26. World History, Global History, Architecture with Anand Yang

“History develops as a discipline in the shadows of the Nation State and is always tied to the Nation State…”

For the premiere of ArchitectureTalk Season 2, we will be discussing the contours, ambitions and politics of World History, especially in terms of material culture, with University of Washington historian Anand Yang. While focussed on Anand's work on Indian Ocean trade and convict ship convoys that plied there during the colonial period. Our discussion covers connected topics such as subaltern studies, nationalism, the regional vs the global, convict labor and civil society, the Protestant work ethic and Big history. 

Timestamp Outline

2:30 “What were you taken by, when you were taken by World History?”-VP
3:30 Subaltern [PDF] world travelers 
4:52 “History develops as a discipline in the shadows of the Nation State, and is always tied to the Nation State”-AY 
6:53 Migrant labor and the construction of the new Nation State, Chandigarh 
7:42 Indian military’s role in the growth of the British Nation State
9:09 “You have to have a different map of the world to understand South Asia”-AY
12:25 Eurocentrism in the 1990’s and the project of World History 
13:50 Bombay 1860’s connection to US Civil Wars [PDF]
21:16 The Protestant work ethic [PDF]
23:47 “Where does this idea come from, that work makes you a better human being?”-VP 
28:38 “What was [the pre-colonial economy of the India ocean] world like?”-VP
35:00 Midbreak 
37:40 Food as material culture 
40:25 The caste system and food economy 
42:10 Ritual purity and caste 
48:56 “I think you acknowledge that history, you make sure it’s a teaching lesson. You recognize how things have grown out of terrible institutions and practices…”-AY
50:30 Zora Neale Hurston, Barracoon: The Story of The Last “Black Cargo”
54:18 “What is the [World History] project?”-VP
58:00 Big History