Writing Industrial Change in Urdu: Artisanship, Islam and Technology in Colonial India. Issue 4 (4th July 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Lanzillo, Amanda M.
• Is Part Of: South Asia. Volume 44:Issue 4(2021)
• Page Start: 666
• Page End: 683
• Publication Date: 2021-07-04
• Subjects: Artisans -- craftsmanship -- education -- India -- industrial change -- Islam -- Persian -- technology -- Urdu; South Asia -- Periodicals; South Asia -- Study and teaching -- Periodicals; 954.005
• DOI: 10.1080/00856401.2021.1953772
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0085-6401

Abstract

Abstract: Artisans in late nineteenth and early twentieth century India engaged with industrial change through vernacular-language manuals that explained new technologies and practices using regional cultural, literary and religious references. This article analyses the development, circulation and use of manuals written in Urdu for trades including metal smithing, masonry and carpentry. Urdu-language artisan manuals drew on both European-authored industrial textbooks and earlier Persian-language styles of writing about craftsmanship. The article argues that these late nineteenth and early twentieth century manuals shaped artisan training by rooting new technologies in regional literary and religious traditions and by articulating a perceived Islamic past for artisan trades.