events and addressing new themes such as the capture of state power in India by the forces of religious majoritarianism, economic development in the context of the 'rise' of Asia and strategic shifts occasioned by the US withdrawal from Afghanistan and China's increasing role in the region. Providing fresh insights into the structure and ideology of the British raj, the meaning of subaltern resistance, the refashioning of social relations along lines of caste, class, religion and gender, the different strands of anti-colonial nationalism and the dynamics of decolonization, this is an essential resource for all students of the modern history of South Asia in an Indian Ocean and global context.

Most modern scholars recognize that there were great differences between China's ruling elite in the middle and late traditional period; many have called the period up through the T'ang dynasty aristocratic, in contrast to the more meritocratic and socially mobile age that followed. But until now there has been no serious effort to discover how the social elite was defined in medieval times, and who belonged to it. David Johnson discusses in detail medieval definitions of the social elite, and, with the help of several manuscripts of the ninth century, identifies the families that belonged to that class.

Global Medieval Contexts 500-1500: Connections and Comparisons provides a unique wide-lens introduction to world history during this period. Designed for students new to the subject, this textbook explores vital networks and relationships among geographies and cultures that shaped medieval societies. The expert author team aims to advance a global view of the period and introduce the reader to histories and narratives beyond an exclusively European context. Key Features: Divided into chronological sections, chapters are organized by four key themes: Religion, Economics, Politics, and Society. This framework enables students to connect wider ideas and debates across 500 to 1500. Individual chapters address current theoretical discussions, including issues around gender, migration, and sustainable environments. The authors' combined teaching experience and subject specialties ensure an engaging and accessible overview for students of history, literature, and those undertaking general studies courses. Theory boxes and end-of-chapter questions provide a basis for group discussion and research. Full-color maps and images illustrate chapter content and support understanding. As a result, this text is essential reading for all those interested in learning more about the histories and cultures of the period, as well as their relevance to our own contemporary experiences and perspectives. This textbook is supported by a companion website providing core resources for students and lecturers.

European and Arab versions of the Crusades have little in common. For Arabs, the twelfth and thirteenth centuries were years of strenuous efforts to repel a brutal and destructive invasion by barbarian hordes. In "The Crusades Through Arab Eyes", Amin Maalouf has sifted through the works of a score of contemporary Arab chroniclers of the Crusades, eyewitnesses and often participants in the events. He retells their stories in their own vivacious style, giving us a vivid portrait of a society rent by internal conflicts, and shaken by a traumatic encounter with an alien culture. He retraces two critical centuries of Middle Eastern history, and offers fascinating insights into some of the forces that shape Arab and Islamic consciousness today.

An episodic account of the key trends, moments and emerging forms in the history of theatre by and about the Asian American population. Aimed at students on courses in Asian American theatre/performance on Theatre Studies and Performing Arts BA degrees. The only textbook on Asian American theatre, designed specifically for week-by-week classroom use.

Researches on the history of anthropological studies in India, unlike in western countries, has not yet been an established tradition, despite the fact that courses on the growth and de velopment of anthropology in India are being taught at the graduate and postgraduate levels in the Indian universities and are strongly recommended by the University Grants Commission. Indian anthropologists, however, in the early decades after the independence made inspiring and solid research contributions on the major problems encountered by the new nation, which has been described and analysed in detail in this book. These problems include rehabilitation of refugees after the 1947 Partition; and displacement of people from their homes and land caused by the big dams, industrialization and famines. This book, result of years of painstaking research by the author, critically reviews the existing works and their gaps in the history of Indian anthropology and makes a new and valuable addition in the field of the history of academic disciplines in the context of nation building. It should be read not only as a text by the students of anthropology and sociology, but also as a reference work for researchers interested in the history of social sciences and development studies in India.

In March 1807, Nathaniel Wallich, a young Danish surgeon left his home in Copenhagen towards India. During the troubles of the Napoleonic Wars, it was not possible to foresee, that he was to emerge as one of the most prominent nineteenth century botanists. Wallich spent most of his adulthood in India and, as the long-time superintendent of the Calcutta Botanic Garden, gained extensive expertise on Indian flora. A truly global communication network emerged from his desk facing the River Hooghly, reaching out to eminent specialists as well as amateur researchers long forgotten today. He conducted research trips to Nepal, as well as to South East Asia and may be perceived as one of the founding fathers of tea production in Assam. This book is based on the enormous correspondence of Wallich, preserved in libraries across Calcutta, London, Copenhagen, Hamburg, Munich and many other places. It aims to approach a long career marked by biographical ruptures and contradictions, but at the same time by continuity. It furthermore explains the tight links between supposedly neutral botanical studies and the emergence of British colonial power in India.

Pondicherry had its own history due to its connection with the French. After delving deeply into social, cultural, economic aspects of the Pondicherry society, the study focuses on politics and the freedom movement as it developed there, using sources written in Tamil, English and French. But when the freedom movement gathered steam in British India, Pondicherry and its dependencies were caught between the ideas of joining the French Union, or the Indian Union. Goubert's Socialist Party's strategy had always been to safeguard French India's special identity and interests. He and his party associates and supporters turned against the French offer to hold a referendum on the question of independence and decided to join the Indian Union, because Jawaharlal Nehru provided him a better guarantee to safeguard French Indian and Pondicherry interests. It was rather a very well planned move that took all his political adversaries including the French by surprise. Goubert actually won his battle without bloodshed, by accepting to bear a certain dishonor for that among the French. The French government finally chose to set aside the constitutional provisions of Article 27 of the French Constitution, which stipulated that no cession, or exchange or addition to the territories was valid without the consent of the concerned population. Thus, they disregarded the population of French India deliberately and scuttled out of French India. Earlier, they had given away the loges to India even without consulting the parliament or the people concerned, but now they threw overboard the French constitutional provision to disengage themselves from India permanently, after obtaining some weak guarantees for their cultural presence.

The invention and development of the chariot around the third millennium revolutionized the art of warfare and dominated the battlefields for some 3000 years. It seems to have evolved in the borderlands between the steppes and the riverlands. It is believed that the Aryan borrowed the idea of chariot from Sumerians around 2000 bc. It is presumed that these Aryans entered Iran and departed in three branches. One marches westward towards Syria, another eastward towards India and a third stays back in Iran. The absence of chariot in Indus valley civilization suggests that chariot arrived in India with Aryans, who settled here around 1500 bc. They used it as a lethal war machine to conquer the natives. The Chariot has played a vital role in Indian warfare through the ages, spanning over Vedic, Epic, and Puranic times, as attested to by literary and archaeological evidence. The Turk invasion marked by the dominance of cavalry arm brought the curtain down on chariot as a war machine. However, it survived in the Indian milieu in some other incarnations.

Sufism in India and Central Asia is an attempt to put into perspective the relevance of Sufism - the concept and teaching, and to provide a realistic assessment of its role in India and Central Asia. The people of these regions with different ethnic backgrounds, cultures and languages have been intermingling for many centuries, as seen in the cross-current exchanges of religious ideas and belief. The word Sufism, popularly known as mysticism is most likely derived from the Arabic word suf (meaning "wool"), more specifically it means "the person wearing ascetic woollen garments." Sufism is deeply rooted in Islam and its development began in the late 7th and 8th centuries. The present volume is an attempt to look for answers to questions in relation to Sufism in India and Central Asia and to evaluate its relevance in the contemporary period. A group of distinguished scholars from India and Central Asia have contributed papers to this volume. This volume will be useful to students and researchers working on social and cultural aspects of India and Central Asia.

The study of modern Chinese history has developed rapidly in recent decades and has seen increased exploration of new topics and innovative approaches. Resulting from a special issue of Modern Chinese History Studies, this volume is devoted to showcasing the healthy development of Chinese modern history studies, and has already been revised twice in the original language. This three-volume set exhibits major achievements in the study of modern Chinese history and shows how the role of history has been in debate, transformation, and re-evaluation throughout this tortuous yet prosperous period. This volume investigates the critical movements, such as the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement and the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese aggression, that contribute to the establishment of the People's Republic of China. In addition, it includes valuable summaries of various perspectives in modern Chinese history studies, such as the translation of overseas studies, and pioneering topics that historians have examined between 2009 and 2019. This book will benefit scholars and students of Chinese history, especially those who are interested in modern Chinese history.

With international attention focused on Hong Kong, many forget that Macau also exists in a delicate "one country, two systems" (OCTS) balance with mainland China. This book provides insights into the circumstances surrounding the less-understood half of China's OCTS policy, including the stagnation of representational government, and the location of any Macau characteristics in the Macau Basic Law. Despite being Hong Kong's sister "Special Administrative Region" (SAR) within the People's Republic of China, Macau's unique constitutional development under Portuguese and Chinese administration remains under-appreciated despite its potential contributions to local, national, and international constitutional discourse. Utilizing a multidisciplinary approach, including doctrinal, historical, and comparative methodologies, this work fills that gap. The research blends Portuguese, Chinese, and foreign-language sources in order to reconstruct a balanced constitutional narrative. The book focuses on a consequential effect of globalization - that is, the assimilation of a long-standing and unique constitutional order by a new hegemonic sovereign - including processes for internationalization as China opened up, legal harmonization of two distinct legal and socioeconomic orders, juridification of local affairs with the establishment of a new local court system in preparation for handover to the Chinese regime, and democratization (or the lack thereof) among the various communities comprising the Macanese polity before and since. Focusing on Macau's unique development at the crux of European and Chinese empires, and the role it plays as a mirror for Chinese intentions vis-a-vis Hong Kong today, the book will be of interest to those working in constitutional law, politics, and history.

MAHAD has an iconic place in Dalit universe. Associated with legendary personality of Dr Ambedkar, the struggle of Dalits at Mahad for asserting their rights to access the public tank, the Chavadar tank, arguably ranks among the first civil rights struggles in history. Unfortunately, it remained largely confined to folklore; its detailed account still remaining fragmented and in mostly Marathi. This book provides a comprehensive account, using many sources including the archival materials, of the two conferences in Mahad in 1927 that marks the beginning of the Dalit movement under Babasaheb Ambedkar to a wider readership in English. It tries to frame it within its historical context which will help people comprehend its historical significance. It also seeks to draw certain lessons for the future course of the Dalit movement. The book additionally contains the original account of Comrade R. B. MORE, the organizer of the first conference at Mahad.

Like most travelers in Burma, Norman Lewis fell in love with the land and its people. Although much of the countryside was under the control of insurgent armies--the book was originally published in 1952--he managed, by steamboat, decrepit lorry, and dacoit-besieged train, to travel almost everywhere he wanted. This perseverance enabled him to see brilliant spectacles that are still out of our reach, and to meet all types of Burmese, from District officers to the inmates of Rangoon's jail. All the color, gaiety, and charm of the East spring to life with this master storyteller.

Cundill Prize Finalist A Financial Times Book of the Year A Spectator Book of the Year A Five Books Book of the Year The Mongols are known for one thing: conquest. But in this first comprehensive history of the Horde, the western portion of the Mongol empire that arose after the death of Chinggis Khan, Marie Favereau takes us inside one of the most powerful engines of economic integration in world history to show that their accomplishments extended far beyond the battlefield. Central to the extraordinary commercial boom that brought distant civilizations in contact for the first time, the Horde had a unique political regime-a complex power-sharing arrangement between the khan and nobility-that rewarded skillful administrators and fostered a mobile, innovative economic order. From their capital on the lower Volga River, the Mongols influenced state structures in Russia and across the Islamic world, disseminated sophisticated theories about the natural world, and introduced new ideas of religious tolerance. An eloquent, ambitious, and definitive portrait of an empire that has long been too little understood, The Horde challenges our assumptions that nomads are peripheral to history and makes it clear that we live in a world shaped by Mongols. "The Mongols have been ill-served by history, the victims of an unfortunate mixture of prejudice and perplexity...The Horde flourished, in Favereau's fresh, persuasive telling, precisely because it was not the one-trick homicidal rabble of legend." -Wall Street Journal "Fascinating...The Mongols were a sophisticated people with an impressive talent for government and a sensitive relationship with the natural world...An impressively researched and intelligently reasoned book." -The Times

In Unknowing and the Everyday Seema Golestaneh examines how Sufi mystical experience in Iran shapes contemporary life. Central to this process is ma'rifat, or "unknowing"-the idea that, as it is ultimately impossible to fully understand the divine, humanity must operate from an engaged awareness that it knows nothing. Golestaneh shows that rather than considering ma'rifat an obstacle to intellectual engagement, Sufis embrace that there will always be that which they do not know. From this position, they affirm both the limits of human knowledge and the mysteries of the profane world. Through ethnographic case studies, Golestaneh traces the affective and sensory dimensions of ma'rifat in contexts such as the creation of collective Sufi spaces, the interpretation of Persian poetry, formulations of selfhood and non-selfhood, and the navigation of the socio-material realm. By outlining the relationship between ma'rifat and religious, aesthetic, and social life in Iran, Golestaneh demonstrates that for Sufis the outer bounds of human thought are the beginning rather than the limit.

An episodic account of the key trends, moments and emerging forms in the history of theatre by and about the Asian American population. Aimed at students on courses in Asian American theatre/performance on Theatre Studies and Performing Arts BA degrees. The only textbook on Asian American theatre, designed specifically for week-by-week classroom use.

Churchill and India. It is a story where much is known but much remains concealed. A brilliant orator and a powerful leader, Winston Churchill stood against the tide of history. But how does postcolonial history view him? This book studies the extraordinary connection he had with India. Beginning with the early years of his career in India when he spent 22 months between 1896 and 1899 as a subaltern with the 4th Hussars, it traces his rise as a politician, his years as the Prime Minister of Great Britain during the Second World War, his profound distrust of the Indian Independence Movement, and his machinations in preserving the British Empire's rule over India. Churchill's failure to understand India and decolonization, and manipulation of events on the subcontinent add a different dimension to the man. His pervasive yet hidden shadow over the Indian subcontinent and his often-veiled role in the actions that led to Partition in 1947 are at the center of this study. Rich in archival sources, this book provides a fresh and holistic perspective on the final phase of the British Empire. It will be an indispensable resource to students and researchers of colonial history, imperialism, modern history, international history, Partition of India, and South Asian studies. It will also appeal to general readers interested in the history of Britain's endgame in India.