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Author Hutnyk, John, 1961-

Title The rumour of Calcutta : tourism, charity, and the poverty of representation / John Hutnyk
Published London ; New Jersey : Zed Books, 1996

Copies

Location Call no. Vol. Availability
 W'PONDS  915.41470452 Hut/Roc  AVAILABLE
Description x, 246 pages ; 23 cm
Contents 1. Introduction: Calcutta Cipher -- 2. Travels in Calcutta: The View From Modern Lodge -- 3. Writing Calcutta: Travelling with Levi-Strauss and Gunter Grass -- 4. Cartographic Calcutta: Amazement -- 5. Photogenic Calcutta -- 6. Cinematic Calcutta: Camera Angles on the City -- 7. Conclusion: The Gifts of Calcutta
Summary An extraordinary study of the politics of representation, The Rumour of Calcutta explores the discursive construction of a 'city of intensities'. John Hutnyk analyses representations of Calcutta in a wide variety of discourses: in the gossip and traveller-lore of backpackers and volunteer charity workers; in writing - from classic literature to travel guides; in cinema, photography and maps. Throughout, the focus is on the technologies of representation which frame experiences of Calcutta, particularly Calcutta as decay. Hutnyk shows how specific practices and technologies - of tourism, representation and experience - intricately combine to reinforce and replicate the conditions of contemporary cultural and economic inequality
A provocative and original reading of both Heidegger and Marx, the book also draws upon writers as diverse as Spivak, Trinh, Jameson, Clifford, Virilio, Bataille, Derrida, Deleuze and Guattari. As such it is essential reading for students and scholars in cultural studies, anthropology, development, urban studies and sociology
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (pages 224-240) and index
SUBJECT Kolkata (India) http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n2012073732 -- Description and travel. http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh99001278
Kolkata (India) -- History. http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85018811
LC no. 96025687
ISBN 1856494071 hardcover
185649408X paperback