In recent decades a significant 'transnational' turn has occurred in German Studies, with the role of India in German cultural history becoming a growing area of interest, yet there are serious challenges to the historian within this. Although teleological perspectives on India as part of the historical 'fate' of Germany appear to be losing ground, the notion of a 'German fascination' with India remains central to many approaches. 'Fascination,' though, proves to be an elusive concept, and often more descriptive than analytical. But how, then, do we account for the strikingly intensive confrontation with Indian culture in Germany without falling back into general and inadequately nuanced arguments? This edited collection seeks to explore such questions and open up a more thorough analysis of the German-Indian connection.
"Due its impressive array of interdisciplinary approaches and topics, united by the common theme of exploring Indian-German intersections, this volume is a valuable and significant contribution to the field of Asian-German studies."
-Aaron D. Horton, Professor of History, Alabama State University
"By taking an expressly 'decolonial' and trans-disciplinary approach to German-Indian cultural, intellectual, and historical intersections and entanglements over the long durée, this volume offers a welcome new perspective on central themes in the burgeoning field of German-(South) Asian Studies."
-Eric Kurlander, Stetson University, Deland, FL, USA
In recent decades a significant 'transnational' turn has occurred in German Studies, with the role of India in German cultural history becoming a growing area of interest, yet there are serious challenges to the historian within this. Although teleological perspectives on India as part of the historical 'fate' of Germany appear to be losing ground, the notion of a 'German fascination' with India remains central to many approaches. 'Fascination,' though, proves to be an elusive concept, and often more descriptive than analytical. But how, then, do we account for the strikingly intensive confrontation with Indian culture in Germany without falling back into general and inadequately nuanced arguments? This edited collection seeks to explore such questions and open up a more thorough analysis of the German-Indian connection.
Perry W. Myers is Professor of German Studies at Albion College, USA.
