Introduction

through the postcolonial abyss

pp. 1-30

in: , Cultures of memory in South Asia, Berlin, Springer, 2014

Abstract

This work engages with the question of cultural difference: How do cultures differ from each other? This work moves on the hypothesis that the reflective modes of Indian cultural formations preferred embodied and enacted memory over archival accumulations. This chapter outlines the hypothesis by focusing on specific works from Sanskrit and Telugu languages and undertakes a critique of the European discursive and institutional frames deployed to study Indian traditions of thought. In order to overcome the postcolonial impasse this chapter proposes attention to critical humanities.