Ubiquity Presstech@ubiquitypress.com20260430T142928Generated by RUA metadata exporter

uplo-365-m-15-9781503604049030115978150360404901internal-reference3650610.1515/978150360404900EBE10710Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (CC BY-NC-ND)02http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/0101Archaeology of BabelThe Colonial Foundation of the Humanities1A01Siraj AhmedSirajAhmedSiraj Ahmed is Associate Professor in the Ph.D. Program in English at the Graduate Center, City University of New York and in the Department of English and the Program in Comparative Literature at Lehman College. He is the author of The Stillbirth of Capital: Enlightenment Writing and Colonial India (Stanford University Press, 2012).01eng002800323User DefinedLiterary Studies23User DefinedLiterary Studies general12Islam12Hinduism12comparative literature12philology12Sir William Jones12World Literature12British India12historicism12colonial law12critical method10LIT00000093DS010110300For more than three decades, preeminent scholars in comparative literature and postcolonial studies have called for a return to philology as the indispensable basis of critical method in the humanities. Against such calls, this book argues that the privilege philology has always enjoyed within the modern humanities silently reinforces a colonial hierarchy. In fact, each of philology’s foundational innovations originally served British rule in India. Tracing an unacknowledged history that extends from British Orientalist Sir William Jones to Palestinian American intellectual Edward Said and beyond, Archaeology of Babel excavates the epistemic transformation that was engendered on a global scale by the colonial reconstruction of native languages, literatures, and law. In the process, it reveals the extent to which even postcolonial studies and European philosophy—not to mention discourses as disparate as Islamic fundamentalism, Hindu nationalism, and global environmentalism—are the progeny of colonial rule. Going further, it unearths the alternate concepts of language and literature that were lost along the way and issues its own call for humanists to reckon with the politics of the philological practices to which they now return.Funded by: The National Endowment for the Humanitie s<h4>Reviews</h4>“According to Siraj Ahmed’s revelatory Archaeology of Babel: The Colonial Foundation of the Humanities, modern philology is at once a tool and a product of colonial domination….This is an ambitious, significant, and potentially incendiary book that reconceptualizes humanistic inquiry tout court.“—Jayne Lewis, Studies in English Literature —- “An important, scintillating study that deserves a wide interdisciplinary readership, Archaeology of Babel reappraises the historical roots of philology and encourages readers to re-imagine our present.“—Talal Asad, The Graduate Center, CUNY —- “Siraj Ahmed launches a powerful critique of the method of comparative philology that has established a hegemony of the printed text, thereby impeding our ability to conceptualize collective life. A reasoned but passionate plea for reading anti-philologically, this impressive book is sure to provoke much discussion.“—Partha Chatterjee, Columbia University —- “A work of theory and method, Archaeology of Babel is a very important intervention into a current high-profile discussion of comparative literature. Every chapter of this galvanizing and historically informed book develops new possibilities for the field.“—Lee Morrissey, Clemson University20200For more than three decades, preeminent scholars in comparative literature and postcolonial studies have called for a return to philology as the indispensable basis of critical method in the humanities. Against such calls, this book argues that the privilege philology has always enjoyed within the modern humanities silently reinforces a colonial hierarchy. In fact, each of philology’s foundational innovations originally served British rule in India. Tracing an unacknowledged history that extends from British Orientalist Sir William Jones to Palestinian American intellectual Edward Said and beyond, Archaeology of Babel excavates the epistemic transformation that was engendered on a global scale by the colonial reconstruction of native languages, literatures, and law. In the process, it reveals the extent to which even postcolonial studies and European philosophy—not to mention discourses as disparate as Islamic fundamentalism, Hindu nationalism, and global environmentalism—are the progeny of colonial rule. Going further, it unearths the alternate concepts of language and literature that were lost along the way and issues its own call for humanists to reckon with the politics of the philological practices to which they now return.30400Frontmatter Contents Acknowledgments Prologue Introduction The Colonial History of Comparative Method First Stratum: The Literary The Persian Imperium and Hafiz, 1771 a.d.–1390 a.d. Second Stratum: The Immanent Shari‘a and the Mu‘allaqāt, 1782 a.d.–550 a.d. Third Stratum: The Originary The Dharma and Śakuntalā, 1794 a.d.–1400 b.c. Conclusion: Genealogies of Emergency Notes Bibliography Index43000For more than three decades, preeminent scholars in comparative literature and postcolonial studies have called for a return to philology as the indispensable basis of critical method in the humanities. Against such calls, this book argues that the privilege philology has always enjoyed within the modern humanities silently reinforces a colonial hierarchy. In fact, each of philology’s foundational innovations originally served British rule in India. Tracing an unacknowledged history that extends from British Orientalist Sir William Jones to Palestinian American intellectual Edward Said and beyond, Archaeology of Babel excavates the epistemic transformation that was engendered on a global scale by the colonial reconstruction of native languages, literatures, and law. In the process, it reveals the extent to which even postcolonial studies and European philosophy—not to mention discourses as disparate as Islamic fundamentalism, Hindu nationalism, and global environmentalism—are the progeny of colonial rule. Going further, it unearths the alternate concepts of language and literature that were lost along the way and issues its own call for humanists to reckon with the politics of the philological practices to which they now return.Funded by: The National Endowment for the Humanitie s<h4>Reviews</h4>“According to Siraj Ahmed’s revelatory Archaeology of Babel: The Colonial Foundation of the Humanities, modern philology is at once a tool and a product of colonial domination….This is an ambitious, significant, and potentially incendiary book that reconceptualizes humanistic inquiry tout court.“—Jayne Lewis, Studies in English Literature —- “An important, scintillating study that deserves a wide interdisciplinary readership, Archaeology of Babel reappraises the historical roots of philology and encourages readers to re-imagine our present.“—Talal Asad, The Graduate Center, CUNY —- “Siraj Ahmed launches a powerful critique of the method of comparative philology that has established a hegemony of the printed text, thereby impeding our ability to conceptualize collective life. A reasoned but passionate plea for reading anti-philologically, this impressive book is sure to provoke much discussion.“—Partha Chatterjee, Columbia University —- “A work of theory and method, Archaeology of Babel is a very important intervention into a current high-profile discussion of comparative literature. Every chapter of this galvanizing and historically informed book develops new possibilities for the field.“—Lee Morrissey, Clemson University52000Open Access01000302https://storage.googleapis.com/rua-uplo/files/media/cover_images/1649f791-bd2a-4558-9449-784268b3c2ff.jpg1030610.1515/9781503604049-fmCreative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (CC BY-NC-ND)02http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Chapter0101Frontmatter1A01Siraj AhmedSirajAhmedSiraj Ahmed is Associate Professor in the Ph.D. Program in English at the Graduate Center, City University of New York and in the Department of English and the Program in Comparative Literature at Lehman College. He is the author of The Stillbirth of Capital: Enlightenment Writing and Colonial India (Stanford University Press, 2012).01eng12000Open Access2030610.1515/9781503604049-tocCreative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (CC BY-NC-ND)02http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Chapter0101Contents1A01Siraj AhmedSirajAhmedSiraj Ahmed is Associate Professor in the Ph.D. Program in English at the Graduate Center, City University of New York and in the Department of English and the Program in Comparative Literature at Lehman College. He is the author of The Stillbirth of Capital: Enlightenment Writing and Colonial India (Stanford University Press, 2012).01eng12000Open Access3030610.1515/9781503604049-001Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (CC BY-NC-ND)02http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Chapter0101Acknowledgments1A01Siraj AhmedSirajAhmedSiraj Ahmed is Associate Professor in the Ph.D. Program in English at the Graduate Center, City University of New York and in the Department of English and the Program in Comparative Literature at Lehman College. He is the author of The Stillbirth of Capital: Enlightenment Writing and Colonial India (Stanford University Press, 2012).01eng12000Open Access4030610.1515/9781503604049-002Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (CC BY-NC-ND)02http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Chapter0101Prologue1A01Siraj AhmedSirajAhmedSiraj Ahmed is Associate Professor in the Ph.D. Program in English at the Graduate Center, City University of New York and in the Department of English and the Program in Comparative Literature at Lehman College. He is the author of The Stillbirth of Capital: Enlightenment Writing and Colonial India (Stanford University Press, 2012).01eng12000Open Access5030610.1515/9781503604049-003Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (CC BY-NC-ND)02http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Chapter0101Introduction The Colonial History of Comparative Method1A01Siraj AhmedSirajAhmedSiraj Ahmed is Associate Professor in the Ph.D. Program in English at the Graduate Center, City University of New York and in the Department of English and the Program in Comparative Literature at Lehman College. He is the author of The Stillbirth of Capital: Enlightenment Writing and Colonial India (Stanford University Press, 2012).01eng12000Open Access6030610.1515/9781503604049-004Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (CC BY-NC-ND)02http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Chapter0101First Stratum: The Literary The Persian Imperium and Hafiz, 1771 a.d.–1390 a.d.1A01Siraj AhmedSirajAhmedSiraj Ahmed is Associate Professor in the Ph.D. Program in English at the Graduate Center, City University of New York and in the Department of English and the Program in Comparative Literature at Lehman College. He is the author of The Stillbirth of Capital: Enlightenment Writing and Colonial India (Stanford University Press, 2012).01eng12000Open Access7030610.1515/9781503604049-005Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (CC BY-NC-ND)02http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Chapter0101Second Stratum: The Immanent Shari‘a and the Mu‘allaqāt, 1782 a.d.–550 a.d.1A01Siraj AhmedSirajAhmedSiraj Ahmed is Associate Professor in the Ph.D. Program in English at the Graduate Center, City University of New York and in the Department of English and the Program in Comparative Literature at Lehman College. He is the author of The Stillbirth of Capital: Enlightenment Writing and Colonial India (Stanford University Press, 2012).01eng12000Open Access8030610.1515/9781503604049-006Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (CC BY-NC-ND)02http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Chapter0101Third Stratum: The Originary The Dharma and Śakuntalā, 1794 a.d.–1400 b.c.1A01Siraj AhmedSirajAhmedSiraj Ahmed is Associate Professor in the Ph.D. Program in English at the Graduate Center, City University of New York and in the Department of English and the Program in Comparative Literature at Lehman College. He is the author of The Stillbirth of Capital: Enlightenment Writing and Colonial India (Stanford University Press, 2012).01eng12000Open Access9030610.1515/9781503604049-007Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (CC BY-NC-ND)02http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Chapter0101Conclusion: Genealogies of Emergency1A01Siraj AhmedSirajAhmedSiraj Ahmed is Associate Professor in the Ph.D. Program in English at the Graduate Center, City University of New York and in the Department of English and the Program in Comparative Literature at Lehman College. He is the author of The Stillbirth of Capital: Enlightenment Writing and Colonial India (Stanford University Press, 2012).01eng12000Open Access10030610.1515/9781503604049-008Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (CC BY-NC-ND)02http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Chapter0101Notes1A01Siraj AhmedSirajAhmedSiraj Ahmed is Associate Professor in the Ph.D. Program in English at the Graduate Center, City University of New York and in the Department of English and the Program in Comparative Literature at Lehman College. He is the author of The Stillbirth of Capital: Enlightenment Writing and Colonial India (Stanford University Press, 2012).01eng12000Open Access11030610.1515/9781503604049-009Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (CC BY-NC-ND)02http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Chapter0101Bibliography1A01Siraj AhmedSirajAhmedSiraj Ahmed is Associate Professor in the Ph.D. Program in English at the Graduate Center, City University of New York and in the Department of English and the Program in Comparative Literature at Lehman College. He is the author of The Stillbirth of Capital: Enlightenment Writing and Colonial India (Stanford University Press, 2012).01eng12000Open Access12030610.1515/9781503604049-010Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (CC BY-NC-ND)02http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Chapter0101Index1A01Siraj AhmedSirajAhmedSiraj Ahmed is Associate Professor in the Ph.D. Program in English at the Graduate Center, City University of New York and in the Department of English and the Program in Comparative Literature at Lehman College. He is the author of The Stillbirth of Capital: Enlightenment Writing and Colonial India (Stanford University Press, 2012).01eng12000Open Access01URLhttps://www.sup.org/Stanford University Press01Stanford University Press01Publisher’s corporate websitehttps://uplopen.com02Publisher’s website for a specified workhttps://uplopen.com/books/m/10.1515/9781503604049Stanford, CA, USA040120200720The Author(s)02WORLD0615978150360402506159780804785297WORLD11Unknown36Supplier’s website for a specified workhttps://uplopen.com29Supplier’s website: download the titlehttps://uplopen.com/books/365/files/9c9cedfa-3ba0-4e1f-a794-77bd8456f0c0.pdf20082020072001uplo-365-m-15-9781503604025030115978150360402501internal-reference3650610.1515/978150360404900BCB20210026in030.7in080.85lb019inCreative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (CC BY-NC-ND)02http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/0101Archaeology of BabelThe Colonial Foundation of the Humanities1A01Siraj AhmedSirajAhmedSiraj Ahmed is Associate Professor in the Ph.D. Program in English at the Graduate Center, City University of New York and in the Department of English and the Program in Comparative Literature at Lehman College. He is the author of The Stillbirth of Capital: Enlightenment Writing and Colonial India (Stanford University Press, 2012).01eng002800323User DefinedLiterary Studies23User DefinedLiterary Studies general12Islam12Hinduism12comparative literature12philology12Sir William Jones12World Literature12British India12historicism12colonial law12critical method10LIT00000093DS010110300For more than three decades, preeminent scholars in comparative literature and postcolonial studies have called for a return to philology as the indispensable basis of critical method in the humanities. Against such calls, this book argues that the privilege philology has always enjoyed within the modern humanities silently reinforces a colonial hierarchy. In fact, each of philology’s foundational innovations originally served British rule in India. Tracing an unacknowledged history that extends from British Orientalist Sir William Jones to Palestinian American intellectual Edward Said and beyond, Archaeology of Babel excavates the epistemic transformation that was engendered on a global scale by the colonial reconstruction of native languages, literatures, and law. In the process, it reveals the extent to which even postcolonial studies and European philosophy—not to mention discourses as disparate as Islamic fundamentalism, Hindu nationalism, and global environmentalism—are the progeny of colonial rule. Going further, it unearths the alternate concepts of language and literature that were lost along the way and issues its own call for humanists to reckon with the politics of the philological practices to which they now return.Funded by: The National Endowment for the Humanitie s<h4>Reviews</h4>“According to Siraj Ahmed’s revelatory Archaeology of Babel: The Colonial Foundation of the Humanities, modern philology is at once a tool and a product of colonial domination….This is an ambitious, significant, and potentially incendiary book that reconceptualizes humanistic inquiry tout court.“—Jayne Lewis, Studies in English Literature —- “An important, scintillating study that deserves a wide interdisciplinary readership, Archaeology of Babel reappraises the historical roots of philology and encourages readers to re-imagine our present.“—Talal Asad, The Graduate Center, CUNY —- “Siraj Ahmed launches a powerful critique of the method of comparative philology that has established a hegemony of the printed text, thereby impeding our ability to conceptualize collective life. A reasoned but passionate plea for reading anti-philologically, this impressive book is sure to provoke much discussion.“—Partha Chatterjee, Columbia University —- “A work of theory and method, Archaeology of Babel is a very important intervention into a current high-profile discussion of comparative literature. Every chapter of this galvanizing and historically informed book develops new possibilities for the field.“—Lee Morrissey, Clemson University20200For more than three decades, preeminent scholars in comparative literature and postcolonial studies have called for a return to philology as the indispensable basis of critical method in the humanities. Against such calls, this book argues that the privilege philology has always enjoyed within the modern humanities silently reinforces a colonial hierarchy. In fact, each of philology’s foundational innovations originally served British rule in India. Tracing an unacknowledged history that extends from British Orientalist Sir William Jones to Palestinian American intellectual Edward Said and beyond, Archaeology of Babel excavates the epistemic transformation that was engendered on a global scale by the colonial reconstruction of native languages, literatures, and law. In the process, it reveals the extent to which even postcolonial studies and European philosophy—not to mention discourses as disparate as Islamic fundamentalism, Hindu nationalism, and global environmentalism—are the progeny of colonial rule. Going further, it unearths the alternate concepts of language and literature that were lost along the way and issues its own call for humanists to reckon with the politics of the philological practices to which they now return.30400Frontmatter Contents Acknowledgments Prologue Introduction The Colonial History of Comparative Method First Stratum: The Literary The Persian Imperium and Hafiz, 1771 a.d.–1390 a.d. Second Stratum: The Immanent Shari‘a and the Mu‘allaqāt, 1782 a.d.–550 a.d. Third Stratum: The Originary The Dharma and Śakuntalā, 1794 a.d.–1400 b.c. Conclusion: Genealogies of Emergency Notes Bibliography Index43000For more than three decades, preeminent scholars in comparative literature and postcolonial studies have called for a return to philology as the indispensable basis of critical method in the humanities. Against such calls, this book argues that the privilege philology has always enjoyed within the modern humanities silently reinforces a colonial hierarchy. In fact, each of philology’s foundational innovations originally served British rule in India. Tracing an unacknowledged history that extends from British Orientalist Sir William Jones to Palestinian American intellectual Edward Said and beyond, Archaeology of Babel excavates the epistemic transformation that was engendered on a global scale by the colonial reconstruction of native languages, literatures, and law. In the process, it reveals the extent to which even postcolonial studies and European philosophy—not to mention discourses as disparate as Islamic fundamentalism, Hindu nationalism, and global environmentalism—are the progeny of colonial rule. Going further, it unearths the alternate concepts of language and literature that were lost along the way and issues its own call for humanists to reckon with the politics of the philological practices to which they now return.Funded by: The National Endowment for the Humanitie s<h4>Reviews</h4>“According to Siraj Ahmed’s revelatory Archaeology of Babel: The Colonial Foundation of the Humanities, modern philology is at once a tool and a product of colonial domination….This is an ambitious, significant, and potentially incendiary book that reconceptualizes humanistic inquiry tout court.“—Jayne Lewis, Studies in English Literature —- “An important, scintillating study that deserves a wide interdisciplinary readership, Archaeology of Babel reappraises the historical roots of philology and encourages readers to re-imagine our present.“—Talal Asad, The Graduate Center, CUNY —- “Siraj Ahmed launches a powerful critique of the method of comparative philology that has established a hegemony of the printed text, thereby impeding our ability to conceptualize collective life. A reasoned but passionate plea for reading anti-philologically, this impressive book is sure to provoke much discussion.“—Partha Chatterjee, Columbia University —- “A work of theory and method, Archaeology of Babel is a very important intervention into a current high-profile discussion of comparative literature. Every chapter of this galvanizing and historically informed book develops new possibilities for the field.“—Lee Morrissey, Clemson University52000Open Access01000302https://storage.googleapis.com/rua-uplo/files/media/cover_images/1649f791-bd2a-4558-9449-784268b3c2ff.jpg1030610.1515/9781503604049-fmCreative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (CC BY-NC-ND)02http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Chapter0101Frontmatter1A01Siraj AhmedSirajAhmedSiraj Ahmed is Associate Professor in the Ph.D. Program in English at the Graduate Center, City University of New York and in the Department of English and the Program in Comparative Literature at Lehman College. He is the author of The Stillbirth of Capital: Enlightenment Writing and Colonial India (Stanford University Press, 2012).01eng12000Open Access2030610.1515/9781503604049-tocCreative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (CC BY-NC-ND)02http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Chapter0101Contents1A01Siraj AhmedSirajAhmedSiraj Ahmed is Associate Professor in the Ph.D. Program in English at the Graduate Center, City University of New York and in the Department of English and the Program in Comparative Literature at Lehman College. He is the author of The Stillbirth of Capital: Enlightenment Writing and Colonial India (Stanford University Press, 2012).01eng12000Open Access3030610.1515/9781503604049-001Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (CC BY-NC-ND)02http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Chapter0101Acknowledgments1A01Siraj AhmedSirajAhmedSiraj Ahmed is Associate Professor in the Ph.D. Program in English at the Graduate Center, City University of New York and in the Department of English and the Program in Comparative Literature at Lehman College. He is the author of The Stillbirth of Capital: Enlightenment Writing and Colonial India (Stanford University Press, 2012).01eng12000Open Access4030610.1515/9781503604049-002Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (CC BY-NC-ND)02http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Chapter0101Prologue1A01Siraj AhmedSirajAhmedSiraj Ahmed is Associate Professor in the Ph.D. Program in English at the Graduate Center, City University of New York and in the Department of English and the Program in Comparative Literature at Lehman College. He is the author of The Stillbirth of Capital: Enlightenment Writing and Colonial India (Stanford University Press, 2012).01eng12000Open Access5030610.1515/9781503604049-003Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (CC BY-NC-ND)02http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Chapter0101Introduction The Colonial History of Comparative Method1A01Siraj AhmedSirajAhmedSiraj Ahmed is Associate Professor in the Ph.D. Program in English at the Graduate Center, City University of New York and in the Department of English and the Program in Comparative Literature at Lehman College. He is the author of The Stillbirth of Capital: Enlightenment Writing and Colonial India (Stanford University Press, 2012).01eng12000Open Access6030610.1515/9781503604049-004Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (CC BY-NC-ND)02http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Chapter0101First Stratum: The Literary The Persian Imperium and Hafiz, 1771 a.d.–1390 a.d.1A01Siraj AhmedSirajAhmedSiraj Ahmed is Associate Professor in the Ph.D. Program in English at the Graduate Center, City University of New York and in the Department of English and the Program in Comparative Literature at Lehman College. He is the author of The Stillbirth of Capital: Enlightenment Writing and Colonial India (Stanford University Press, 2012).01eng12000Open Access7030610.1515/9781503604049-005Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (CC BY-NC-ND)02http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Chapter0101Second Stratum: The Immanent Shari‘a and the Mu‘allaqāt, 1782 a.d.–550 a.d.1A01Siraj AhmedSirajAhmedSiraj Ahmed is Associate Professor in the Ph.D. Program in English at the Graduate Center, City University of New York and in the Department of English and the Program in Comparative Literature at Lehman College. He is the author of The Stillbirth of Capital: Enlightenment Writing and Colonial India (Stanford University Press, 2012).01eng12000Open Access8030610.1515/9781503604049-006Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (CC BY-NC-ND)02http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Chapter0101Third Stratum: The Originary The Dharma and Śakuntalā, 1794 a.d.–1400 b.c.1A01Siraj AhmedSirajAhmedSiraj Ahmed is Associate Professor in the Ph.D. Program in English at the Graduate Center, City University of New York and in the Department of English and the Program in Comparative Literature at Lehman College. He is the author of The Stillbirth of Capital: Enlightenment Writing and Colonial India (Stanford University Press, 2012).01eng12000Open Access9030610.1515/9781503604049-007Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (CC BY-NC-ND)02http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Chapter0101Conclusion: Genealogies of Emergency1A01Siraj AhmedSirajAhmedSiraj Ahmed is Associate Professor in the Ph.D. Program in English at the Graduate Center, City University of New York and in the Department of English and the Program in Comparative Literature at Lehman College. He is the author of The Stillbirth of Capital: Enlightenment Writing and Colonial India (Stanford University Press, 2012).01eng12000Open Access10030610.1515/9781503604049-008Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (CC BY-NC-ND)02http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Chapter0101Notes1A01Siraj AhmedSirajAhmedSiraj Ahmed is Associate Professor in the Ph.D. Program in English at the Graduate Center, City University of New York and in the Department of English and the Program in Comparative Literature at Lehman College. He is the author of The Stillbirth of Capital: Enlightenment Writing and Colonial India (Stanford University Press, 2012).01eng12000Open Access11030610.1515/9781503604049-009Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (CC BY-NC-ND)02http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Chapter0101Bibliography1A01Siraj AhmedSirajAhmedSiraj Ahmed is Associate Professor in the Ph.D. Program in English at the Graduate Center, City University of New York and in the Department of English and the Program in Comparative Literature at Lehman College. He is the author of The Stillbirth of Capital: Enlightenment Writing and Colonial India (Stanford University Press, 2012).01eng12000Open Access12030610.1515/9781503604049-010Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (CC BY-NC-ND)02http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Chapter0101Index1A01Siraj AhmedSirajAhmedSiraj Ahmed is Associate Professor in the Ph.D. Program in English at the Graduate Center, City University of New York and in the Department of English and the Program in Comparative Literature at Lehman College. He is the author of The Stillbirth of Capital: Enlightenment Writing and Colonial India (Stanford University Press, 2012).01eng12000Open Access01URLhttps://www.sup.org/Stanford University Press01Stanford University Press01Publisher’s corporate websitehttps://uplopen.com02Publisher’s website for a specified workhttps://uplopen.com/books/m/10.1515/9781503604049Stanford, CA, USA040120200720The Author(s)02WORLD0615978150360404906159780804785297WORLD11Unknown20082020072008uplo-365-m-15-9780804785297030115978080478529701internal-reference3650610.1515/978150360404900BBB20110026in030.75in081.1lb019inCreative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (CC BY-NC-ND)02http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/0101Archaeology of BabelThe Colonial Foundation of the Humanities1A01Siraj AhmedSirajAhmedSiraj Ahmed is Associate Professor in the Ph.D. Program in English at the Graduate Center, City University of New York and in the Department of English and the Program in Comparative Literature at Lehman College. He is the author of The Stillbirth of Capital: Enlightenment Writing and Colonial India (Stanford University Press, 2012).01eng002800323User DefinedLiterary Studies23User DefinedLiterary Studies general12Islam12Hinduism12comparative literature12philology12Sir William Jones12World Literature12British India12historicism12colonial law12critical method10LIT00000093DS010110300For more than three decades, preeminent scholars in comparative literature and postcolonial studies have called for a return to philology as the indispensable basis of critical method in the humanities. Against such calls, this book argues that the privilege philology has always enjoyed within the modern humanities silently reinforces a colonial hierarchy. In fact, each of philology’s foundational innovations originally served British rule in India. Tracing an unacknowledged history that extends from British Orientalist Sir William Jones to Palestinian American intellectual Edward Said and beyond, Archaeology of Babel excavates the epistemic transformation that was engendered on a global scale by the colonial reconstruction of native languages, literatures, and law. In the process, it reveals the extent to which even postcolonial studies and European philosophy—not to mention discourses as disparate as Islamic fundamentalism, Hindu nationalism, and global environmentalism—are the progeny of colonial rule. Going further, it unearths the alternate concepts of language and literature that were lost along the way and issues its own call for humanists to reckon with the politics of the philological practices to which they now return.Funded by: The National Endowment for the Humanitie s<h4>Reviews</h4>“According to Siraj Ahmed’s revelatory Archaeology of Babel: The Colonial Foundation of the Humanities, modern philology is at once a tool and a product of colonial domination….This is an ambitious, significant, and potentially incendiary book that reconceptualizes humanistic inquiry tout court.“—Jayne Lewis, Studies in English Literature —- “An important, scintillating study that deserves a wide interdisciplinary readership, Archaeology of Babel reappraises the historical roots of philology and encourages readers to re-imagine our present.“—Talal Asad, The Graduate Center, CUNY —- “Siraj Ahmed launches a powerful critique of the method of comparative philology that has established a hegemony of the printed text, thereby impeding our ability to conceptualize collective life. A reasoned but passionate plea for reading anti-philologically, this impressive book is sure to provoke much discussion.“—Partha Chatterjee, Columbia University —- “A work of theory and method, Archaeology of Babel is a very important intervention into a current high-profile discussion of comparative literature. Every chapter of this galvanizing and historically informed book develops new possibilities for the field.“—Lee Morrissey, Clemson University20200For more than three decades, preeminent scholars in comparative literature and postcolonial studies have called for a return to philology as the indispensable basis of critical method in the humanities. Against such calls, this book argues that the privilege philology has always enjoyed within the modern humanities silently reinforces a colonial hierarchy. In fact, each of philology’s foundational innovations originally served British rule in India. Tracing an unacknowledged history that extends from British Orientalist Sir William Jones to Palestinian American intellectual Edward Said and beyond, Archaeology of Babel excavates the epistemic transformation that was engendered on a global scale by the colonial reconstruction of native languages, literatures, and law. In the process, it reveals the extent to which even postcolonial studies and European philosophy—not to mention discourses as disparate as Islamic fundamentalism, Hindu nationalism, and global environmentalism—are the progeny of colonial rule. Going further, it unearths the alternate concepts of language and literature that were lost along the way and issues its own call for humanists to reckon with the politics of the philological practices to which they now return.30400Frontmatter Contents Acknowledgments Prologue Introduction The Colonial History of Comparative Method First Stratum: The Literary The Persian Imperium and Hafiz, 1771 a.d.–1390 a.d. Second Stratum: The Immanent Shari‘a and the Mu‘allaqāt, 1782 a.d.–550 a.d. Third Stratum: The Originary The Dharma and Śakuntalā, 1794 a.d.–1400 b.c. Conclusion: Genealogies of Emergency Notes Bibliography Index43000For more than three decades, preeminent scholars in comparative literature and postcolonial studies have called for a return to philology as the indispensable basis of critical method in the humanities. Against such calls, this book argues that the privilege philology has always enjoyed within the modern humanities silently reinforces a colonial hierarchy. In fact, each of philology’s foundational innovations originally served British rule in India. Tracing an unacknowledged history that extends from British Orientalist Sir William Jones to Palestinian American intellectual Edward Said and beyond, Archaeology of Babel excavates the epistemic transformation that was engendered on a global scale by the colonial reconstruction of native languages, literatures, and law. In the process, it reveals the extent to which even postcolonial studies and European philosophy—not to mention discourses as disparate as Islamic fundamentalism, Hindu nationalism, and global environmentalism—are the progeny of colonial rule. Going further, it unearths the alternate concepts of language and literature that were lost along the way and issues its own call for humanists to reckon with the politics of the philological practices to which they now return.Funded by: The National Endowment for the Humanitie s<h4>Reviews</h4>“According to Siraj Ahmed’s revelatory Archaeology of Babel: The Colonial Foundation of the Humanities, modern philology is at once a tool and a product of colonial domination….This is an ambitious, significant, and potentially incendiary book that reconceptualizes humanistic inquiry tout court.“—Jayne Lewis, Studies in English Literature —- “An important, scintillating study that deserves a wide interdisciplinary readership, Archaeology of Babel reappraises the historical roots of philology and encourages readers to re-imagine our present.“—Talal Asad, The Graduate Center, CUNY —- “Siraj Ahmed launches a powerful critique of the method of comparative philology that has established a hegemony of the printed text, thereby impeding our ability to conceptualize collective life. A reasoned but passionate plea for reading anti-philologically, this impressive book is sure to provoke much discussion.“—Partha Chatterjee, Columbia University —- “A work of theory and method, Archaeology of Babel is a very important intervention into a current high-profile discussion of comparative literature. Every chapter of this galvanizing and historically informed book develops new possibilities for the field.“—Lee Morrissey, Clemson University52000Open Access01000302https://storage.googleapis.com/rua-uplo/files/media/cover_images/1649f791-bd2a-4558-9449-784268b3c2ff.jpg1030610.1515/9781503604049-fmCreative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (CC BY-NC-ND)02http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Chapter0101Frontmatter1A01Siraj AhmedSirajAhmedSiraj Ahmed is Associate Professor in the Ph.D. Program in English at the Graduate Center, City University of New York and in the Department of English and the Program in Comparative Literature at Lehman College. He is the author of The Stillbirth of Capital: Enlightenment Writing and Colonial India (Stanford University Press, 2012).01eng12000Open Access2030610.1515/9781503604049-tocCreative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (CC BY-NC-ND)02http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Chapter0101Contents1A01Siraj AhmedSirajAhmedSiraj Ahmed is Associate Professor in the Ph.D. Program in English at the Graduate Center, City University of New York and in the Department of English and the Program in Comparative Literature at Lehman College. He is the author of The Stillbirth of Capital: Enlightenment Writing and Colonial India (Stanford University Press, 2012).01eng12000Open Access3030610.1515/9781503604049-001Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (CC BY-NC-ND)02http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Chapter0101Acknowledgments1A01Siraj AhmedSirajAhmedSiraj Ahmed is Associate Professor in the Ph.D. Program in English at the Graduate Center, City University of New York and in the Department of English and the Program in Comparative Literature at Lehman College. He is the author of The Stillbirth of Capital: Enlightenment Writing and Colonial India (Stanford University Press, 2012).01eng12000Open Access4030610.1515/9781503604049-002Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (CC BY-NC-ND)02http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Chapter0101Prologue1A01Siraj AhmedSirajAhmedSiraj Ahmed is Associate Professor in the Ph.D. Program in English at the Graduate Center, City University of New York and in the Department of English and the Program in Comparative Literature at Lehman College. He is the author of The Stillbirth of Capital: Enlightenment Writing and Colonial India (Stanford University Press, 2012).01eng12000Open Access5030610.1515/9781503604049-003Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (CC BY-NC-ND)02http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Chapter0101Introduction The Colonial History of Comparative Method1A01Siraj AhmedSirajAhmedSiraj Ahmed is Associate Professor in the Ph.D. Program in English at the Graduate Center, City University of New York and in the Department of English and the Program in Comparative Literature at Lehman College. He is the author of The Stillbirth of Capital: Enlightenment Writing and Colonial India (Stanford University Press, 2012).01eng12000Open Access6030610.1515/9781503604049-004Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (CC BY-NC-ND)02http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Chapter0101First Stratum: The Literary The Persian Imperium and Hafiz, 1771 a.d.–1390 a.d.1A01Siraj AhmedSirajAhmedSiraj Ahmed is Associate Professor in the Ph.D. Program in English at the Graduate Center, City University of New York and in the Department of English and the Program in Comparative Literature at Lehman College. He is the author of The Stillbirth of Capital: Enlightenment Writing and Colonial India (Stanford University Press, 2012).01eng12000Open Access7030610.1515/9781503604049-005Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (CC BY-NC-ND)02http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Chapter0101Second Stratum: The Immanent Shari‘a and the Mu‘allaqāt, 1782 a.d.–550 a.d.1A01Siraj AhmedSirajAhmedSiraj Ahmed is Associate Professor in the Ph.D. Program in English at the Graduate Center, City University of New York and in the Department of English and the Program in Comparative Literature at Lehman College. He is the author of The Stillbirth of Capital: Enlightenment Writing and Colonial India (Stanford University Press, 2012).01eng12000Open Access8030610.1515/9781503604049-006Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (CC BY-NC-ND)02http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Chapter0101Third Stratum: The Originary The Dharma and Śakuntalā, 1794 a.d.–1400 b.c.1A01Siraj AhmedSirajAhmedSiraj Ahmed is Associate Professor in the Ph.D. Program in English at the Graduate Center, City University of New York and in the Department of English and the Program in Comparative Literature at Lehman College. He is the author of The Stillbirth of Capital: Enlightenment Writing and Colonial India (Stanford University Press, 2012).01eng12000Open Access9030610.1515/9781503604049-007Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (CC BY-NC-ND)02http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Chapter0101Conclusion: Genealogies of Emergency1A01Siraj AhmedSirajAhmedSiraj Ahmed is Associate Professor in the Ph.D. Program in English at the Graduate Center, City University of New York and in the Department of English and the Program in Comparative Literature at Lehman College. He is the author of The Stillbirth of Capital: Enlightenment Writing and Colonial India (Stanford University Press, 2012).01eng12000Open Access10030610.1515/9781503604049-008Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (CC BY-NC-ND)02http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Chapter0101Notes1A01Siraj AhmedSirajAhmedSiraj Ahmed is Associate Professor in the Ph.D. Program in English at the Graduate Center, City University of New York and in the Department of English and the Program in Comparative Literature at Lehman College. He is the author of The Stillbirth of Capital: Enlightenment Writing and Colonial India (Stanford University Press, 2012).01eng12000Open Access11030610.1515/9781503604049-009Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (CC BY-NC-ND)02http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Chapter0101Bibliography1A01Siraj AhmedSirajAhmedSiraj Ahmed is Associate Professor in the Ph.D. Program in English at the Graduate Center, City University of New York and in the Department of English and the Program in Comparative Literature at Lehman College. He is the author of The Stillbirth of Capital: Enlightenment Writing and Colonial India (Stanford University Press, 2012).01eng12000Open Access12030610.1515/9781503604049-010Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (CC BY-NC-ND)02http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Chapter0101Index1A01Siraj AhmedSirajAhmedSiraj Ahmed is Associate Professor in the Ph.D. Program in English at the Graduate Center, City University of New York and in the Department of English and the Program in Comparative Literature at Lehman College. He is the author of The Stillbirth of Capital: Enlightenment Writing and Colonial India (Stanford University Press, 2012).01eng12000Open Access01URLhttps://www.sup.org/Stanford University Press01Stanford University Press01Publisher’s corporate websitehttps://uplopen.com02Publisher’s website for a specified workhttps://uplopen.com/books/m/10.1515/9781503604049Stanford, CA, USA040120200720The Author(s)02WORLD0615978150360404906159781503604025WORLD11Unknown20082020072008