Asian Pop Culture Midterm

Navtej Singh Johar Vs. Union of India

-Long term implications for personal rights -For eg. Section 377, which criminalized consensual homosexual relations -"Love marriage" vs. "arranged marriage"

Fall of the Mughal Empire

-Made it very easy for Britain to capture and take control of it -Weakened by wars and invasions from Northern powers

Native Unrest In Asia (Boxer Rising and Madhist Revolt)

-Mahdist revolt was an Islamic revolt against the Egyptian government -Boxer rising - an uprising against foreigners that occurred in China about 1900, begun by peasants but eventually supported by the government. A Chinese secret society known as the Boxers embarked on a violent campaign to drive all foreigners from China. Several countries sent troops to halt the attacks. Chinese anti-imperialist revolt against Western countries, China had to pay reparations

The Turn to Political Islam

-Often, intellectuals turned from their belief in secular Western ideologies to Islamism -They inspired several generations of radical Islamists in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Iraq and Turkey Sayyid Qutb, an Egyptian intellectual, is one such example -Began as an anti-imperialist; but following Egypt's loss in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and then his trip to the US, became a critic of Western civilization -Why? Because Qutb believed that the West was obsessed with material and technological progress at the cost of moral freedom and social justice

Tagore on India (Poem)

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high; Where knowledge is free; Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls; Where words come out from the depth of truth; Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection; Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit; Where the mind is led forward by thee into ever-widening thought and action Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.

Clark University Speech

-Sarkar challenges the cultural imperialism of Western philosophy and present an Asian viewpoint -What was the dominant idea about the "races" in the beginning of the 20th century? -That the "Occidental" (white/European) races are superior to the "Oriental" (Asian) -What did "Orientals" think of this? -Asians had shaped history more powerfully than the West

Amitabh Bachchan vs. Rajnikanth

-Amitabh Bachchan tried to corporatize film making in Bombay, but his company flopped despite his personal stardom -Rajnikanth, a Tamil star - whose career has largely been restricted to that language - never could make it big in Hindi cinema; often played the role of Bachchan's sidekick -However, his 1999 movie MUTHU was the biggest grosser in Japan after Titanic -He remains very popular among diasporic Tamil audiences abroad, but Tamil movies usually excluded from the "Bollywood" category

Ashoka the Great, 304-232 BCE

-An Indian emperor of the Maurya Dynasty, who ruled almost all of the Indian subcontinent from c. 268 to 232 BCE. -Buddhist - defies the Buddhist stereotypes that the West would portray of the culture - never ran a theocratic state -The third king of the Mauryan Empire (322-185 BCE) best known for his renunciation of war, development of the concept of dhamma (pious social conduct), and promotion of Buddhism as well as his effective reign of a nearly pan-Indian political entity

Opium War

-1839-1842. Chinese attempted to prohibit the opium trade, British declared war and won against Chinese. Treaty of Nanjing, agreed to open 5 ports to British trade and limit tariffs on British goods and gave Hong Kong. -The Opium Wars arose from China's attempts to suppress the opium trade. -Foreign traders (primarily British) had been illegally exporting opium mainly from India to China since the 18th century, but that trade grew dramatically from about 1820. The resulting widespread addiction in China was causing serious social and economic disruption there. In spring 1839 the Chinese government confiscated and destroyed more than 20,000 chests of opium—some 1,400 tons of the drug—that were warehoused at Canton (Guangzhou) by British merchants. The antagonism between the two sides increased in July when some drunken British sailors killed a Chinese villager. The British government, which did not wish its subjects to be tried in the Chinese legal system, refused to turn the accused men over to the Chinese courts. -More than 100 treaties were signed between Western powers and China - shows up in the political discourse The Russian Empire was a massive profiteer from the Second Opium War. It encroached on more than 1.44 million square kilometers of Qing territory through the Treaty of Aigun (嗳浑条约), the Treaty of Beijing (北京条约), and a series of demarcation treaties. -On July 25, 1894, China freighted the British merchant ship "High-Rise" to take soldiers to North Korea across the Yalu River, upon learning of this information, the Empire of Japan sent a joint fleet from the Port of Sasebo (佐世保军港) which intercepted and attacked the passenger ship, more than a thousand Chinese soldiers drowned. -The Opium Wars demonstrated to the rest of Asia that China's power was quickly diminishing, which contributed to the breakout and the Qing's failure, in the First Sino-Japanese War, and would go on to motivate nationalist, republican revolutionaries, such as Sun Yat Sen to overthrow the Qing, in 1911.

Japan's Defeat and Asia

-1945 - Japan defeated -Allied powers resumed control of colonies but underestimated the rise of nationalism in Asia, sparked by Japan's actions -Asia decolonized rapidly -India in 1947 -Burma in 1948 -Ceylon in 1948 -Indonesia in 1949 -This wave of decolonizations emboldened leaders across Asia to stand up to European power For e.g. Iran's demand to nationalize the British-run oil industry -Notably, decolonization did not lead to stable regimes or de-escalation in conflict

The Making Of A New Asia: Afghanistan

-1970s: communist regime in Afghanistan, backed by the Soviet Union -Brutal repression of dissent and political opponents -Provoked backlash by radical Islamists - supported by the United States, Pakistan's Islamist dictator General Zia-ul-Haq and Saudi Arabia -Turned into first global jihad in Islam's history -Radicals targeted local tyrants, their Western allies, and Westernized elites; and more generally, whatever the West symbolized

Belt and Road Initiative

-2013 global infrastructure initiative -Shows how interconnected Asia is to the West of the world and to debunk the myths that the West influences everyone -The influence of Asia has not been denied -A global infrastructure development strategy adopted by the Chinese government in 2013 to invest in nearly 70 countries and international organizations. It is considered a centerpiece of Chinese Communist Party general secretary and paramount leader Xi Jinping's foreign policy, who originally announced the strategy as the "Silk Road Economic Belt" during an official visit to Kazakhstan in September 2013. "Belt" is short for the "Silk Road Economic Belt," referring to the proposed overland routes for road and rail transportation through landlocked Central Asia along the famed historical trade routes of the Western Regions; whereas "road" is short for the "21st Century Maritime Silk Road", referring to the Indo-Pacific sea routes through Southeast Asia to South Asia, the Middle East and Africa.The initiative was incorporated into the Constitution of the People's Republic of China in 2017. The Chinese government calls the initiative "a bid to enhance regional connectivity and embrace a brighter future."The project has a target completion date of 2049,which will coincide with the centennial anniversary of the People's Republic of China's founding. Some observers and skeptics, mainly from non-participant countries, including the United States, interpret it as a plan for a sinocentric international trade network. In response the United States, Japan and Australia had formed a counter initiative, the Blue Dot Network in 2019.

Indian Legion

-A military unit raised during the Second World War initially as part of the German Army and later the Waffen-SS from August 1944. Intended to serve as a liberation force for British-ruled India, it was made up of Indian prisoners of war and expatriates in Europe. Because of its origins in the Indian independence movement, it was known also as the "Tiger Legion", and the "Azad Hind Fauj". As part of the Waffen-SS it was known as the Indian Volunteer Legion of the Waffen-SS -At the time of the surrender of Nazi Germany in 1945, the remaining men of the Indian Legion made efforts to march to neutral Switzerland over the Alps, but these efforts proved futile as they were captured by American and French troops and eventually shipped back to India to face charges of treason. Because of the uproar the trials of Indians who served with the Axis caused among civilians and the military of British India, the legion members' trials were not completed.

Afghani In India, 1879-1882

-Afghani travelled across India -Aware of India's large non-Muslim population, Afghani changed his tone -Did not speak of pan-Islamism to the Indian Muslim intelligentsia -Hailed the discoveries of science and mathematics by Hindus of the classical age -But remained consistent in his anti-imperialism -Broadened his critique - used more than Islamic doctrine for his political activism

Liang 1905-1917

-After 1905, Liang was no longer the dominant influence over Chinese expatriates - it was now Sun Yat-sen -Believed that Chinese ethnic minorities should unite - "broad nationalism" - to counter imperialism -Socialism - not the path for China to follow Instead, state-supported industrial capitalism -Joined government after 1911 overthrow of Manchu dynasty -Pushed for China's entry into WWI -Believed siding with Allies would help China's long term interests -After 1905, Liang was no longer the dominant influence over Chinese expatriates - it was now Sun Yat-sen believed that Chinese ethnic minorities should unite - "broad nationalism" - to counter imperialism -Socialism - not the path for China to follow Instead, state-supported industrial capitalism -Joined government after 1911 overthrow of Manchu dynasty -Pushed for China's entry into WWI -Believed siding with Allies would help China's long-term interests

Liang Qichao, 1911 and Beyond, Education Reform

-After the revolution of 1911, reformers tended to favor the Western European model of centralized state control over all levels of the education system the aim of education shifted - from reproduction of a scholar class to an aspiration for social change while preserving the cultural/social unity -The new minister of education, Cai Yuanpei, was enamored with John Dewey's theory of education -After trying various models of education, the US model was adopted 1919 - May Fourth Movement (student protests, more later) 1921 - formation of the Chinese Communist Party; also, of the Hunan-Self-Study University to provide education to those who could not afford it 1937 - Japanese invasion - education reforms halted

Capture of Constantinople, 1453

-Another defeat of Asia over the West the capture of the Byzantine Empire's capital by the Ottoman Empire. The city fell on 29 May 1453, the culmination of a 53-day siege which had begun on 6 April 1453. -The conquest of Constantinople and the fall of the Byzantine Empire was a key event of the Late Middle Ages and is sometimes considered the end of the Medieval period. The city's fall also stood as a turning point in military history. Since ancient times, cities and castles had depended upon ramparts and walls to repel invaders. However, Constantinople's substantial fortifications were overcome with the use of gunpowder, specifically in the form of large cannons and bombards.

Al-Afghani's Was Marx's 19th Century Contemporary

-Anti-imperialist leader -Used idiom of Islam to speak of new ideas -Adapted Koran and its teachings for modernity -Disguised himself as Sunni Muslim

Al-Afghani in Kabul, 1866

-Arrived from India -Secret British government reports describe him as an anti-British agitator and likely Russian agent -Becomes an advisor to Afghanistan's amir (ruler) Advises amir to collaborate with the Russians, to offset --British pressure on Afghanistan in 1868 the amir was defeated by his half-brother Subsequently, al-Afghani was expelled from Kabul

1980s and Beyond: VCRs and Multiplexes

-As VCRs gained popularity, middle-class audiences preferred to watch movies in the privacy of their homes -However, young lower-class and working-class people thronged the cinemas -The 1990s - rise of a new Indian middle-class (after the liberalization of the economy) -Single screen movie halls were replaced by multiplexes (cinemas with multiple screens) in shopping malls (like in the US), even in smaller cities -Multiplexes - home of the "Indie" Hindi film; i.e., a low budget, nonformulaic movie aimed at audiences with "urbane Indian sensibilities" -Overseas markets play key role in Bollywood's economic decisions; also redefine Hindi film narratives In the present - no single Hindi "film" or "audience"; instead, the "multiplex film the "NRI film," the "Hinglish film"

Asia: Intellectual Climate

-Asian thinkers were skeptical of Western modes of politics, economics, science, and culture -Saw them as serving either individual self-interest or a blind pursuit of scientific progress, regardless of the human cost -Gandhi blamed World Wars and colonialism on a materialistic outlook -This acquisitiveness was entirely secular; lacked a spiritual dimension -The lack of a moral vision or core raised some important questions for Asian thinkers, such as: -What is the good life? -What is the nature of authority and of justice and equality? -What binds an individual to society?

Iranian Revolution

-Background - Western oil companies that controlled Iran's oil; economy wholly dependent on the West; forced industrialization of agriculture - drove migration to cities; wiped out local handicrafts; massive unemployment -The shah was seen as an American puppet Qutb's ideas challenged secular Arab nationalism and lived on after his death -Also inspired by al-Afghani's writings; a hero to many Iranian students -Al-e Ahmad - "Westoxification" - loving and hating the west at the same time; a kind of rootlessness -Alienated, uprooted Iranians turned to religion

Indian Revolt of 1857

-Bahadur Shah Zafar, last Mughal Emperor -Poet extraordinaire -Bahadur Shah Zafar, exiled to Burma

Bollywood and Cultural Nationalism

-Cultural nationalism - seeks to delink citizenship and the state; instead, tie it to culture -Culture is an ambiguous category -Who belongs to which culture? -Does Indian culture belong to anyone? -Who is included and who is to be excluded? -Mass media is used to promote ideas of cultural nationalism; mainstream cinema would serve as a repository of national-cultural value -And thus, cinema could be used to export a certain idea of Indian nationalism, however, commodified and globalized -A feel-good version of "our culture"

Tsushima Strait - May, 1905

-Battle between Japanese and Russian fleet - destroyed Russian fleet -Was a major naval battle fought between Russia and Japan during the Russo-Japanese War. Naval engagement of the Russo-Japanese War, the final, crushing defeat of the Russian navy in that conflict. The Japanese ships were superior in speed and armament, and, in the course of the two-day battle, two-thirds of the Russian Fleet was sunk, six ships were captured, four reached Vladivostok, and six took refuge in neutral ports. It was a dramatic and decisive defeat; after a voyage lasting seven months and when within a few hundred miles of its destination, the Baltic Fleet was shattered, and, with it, Russia's hope of regaining mastery of the sea was crushed.

Battle of Thermopylae (480 BCE)

-Battle in central Greece at the mountain pass of Thermopylae during the Persian Wars. The Greek forces, mostly Spartan, were led by Leonidas. After three days of holding their own against the Persian king Xerxes I and his vast southward-advancing army, the Greeks were betrayed, and the Persians were able to outflank them. Sending the main army in retreat, Leonidas and a small contingent remained behind to resist the advance and were defeated. -Turks defeat the Greeks -Pan-Asian army -Chrisitan crusades are a response to this and what the Asians had done -Example of how Asia has been superior to the West for a long time

Liang Qichao: 1919-29

-Between 1919 -1929, Qichao travelled widely over Western Europe -His views on the West changed -Earlier - he somewhat admired Western civilization -Now - he believed that it had taken a turn for the worst -European liberal democracy was no longer a shining beacon of hope -Linked to greedy elites -Mass scale violence enabled by new technologies of war -Liang now championed a traditionalist point of view -To promote a spiritual re-awakening and moral order "'of the methods of relieving spiritual famine, I recognize the Eastern - Chinese and Indian - to be, in comparison, the best."

Movies And The Indian State

-Between 1940s - 1970s: the market for Indian movies was disorganized and chaotic -Few films were made with a non-Indian audience in mind; films catered to domestic tastes almost exclusively -The 'foreign market' was small; -Films were subject to State policy on export until 1992; entirely controlled by the government of India's Indian -Motion Picture Export Corporation -Most of the early exports consisted of "art" films for the festival circuit

Bollywood and It's Stars

-Biggest star - Shah Rukh Khan (or SRK) -His movie, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (or DDLJ, 1995) - was a landmark success in overseas markets -Other hits include: Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998), Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham (2001), Kal Ho Na Ho (2003), My Name is Khan (2010), Jab harry Met Sejal (2017)

1990s Indian Cinema

-Bollywood cinema becomes the Bollywood we generally know -Movies cater to the overseas audience - greater budgets, more glamorous actors and sets -Indian movies were very popular in Russia -One of the biggest superstars of India -Bollywood cinema for Indian audiences living abroad; lush visuals, spectacular foreign locations, foot-tapping music; big budgets, bigger stars

Tagore: Early Life

-Born in 1861 in Calcutta to a well-known family Tagore's father was a leader of a popular religious reform movement (Brahmo Samaj) -The household was socially conservative, but his education was broad went to England - returned without obtaining a degree -Preferred the intellectual companionship of friends and family back home in India described himself as a blend of cultural confluences - Hindu, Muslim and European worlds - which he wished the whole Indian nation would embody

Liang Qichao (Early Life)

-Born in 1873, he belonged to a tradition-minded Confucian family -He came from Guangdong, the Chinese province most exposed to Western aggression -Inspired several generations of thinkers including Mao Zedong -In 1895, Liang started a newspaper with the help of private donations -Paper was soon shutdown by imperial censors -Went to Shanghai and started another paper in 1896 That paper, too, was shutdown 2 years later but established Liang as the most influential journalist in China

1950's Nehru and The Stars - Nation Building Post-Partition

-Dominant themes of the 1950s were social realism - they were deeply committed to this ideal -Images of very provocative -The clash between rural and industrializing India -Emphasis on the building of the nations -Food shortages

Nazia Hasan: The "Other" Bollywood Star

-Born in the Pakistani port city of Karachi -First Pakistani artist to win the coveted Indian Filmfare Award - at the age of 15 -First Pakistani singer to produce music videos for her album -Debut album Disco Deewane (1981) - on the charts in 14 countries; became the best-selling Asian pop record at the time -Her songs - like Aap Jaisa Koi - were huge hits in India Died tragically young - at 35

Regulating Popular Culture

-Broadcast Services Regulation Bill was introduced in the 1990s and lay dormant for a decade -Came up for consideration again in 2007 and drew fresh controversy -In February 2021, India introduce an IT Regulations Bill -Sold to citizens and the world as being of a piece with global efforts to rein in Big Tech -New regulations require social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter to erase content authorities deem unlawful -They allow the government to ban content affecting "the sovereignty and integrity of India"

Buddhism - Western Misconceptions

-Buddhists were hardly the passive, quietists that western scholars portrayed them as -They founded charitable institutions, schools, rest-houses, and hospitals both for human beings and animals -Were fighters, citizens, presidents, and kings Many instances of Buddhist monks organizing themselves into military orders in the mediaeval history of China, Japan, and India

Tagore and Pan Asianism

-Celebrated Indian history but also took an expansive view -Championed a broad, liberal education -Borrowing from European and Asian traditions -Early on, was infatuated with Japanese culture -Later came to see Japan's embrace of militarism and strident nationalism as dangerous -For a time, also upheld the idea of a mystical unity of Asian civilizations

Liang's Intellectual Predicament

-China was one of the oldest states in the world. But did its citizens see it as a nation? -Could they shed their Confucian emphasis on self-cultivation enough to feel notions of civic solidarity? -Could the state's institutions be overhauled enough to cope with the challenges of international politics? -And could a modern Chinese nation come into being without destroying China's proud cultural identity? -For all of the above - Liang had no clear answers Asian Solidarity Group, Tokyo (1907): Began to link imperialism to economic interests, both at the level of nations and the individual level. The profits of colonialism had procured the consent of the European people -Liang also began to move from his idea of a Chinese people to the idea of the state as the essential unit, the defender of the people -Came to believe that the Manchu regime had to be taken down in order to save China -But his visit to America awakened him to the shortcoming of democracy -Chinese faced racial discrimination in the US, what Benoy Sarkar (from our first lecture) called the "crime of color" -A Chinese consular official in San Francisco committed suicide during his visit -Anti-black racism; lynchings -Liang was disappointed by the Chinese diaspora's unwillingness to lobby for political reform back home

Legacy of Japan's Conquest of Asia

-Complicated legacy -In April 1943, the 'liberation of Asia' became Japan's official war objective and for a moment Pan-Asianism seemed to be a credible, even achievable, goal -Japanese set up friendly regimes across Asia - with Japan at the center of affairs -Japan's official target of liberating Asia inspired nationalist leaders across the continent -This included the Indian nationalist Subash Chandra Bose (whom we spoke of earlier; he who tried to get the help of Axis powers to defeat the British) -Also included Aung San Suu Kyi (Burma); In Java, the Japanese promoted young nationalists such as Sukarno, later Indonesia's first president -Notably, Pan-Asianism was important not in what it did for Japan but in what it allowed others to do

Al-Afghani's Influence

-Consistent only in his anti-imperialism -Wrestled with the impact of modernity on the Muslim way of life -Lamented the intolerance of Islam -Asked Muslims to work with Hindus, Christians and Jews, and did so himself -Admired Western achievements in science; but he claimed that rationality was intrinsic to Islam -According to Afghani, science, education, and military power were key to the rise of the West

1970's Indian Cinema

-Endemic corruption and growing inequality -In response - we get the "Angry Young Man" -He is socialist in spirit, but driven by a fierce desire for justice -Combats the two forces abusing the common man: the state's violent representatives and the big city's corrupt, Westernized plutocrats -Represented an existential threat for the rich -For the poor - he was a hero -The "Angry Young Man' is at home both in the city and the countryside -The angry young man is epitomized, he wants to fight corruption and the wealthy elite -Wants to challenge the state and plutocrats -"Angry Young Man" - fights oppression and corruption; challenges the state and the plutocrats

Mongol Empire, 13th Century CE

-Example of how Asia has been superior to the West for a long time -In this environment the largest empire to ever exist helped one of the most influential trade routes in the world, known as the Silk Road, to flourish. This route allowed commodities such as silk, pepper, cinnamon, precious stones, linen, and leather goods to travel between Europe, the Steppe, India, and China. The Mongol empire spared teachers of taxation and led to the great spread of printing all over East Asia. They also helped the rise of an educated class in Korea. -The Mongols established the largest land empire in history and promoted trade throughout Eurasia. -At the empire's peak, Mongols controlled up to 12 million square miles. Despite its reputation for brutal warfare, the Mongol Empire briefly enabled peace, stability, trade, and protected travel under a period of "Pax Mongolica," or Mongol peace, beginning in about 1279 and lasting until the empire's end -The Mongol Empire (1206-1368 CE) eventually dominated Asia from the Black Sea to the Korean peninsula following the initial conquests of its founder Genghis Khan (aka Chinggis, r. 1206-1227 CE), the first Great Khan or 'universal ruler' of the Mongol peoples. Genghis forged the empire by uniting the nomadic tribes of the Asian steppe and creating a devastatingly effective army based on fast, light, and highly coordinated cavalry. Expert horsemen and archers, the Mongols proved unstoppable, defeating armies in Iran, Russia, Eastern Europe, China, and many other places. -The Mongols may not have troubled many modern museum curators with their art or left fine buildings to admire but they did leave a lasting legacy in other ways. Perhaps their greatest effect on world culture was to make the first serious connections between the East and West. The Mongol Empire stretched across one-fifth of the globe and their soldiers were obliged to fight Teutonic knights at one end while at the other they faced samurai warriors, neither of which enemy had any notion of the other's existence. Hitherto, the Chinese and Europeans had each viewed the other's lands as a semi-mythical place of monsters. As ambassadors, missionaries, merchants, and travellers like Marco Polo (1254-1324 CE) were encouraged to freely cross Asia, so contact increased, and ideas and religions were spread. -Gunpowder, paper, printing, and the compass all became familiar in Europe. The Mongols spread ideas in cuisine, too, such as making their sulen (shulen) broth-come-stew a popular dish across Asia even today. There were, alas, less advantageous consequences, like the Black Death (1347-1352 CE), first transferred from a pocket of remote China to the Black Sea and from there to Venice and the rest of Europe. In Mongolia, though, the empire is remembered fondly as a golden era and Genghis Khan, the starter of it all, continues to be honoured with regular ceremonies in the Mongolian capital of Ulaanbaatar.

Iran: Political Islam

-Exiled cleric, Ayatollah Khomeini, emerged as the leader -Khomeini used the idiom of Shiite Islam -A large majority of Iranians supported making Iran into an Islamic Republic -The clerics in power combined a religious political vocabulary with a left—wing program -But the Islamic republic continued the Shah's authoritarian methods - crushing dissent with torture and executions

China's Trade Of Tea And Silk and Why It Bothered The West

-Exported more than imports, which bothered West -Led to Opium Trade that British thought would offset the trade

Napoleon in Egypt

-Fantasy of conquering the Orient -First Egypt and then Alexander-the-Great-style invasion of Asia -Arrived in Alexandria in July 1798 -Marched without much resistance to Cairo -Appeased conservative Muslim clerics to elicit their support for the French -Locals thought of French rule as "corrupting" - as having disturbed the long-established cosmic order of Islam

Battle of Tsushima

-First time for many Asian people that they believed that Japan's victory showed superiority over the Western races

Queen Victoria's Proclamation of 1858

-Following the 1857 Rebellion, the East India Company's rule in India came to an end. Queen Victoria's -Proclamation of 1 November 1858 declared that thereafter India would be governed by and in the name of the British Monarch through a Secretary of State. -On November 1, 1858, a grand Darbar was held at Allahabad. Here Lord Canning sent forth the royal proclamation which announced that the queen had assumed the government of India. This proclamation declared the future policy of the British Rule in India

The Advance of Europe

-Following the American and French revolutions - through its achievements of technology, secular state and modern administration, the West came to be the beacon of progress and modernity -The coming together of people as a "nation-state" - based on a common language, territory and history - was an unprecedented achievement -Most Muslim and Asian observers saw these developments in Europe but were unable to grasp them correctly

Bombay: The Cosmopolitan Dream

-For long, India's most cosmopolitan city the "sapnon ka shehar" - the "city of dreams" epitomized the vision of an urban, modern India that Nehru championed -Bombay -a melting pot; diverse peoples, traditions, cultures, languages, and religious beliefs -Quintessential Bombay figure of the 1960-1980s - Amitabh Bachchan's character, Anthony Gonzalves (Amar Akbar Anthony, 1977) -A hybrid - mix of tradition and modernity, morality and immortality - a tapori (a vagabond with charm and savoir faire) -In recent years, Bombay has taken on a more regional character -Much of this has to do with politics -Bombay still retains its centrality in the cinematic imagination of Hindi (Bollywood) cinema, but its dominance is now increasingly challenged by global megacities like London, New York, and Melbourne

Afghani's last days in Istanbul, 1892-97

-Gave talks and inflated his influence in world events Claimed to be friendly with the tsar of Russia and the Mahdi -He rejected the Shiite - Sunni divide -Spoke of the essential unity of the great monotheistic religions -Opposed West's imperialism NOT Christian values -Tried to leave Istanbul, but couldn't -In 1896, his disciple assassinated the Shah of Persia -Afghani was named a co-conspirator -Isolated; fell sick and died in March 1897

Tagore - Love as Freedom

-Had a very close relationship with his sister-in-law, who later committed suicide -Tagore was devastated and her death influenced his writings -For Tagore, the patriarchal imprisonment of women embodied the way social conventions restricted all forms of individual desire, love and experience -Made a distinction between marriage and love (terms often used synonymously in a traditional society like India) -Freedom as interdependence - in the context of love

Sayyid Qutb

-He did not think democracy would work in Egypt because it made human beings the final source of sovereignty, rather than God -Qutb became a prominent member of the Muslim Brotherhood -Soon ran afoul of Nasser, who lead the 1952 coup against the Egyptian king -Qutb was imprisoned and tortured - and after a superficial trial in 1966, he was hanged and buried in an unmarked grave

Afghani in Paris, 1883

-Home to many political exiles and dissidents -Wrote widely and debated Ernest Renan, a leading European thinker -Argued that Islam needed a western style reformation and cast himself as a Luther like figure

Tagore's Core Ideas

-How individual freedom can be used to promote freedom and agency - give up individual choice in order to be free as a whole -Borrowing timely from the west would destroy Asia's unique heritage -Do not want to replace ideas with Western ideals -Made ideas of marriage and love, links freedom to love -Championed pan-Asianism, was in favor of a broad liberal education that borrowed from the West and Asian traditions -In comparison to some of his other contemporaries, neither Afghani nor -Qichao was vocal about the differences between individual choice and community choice -Were all very big on pan-Asiansim -All anti-imperialist, but admired the West in ways, but in the end, saw the materialism of the West -All wanted to modernize and revitalize tradition to preserve the core without wiping out Asian identity

Bollywood And The Nation

-India was envisioned as a nation that championed social justice, liberty, and equality -In the 1950s - idealistic films emphasized nation-building; social realism was the dominant aesthetic leading stars of that era were all inspired by Nehruvian ideals

1950s Indian Cinema

-Images of very provocative -The clash between rural and industrializing India -Emphasis on the building of the nations -Food shortages -Deeply committed to the ideas of social realism -In the 1950s - idealistic films emphasized nation-building; social realism was the dominant aesthetic

India - The Fall of the Mughal Empire

-In 1750, the Mughal Empire, weakened by endless wars and invasions, imploded into several independent states -In 1757 - British win the Battle of Plassey, which gives them control over a territory three times larger than England -British strength over the South Asian mainland helped them force open China to European traders and turn the rest of Asia into a European dependency

Opium Trade

-In Chinese history, the traffic that developed in the 18th and 19th centuries in which Western countries, mostly Great Britain, exported opium grown in India and sold it to China. The British used the profits from the sale of opium to purchase such Chinese luxury goods as porcelain, silk, and tea, which were in great demand in the West. -Opium smoking and addiction remained a problem in China during the subsequent decades, however, since the weakened central republican government could not wipe out the native cultivation of opium. Opium smoking was finally eradicated by the Chinese communists after they came to power in 1949.

Tagore On Individual v. Community

-In India - from the colonial era - legislation has divided up Indian society into communities - also, the building blocks of Indian politics -This notion derives from the Indian Caste System, which denied individuality in favor of assigned social roles -British legislation reinforced these ideas nationalist movements that arose to challenge caste and empire were focused more on collective freedoms than on individual rights -Tagore emphasized individual choice and personal identity over the Gandhian focus on collectives -Tagore linked his concept of freedom to love, which according to him was the deepest human experience Tagore believed that open and free expression would promote unity

Legacy (Jamal al-Din al-Afghani)

-In Iran, seen as the intellectual godfather of the Islamic Revolution -Among secularists and across Muslim nations, al- Afghani is remembered as a path-breaking anti-imperialist leader and thinker -Key figure in debates on modernism, nationalism, pan-Islamism in Muslim lands -Hardly known in the West today

Islamic Asia

-In Muslim Asia, liberalism, earlier admired, was discredited by its complicity with imperialism -Liberalism also failed to identify with liberal nationalistic elements in Muslim society; hence, alienating them -From the Asian Muslim viewpoint - liberalism in Europe wasn't liberalism in the colonies -Instead, it was a racially segregated liberalism

Tagore on Nationalism

-In the age of nationalism, Tagore preferred to speak of freedom -Saw the paradox of nationalism -By blindly borrowing ideas from the West, Asian nations could destroy their own heritage and identity -Nationalism insisted on conformity and left little room for dissent - as a result, it threatened individual freedoms even as it spoke of "national" freedom -'Those people who have got their political freedom are not necessarily free,' he cautioned. 'They are merely powerful.' -Tagore was criticized for this position in India

Europeans in Asia

-In the early 19th century, exhausted by war, the five great European powers - Britain, France, Prussia, Russia and Austria - agreed to maintain a balance of power in Europe. -Asia was the target now -At home in Europe, they were restrained by treaties - but in the East, they were aggressive rivals

Bombay To Mumbai

-In the past, referred to as Bombaim, meaning 'good bay' in old Portuguese -'Bombay' is an anglicized version of the above used by the British when they took control of the city in the 17th century -Mumbai - name probably used in 16th C by local communities -Derived from the name of the goddess "Mumbadevi," the city's patron deity -1995 - official name change, from Bombay to Mumbai Bombay - seen as legacy of British colonialism Change in name promoted by Shiv Sena, a regional political party

Bollywood History

-India's cinematic origins are deeply entrenched in the history and fabric of Indian life -Dates to the plays performed in the Mughal court in the 16-19th centuries -The storytelling tradition goes back even further - to Hindu mythology (5th century BCE - 2500 years ago) -Raja Harishchandra, based on stories of Hindu gods from the Mahabharata, was released in 1913 -By contrast, Cecil B. DeMille's directorial debut, The Squaw Man, which some consider to be the first feature film ever made was released a year later, in 1914 -First Indian talkie - Alam Ara (1931); first Hollywood talkie - The Jazz Singer (1927) -World record for most songs in a movie - Indrasabha (1932) - which had seventy-one

Indian Cinema vs Hindi Cinema vs Bollywood

-Indian Cinema can be regionally based throughout the country -We see an idea of nation-building that works with Indian principles of social justice and equality, upliftment of the underprivileged -Bollywood has a global appeal, based in Mumbai -Bollywood is Hindi cinema, but it is not referred to as "Bollywood" by people in India -Hindi cinema when the language in the movies is Hindi -Bollywood is not the Indian film industry, but Hindi cinema has functioned as a national industry and the most famous cultural export -There has been pressure on Indian cinema from the -1990s onward - there has been conflict between Hindus and Muslims -The Indian film industry is not based in Mumbai - it is comprised of regional cinemas from all over India - they are as big as Hollywood -Bollywood is not the Indian film industry, but Hindi cinema has functioned as a national industry and the most famous cultural export -Political influences (see the next point) led the Indian film industry — which is not to say filmmakers themselves — to evolve in direct but discrete parallel to their Western counterparts -Masala films are uniquely Indian. Masala films are the cinematic equivalent of the melange of spices used in ---Indian cooking that provides the name -Ironically, a lot of Western film lovers have an easier time with Indian arthouse and indie fare, both of which are known as "parallel cinema" in India -In too many mainstream Hindi films to count, the big tough hero who can throw cars with his mustache and is master of all that he surveys comes home to find his mother yelling at him about his lack of responsibility, his need to get married, and other pedestrian concerns. It's not just something that's played for laughs, either. -Indian films offer a cultural challenge unlike others posed by different foreign cinemas

Nehru

-Indian nationalist and independence movement - a first prime minister in England, an advocate of home rule - wanted Indian independence and sovereign rule -Connects to cinema -Focus on nation-building, modernization, and building -Indian's place on a global stage -Influenced by Marx to an extent -Saw the West as a materialistic and individualistic culture -Considered Tagore to be his guru

Afghani in Persia

-Initially welcomed by the Shah, then not so much because of his potential to rouse fellow Muslims -Because in Persia, Islam retained its moral appeal Shah's dealings with foreigners were widely distrusted -Eventually, Afghani was deported to Ottoman ruled Mesopotamia -Used the Tobacco Uprisings of 1891 to ask for the overthrow of the Shah

Political Islam

-Islam - seen by many as a framework for moral reform as well as a revolutionary ideology and an identity -Political (popular) Islam - went up against both a repressive state and the local elites -Islamic countries - deep divisions along lines of rural/urban, educated/uneducated, rich/poor -Educated urban elite - westernized and less beholden to traditional social structures -Saw Islam as an obstacle to the national task of secular development and economic consolidation -Thus, repressed Islamic groups -Those left behind by modernization, turn to religion as a balm and for spiritual and material support

Al-Afghani in Cairo, 1871

-Learned how to adapt the Koran for modernity i.e. how to speak of new ideas and possibilities in the idiom of Islam -In Cairo, preached doctrine of Islamic modernity -His views drew the wrath of the conservative classes, who denounced al-Afghani as an advocate of atheism -Arrived in 1871, when Egypt was in the midst of change and turmoil -The Suez Canal had opened in 1869 -Collapse of cotton prices, following the end of the American Civil War, damaged the Egyptian economy Rising political consciousness Preached doctrine of Islamic modernity Denounced by conservative classes for being an atheist -A bitter critic of British imperialism -Also criticized Muslim rulers, such as the Ottomans, for their regressive interpretation of Islam -Spoke of fanaticism and political tyranny in the East -Rumors in Cairo that he wanted to overthrow the regime and install a liberal government In 1879, arrested in Cairo and expelled to India

Al-Afghani in Istanbul, 1869

-Istanbul was the largest city in the Muslim world and the political center of both Arabs and Persians -Most of Istanbul's population was Christian Under Ottoman personal law, religious communities were allowed a high degree of self-rule -According to the contracts signed by Ottoman rulers with European powers (Capitulations), Europeans were immune to litigation or trial in Muslim courts -But European ideas were coming to dominate the Ottoman political and social imagination -This process of westernization opened a big gap between the elite and the masses Muslim Turks and the old elite felt isolated -Afghani's attempt at reform were seen by some as a continuation of what the Ottoman's were doing -He believed in reviving Muslim power through modern education with emphasis on individual freedom and dignity, justice, the use of reason (seen as Western values by some)

Biography of Al-Afghani's Early Legacy

-Lack of accurate details -Born in 1838 in in north-west Persia -Educated in Tehran and Najaf -Also educated in India -Shiite, but passed himself off as Sunni to be taken seriously in Sunni Muslim countries

Liang Qichao, China and WWI

-Lobbied for China's entry into the First World War in 1917 -Qichao believed that if China emerged on the winning side (the Allied Powers) - it could extract concessions from Western nations such as the cancelation of unequal treaties -End of compensation for the Boxer Uprisings Assertion of Chinese sovereignty -Taking back Shandong province from Japan Went to France as one of China's unofficial representatives at the Paris Peace Conference -But China was afforded the status of a much inferior (smaller) power -China failed to get what Liang had thought it would

The Rise Of Asia

-Major point: Asian are setting the rules and determining what they produce and consume -The result is a a mix of the modern and the traditional -Earlier, American pop culture dominated Asian imaginations -Why? Because for the longest time it it had no competition -Spread also by American military presence across the world -American pop culture appealed most to the Asian elite - Those who traveled abroad, spoke English, and had ample buying power -Most of all, these elite Asians wanted to "modernize" - be more American, because it was cooler -These were the "Westoxified" elite (as covered in our previous lecture, term coined by the Egyptian, Al-Ahmad - "Westoxification" - loving and hating the west at the same time; a kind of rootlessness) -From the 1980s onwards - things began to change Globalization gives birth to new classes with different tastes and backgrounds -These new classes - people from rural areas now living in big cities - resented the English-speaking elite, whom they found condescending and directionless -Domestic pop culture - not Western pop - responded much better to the self-image and aspirations of this new group

1960s Indian Cinema

-More romances -Grander themes -More visual flare -More money in productions -Astonishing music -Light romances; great music; beautiful locations

Representing the Other: Muslims in Bollywood

-More than 180 million Muslims in India -But the representation of Muslims in Indian popular culture remains problematic -Stereotypical and a lack of complexity -Portraits of Muslim families are rare -This trend picks up in the 1970s -Muslim characters were relegated to marginal - "supporting" - roles -Not essential to a film's narrative -In the last decades - the emergence of more villainous Muslim characters -Also, another stereotype - the "good" Muslim - the Muslim hero who has positively impacted his society

19th Century China - Intellectual History

-Most Chinese in the nineteenth century knew very little, if anything at all, of western countries -In China, nothing really was known about the internal politics of Western nations -In contrast, by the early 19th C, Indian intellectuals were grappling with the ideas of Rousseau, Hume, Bentham, Kant, and Hegel (one reason - British colonialism)

Bollywood/Indian Cinema v. Indian Nationalism

-Mostly cultural nationalism -Cutlural nationalism has been a way for the media to export and commodify Indian nationalism -What kinds of minorities and cultures are represented in this generalized picture of India -Should know the different periods of Bollywood cinema throughout the decades (nothing on midterm from 3/16 class)

Tagore: Legacy

-Nehru considered Tagore his intellectual guru -India's Constitution walks a fine line between guaranteeing individual freedoms and giving the state power to constrain those freedoms for the larger good -Collective rights can sometimes take precedence over individual rights

The Making Of A New Asia: Questioning Western Modernity

-Nehru, Hannah Arendt, and others believed that the Western logic of expansionism - fueled colonialism and the World Wars -Western modernity lacked a spiritual and moral core; it was all about material benefits -Modernization in Asia - very mixed results; created deeply divided societies -To counter that - we see a resurgence of traditional thought -Muslim intellectuals who stressed Western ideologies of nationalism, secularism, and democracy felt that they had not been supported by their western counterparts

Defining Culture

-One of the most complicated words in English -Early meaning - the "tending" of something, crops or animals -Late 18th and early 19th century - different meanings emerge -Now, 3 broad meanings process of intellectual, spiritual and aesthetic development a particular way of life -Works of intellectual and especially artistic activity -Common usage - music, literature, painting and sculpture, theatre and film

"The Anger of the Damned"

-Orhan Pamuk - Nobel Prize laureate; Turkish writer Essay published - November 2001 -Pamuk explains what motivates violence and provides support for terrorism -His key observation: it is neither Islam nor poverty that leads to support for terrorists - it is, rather, the humiliation experienced by many in third-world countries -Lives of many in Islamic ("Third World") countries is hard - poverty + lower life expectancy; forces some to choose the wrong path -Other important points: anti-Americanism is used to hide lack of democracy and bolster authoritarian rule; also used to hide corruption

Liang Qichao in Japan

-Paid serious attention to the problem of nationalism Japan at the time was like Paris - the center of culture and education -For Liang, it was the first experience of modernity -Words like 'democracy', 'revolution', 'capitalism' and 'communism' were to make their way into the Chinese language via Japanese -Japan saw itself leading the charge of Pan-Asianism - based on a pan-Asian identity that transcended national boundaries -But it was torn between its desire to dominate Asia, while at the same time expressing solidarity with a wider Asian cause

Sun-Yet Sen, 1866-1925

-Part of movement with Qichao that wanted to reform and modernize (100 Days Movement) -Ruled the Manchu government of foreign rulers and wanted to replace it with modern republic

Pop Culture

-Popular is from the Latin populus, meaning "the people "the people" referred not to all people, but to a specific group of poor and working people -Elite - "high culture" / Everyone else - "folk culture" -But today's popular culture is not exactly "folk" - because it is seldom rooted in the local/regional; on the contrary, it is often global in terms of content, production, and consumption -Broadly appealing, easy to understand, and easy to remember; i.e., easy to "consume" -Role of mass media (plus Internet) in distributing it worldwide -Gives rise to shared forms of popular culture; e.g., reality shows -"Shared meaning" - the way pop culture is understood by different groups - based on shared references, images, themes, or models

Shia-Sunni Divide

-Prophet Muhammad's death - 632 CE -Most of the Prophet's followers thought that the other elite members of the Islamic community should choose his successor -Others believed only someone from Muhammad's family—namely his cousin and son-in-law, Ali—should succeed him - this group is Shia -The majority group chose the Prophet's close friend Abu Bakr - this group is Sunni

Qichao and WW1

-Qichao goes to the conference as rep from China in the hop China can extract reparations from the West -Many treaties after Opium War about China's ports that Qichao wanted canceled -Wanted to insert Chinese sovergeignty and wanted the Shandong provice back from Japan -China was a small power at the conference while Japan was taken seriously

Historical Background of Liang Qichao

-Rise of Japan -Inspiration for those wanting to build a nation-state -Example of an Asian nation that demanded equality with the West -Flipside of Japan's rise -Overtaxed Japanese peasantry -Trends towards conformity, militarism and racism -In 1894 - Japan-China War -Chinese naval and land forces were defeated -Japan made China pay compensation, following the practice of Western powers -China was forced to sign treaties and open ports -China gave up the island of Formosa (now Taiwan)

Benoy Sarkar, 1887-1949

-Sarkar praised Nazism as "form of benevolent dictatorship" -Believed that dictatorship would bring about the end of the current experience of colonial subjugation -Sarkar wasn't talking about Hitler and the Nazis taking over India - he was thinking of the rule of an Indian strongman who would lead India, but particularly his own group -During WW II, other Indians too believed that they could partner with the Axis powers (Italy, Germany, and Japan) to overthrow the British Empire in India

Qichao Important Ideas

-Saw China's old system of monarchy as incompetent in fulfilling the needs of the people -Stressed the urgency of political reform, which Liang held to be more important than technological change -The key to this reform was the abolition of the old imperial examinations -The establishment of a nation-wide school system that would produce patriotic Chinese citizens -Wasn't blind to the appeal of Confucianism - but thought it couldn't serve the needs of China anymore -In 1898, the dowager Empress took control - several associates of Liang were beheaded and, fearing arrest, he fled to Japan

What Is Bollywood?

-Some say, it only refers to movies that cater to diasporic Indian audiences -And not only to the movies, but also a range of products and practices -Non-Hindi cinema has tried to Bollywoodize - make themselves more in the image of popular Bollywood cinema - but with little success -When did the Bollywood boom begin? Arguably, in 1994, with Hum Aapke Hain Kaun? -Other influential early Bollywood successes include: Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (DDLJ, 1995), the film which in some ways started it all, Dil To Pagal Hai (DTPH, 1997) and Karan Johar's Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (KKHH, 1998)

The Remaking Of Asia: Japan and It Relation To Asia

-Starting with the violence in Manchuria in 1931, the conflict in Asia was bloodier and lasted longer than WW II -24 million dead, including 3.5 million Indians in the famine of 1943 -Beginning on 8 December 1941, Japanese forces marched across Asia -Took over the Philippines, Singapore, Malaya, Hong Kong etc. -Overran Burma and reached the borders of British India Widespread slave labor, torture and mass rape

May 4th Movement

-Student anti-imperialist movements when Japan wins back the provice -Politically mobilised new traditions - organized around communism and nationalism, with Western imperialism as central topics -Now thinks the West has taken a turn for the West, thinks liberal democracy was tied to imperialism -Takes a firm turn back to traditionalism

Aftermath of 1919 Paris Conference

-Student protests in China -known as the May Fourth Movement -Anti-Japanese boycotts; however, Japan didn't relinquish its hold on Shandong till 1923 -Political influence of May Fourth Movement - mobilized a new generation which spoke a completely different political language -New generation was not burdened by tradition -Organized around modern ideologies, such as communism and nationalism western imperialism is now their target

Bollywood As A Term

-Term was initially used in film trade journals; then used by cultural critics -Bollywood refers to a particular narrative - with particular themes - feel-good, all-happy-in-the-end, tender love stories with lots of songs and dances -The Indian film industry is not solely based in Mumbai Bollywood is not THE Indian film industry -However, Hindi cinema has symbolically functioned as a national industry for over past 50 years In actual terms, Bollywood has been around only since the late 90s, even the early 2000s

1980's Indian Cinema

-The 1980's hero is no longer the "Angry Young Man" -Now he is the guy with a silver jumpsuit - in Disco Dancer - Mithun Chakraborty -The hero is a "disco dancer" but also an embodiment of conservative values -Although cast differently, the 1980's hero is still fighting the good fight - while striking a great pose; he wants to be a disco dancer not for fame or money, but so that he can punish the rich businessman who had unjustly jailed his mother -An angry young man becomes the disco bouncer, but still hates injustice -Combines swagger with conservative values -Doesn't seek money or fame because that is bad in India - still very much socialist ideas -The "Disco Dancer" combines swagger with conservative values; doesn't seek money and fame, but committed to fighting injustice

China (In The Colonization Of Asia)

-The Chinese were relatively slow to awaken to their perilous position in the world -The Chinese elite prided themselves on their country's pre-eminence - Chinese exceptionalism -Like the Ottomans and the Mughals - the Chinese Empire had also not focused on using the state's influence to back industry and commerce They exported much more to Europe and America - mostly tea, silks and porcelains - than they imported. This was a problem for the West

The British East India Corporation

-The East India Company was an English company formed for the exploitation of trade with East and Southeast Asia and India. Incorporated by royal charter on December 31, 1600, it was started as a monopolistic trading body so that England could participate in the East Indian spice trade. -An English and later British joint-stock company founded in 1600. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia), and later with Qing China. The company seized control of large parts of the Indian subcontinent, colonised parts of Southeast Asia and Hong Kong after the First Opium War, and maintained trading posts and colonies in the Persian Gulf Residencies. -The original company faced opposition to its monopoly, which led to the establishment of a rival company and the fusion (1708) of the two as the United Company of Merchants of England trading to the East Indies. The United Company was organized into a court of 24 directors who worked through committees. They were elected annually by the Court of Proprietors, or shareholders. When the company acquired control of Bengal in 1757, Indian policy was until 1773 influenced by shareholders' meetings, where votes could be bought by the purchase of shares. That arrangement led to government intervention. The Regulating Act (1773) and William Pitt the Younger's India Act (1784) established government control of political policy through a regulatory board responsible to Parliament. -Thereafter the company gradually lost both commercial and political control. Its commercial monopoly was broken in 1813, and from 1834 it was merely a managing agency for the British government of India. It was deprived of that role after the Indian Mutiny (1857), and it ceased to exist as a legal entity in 1873.

Asiatic Barred Zone Act (1917)

-The Immigration Act of 1917 was a United States Act that aimed to restrict immigration by imposing literacy tests on immigrants, creating new categories of inadmissible persons, and barring immigration from the Asia-Pacific zone -Immigration was largely prohibited through the 1940s - piggybacks on the Civil Rights movement until it is finally easy for them to immigrate -This law is best known for its creation of a "barred zone" extending from the Middle East to Southeast Asia from which no persons were allowed to enter the United States. Its main restriction, however, consisted of a literacy test intended to reduce European immigration, with exemptions for those who could show they were fleeing persecution. It had taken Congress two decades to enact a literacy test, after repeated vetoes by the White House. They were successful amid heightened fears of immigration and the spread of radicalism during World War I and the Russian Revolution. This law also further clarified funding and administrative procedures to facilitate the enforcement of immigration laws and expanded excludable classes of immigrants.

Bollywood and Bombay

-The commercial capital of British India by the late nineteenth century -Cotton mills; The "Manchester of India" "the gateway to India" -India's cosmopolitan hub -Europeans, Arabs, and Jews, as well as Gujaratis, Parsis, and Maharashtrians -Bombay emerged as the center of the Hindi film industry following the demise of film studios in Calcutta in the 1930s -Benefited greatly from the migration of actors, directors, and scriptwriters from Lahore following Partition in 1947 -The quintessential "city of dreams" - "the magical city"

Who Gets To Write History?

-The key difference is how facts are interpreted When colonial powers wrote the history of the colonized peoples, they drew on archaeological and historical artifacts to tell a story of their own superiority So, in Western accounts, the "Orient" becomes a synonym for immorality, ignorance, and superstition The West is rational and progressive - the East is superstitious and backward

Pop Culture And Idtenity

-The production, consumption, and reception of pop culture is connected to the larger social world -Both as integrating and segregating force -Normalizes and destabilizes individuality/identity at the same time -How? Because for most it is impossible to achieve the goals celebrated by pop culture -Those who achieve goals, do so by rejecting official means -Despite the Internet, a handful of corporations dominate the media landscape

Islamic World

-The word 'Islam', describing the range of Muslim beliefs and practices across the world, was not used before the nineteenth century -Even so, there existed an intense solidarity based on certain shared values, beliefs and traditions -First community of believers is established in 622 CE, the first year of the Islamic calendar Islam was more than just a religion and ideology - it birthed a fresh civilization with its own linguistic, legal and administrative standards, its own arts and architecture -Islam was a portable ideology - it traveled easily across cultures -Islamic pilgrimage and mercantile networks across the world only reinforced this world and its values -A lager Muslim world was born - with the notion of a universal community of Muslims, the umma, living under the symbolic authority of a khalifa (caliph) Dar al-Islam (land of Muslims), distinct from Dar al- Harb (land of war)

Japan Separtism v. Pan-Asianism

-Torn between a society to dominate Asia in the same concept that the West has been -Historically, Japan has made many attempts to invade and control China -Korea was under Japan's rule 1910-1945 -Japan-China war in 1894 that was over control of Korea

Ataturk

-Turkish revolutionary and first president of the republic of Turkey -Independence leaders become the fathers of their nations as they force and push national identity

Western Modernity and Asian Thought

-Tweak tradition to meet the demands of the modern era, as suggested by Afghani, Tagore, and Qichao larger social and political changes driven by moral and spiritual transformation of the individual plus community Qichao believed so; as did Mao -Mao succeeded where Qichao had failed unifying China around a shared ethic -Chinese culture, according to Mao, should have its own form, its 'own national form'

America in Asia

-United States bases in the Philippines and Japan - to project military power across the Pacific -America in Vietnam - 1955 to 1975; the longest and most unpopular foreign war in U.S. history -1979 - Iranians overthrew the US supported Shah of Iran -Tehran hostage crisis -Violence across Asia

Afghani in Moscow, 1887

-Wanted Russia to help against British -Met Dalip Singh, colorful son of the last Sikh king of Punjab -Together the two plotted a Russo-British war that would free India -Afghani only managed to increase the number of his followers - no concrete results

Indian National Army

-Was an armed force formed by Indian collaborationists and Imperial Japan in 1942 in Southeast Asia during World War II. Its aim was to secure Indian independence from British rule. It fought alongside Japanese soldiers in the latter's campaign in the Southeast Asian theatre of WWII. -It was associated with Imperial Japan and the other Axis powers, and accusations were leveled against INA troops of being involved and complicit in Japanese war crimes. The INA's members were viewed as Axis collaborators by British soldiers and Indian PoWs who did not join the army, but after the war, they were seen as patriots by many Indians. Although they were widely commemorated by the Indian National Congress in the immediate aftermath of Indian independence, members of the INA were denied freedom fighter status by the Government of India, unlike those in the Gandhian movement. Nevertheless, the army remains a popular and passionate topic in Indian culture and politics.

Popular Islam in Asia

-West - insisted on forging history and remaking the world; this violated the Muslim sense of a world order shaped exclusively by God -Islam vs. West - more than anything else, it signified a fundamental imbalance of power -Islamic nations, like others in Asia, imported the idea of nationalism -But nationalisms in Muslim majority countries were colored by the ideology of Islam; particularly as these nationalisms gathered mass support

Summer Palace, 1860

-Widely perceived as the pinnacle work of Chinese imperial garden and palace design, the Old Summer Palace was known for its extensive collection of gardens, its building architecture and numerous art and historical treasures -Burning down by French and British troops -Each treaty successfully opens up China to forging trade and intervention -After the Opium War, there is a series of lowness in China - viewed as a source of cheap labor

The Demands of Young Asia

-Young Asia does not want sympathy or charity -The demand of Young Asia is justice -Equal treatment of whites and non-whites -Which is to say, racial equality and respect

Hollywood v. Bollywood

Hollywood: -Hollywood, of course, is no more realistic than Bollywood -Features monsters, aliens, superheroes -Bombastic, hyper-patriotic, self-righteous -Love comes easily - and all to often it is uplifting Bollywood: -Bollywood draws on other fantasies -The tragic protagonist who battles self and society to win and then loose his/her love -An orphan who discovers the identity of his birth father/ brother, usually after he has killed him love interests who are always in love with someone else -A mother who, if she doesn't die, manages to ruin everyone else's life

Liang on Democracy in China

Liang wrote: "In a word, the Chinese people must for now accept authoritarian rule; they cannot enjoy freedom ... those born in the thundering tempests of today, forged and molded by iron and fire - they will be my citizens, twenty or thirty, or fifty years hence. Then we will give them Rousseau to read and speak to them of Washington."

Treaty of Nanjing (1842)

Opened five trade ports, including Shanghai, to foreigners and granted Hong Kong to the British in perpetuity