Zaheer Baber - Böcker

This Festschrift for Irving M. Zeitlin honors a scholar whose work has influenced and continues to influence sociology, particularly classical sociological theory, sociology of religion, and historical sociology. Irving M. Zeitlin's scholarship and mentoring has also influenced and inspired a new generation of sociologists. The essays presented here address a wide range of topics that include classical sociological theory, globalization, bureaucracy, genocide, resistance, ethnic diversity, the intifada, anti-Semitism, democracy, geopolitical theory, war literature, science, and national culture. The contributions span a wide range of geographical areas that include Korea, China, India, Poland, Spain, Germany, the ex-Soviet Union, Canada, and the United States. These essays by eminent scholars located in many parts of the world affirm the incredibly broad range of expertise and learning that Irving M. Zeitlin's work has engaged with. The contributions to this volume also serve to highlight the contemporary relevance of the classical sociological tradition in making sense of the global human condition.

Investigates the complex social processes involved in the introduction and institutionalization of Western science in colonial India.In Science, Civilization, and Empire in India, Zaheer Baber analyzes the social context of the origins and development of science and technology in India from antiquity through colonialism to the modern period. The focus is on the two- way interaction between science and society: how specific social and cultural factors led to the emergence of specific scientific/technological knowledge systems and institutions that transformed the very social conditions that produced them. A key feature is the author's analysis of the role of pre-colonial trading circuits and other institutional factors in transmitting scientific and technological knowledge from India to other civilizational complexes. A significant portion represents an analysis of the role of modern science and technology in the consolidation of the British empire in India.