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Prasenjit Duara
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The Crisis of Global Modernity: Asian Traditions and a Sustainable Future (Asian Connections) Kindle Edition

by Prasenjit Duara (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 5 ratings
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In this major new study, Prasenjit Duara expands his influential theoretical framework to present circulatory, transnational histories as an alternative to nationalist history. Duara argues that the present day is defined by the intersection of three global changes: the rise of non-western powers, the crisis of environmental sustainability and the loss of authoritative sources of what he terms transcendence - the ideals, principles and ethics once found in religions or political ideologies. The physical salvation of the world is becoming - and must become - the transcendent goal of our times, but this goal must transcend national sovereignty if it is to succeed. Duara suggests that a viable foundation for sustainability might be found in the traditions of Asia, which offer different ways of understanding the relationship between the personal, ecological and universal. These traditions must be understood through the ways they have circulated and converged with contemporary developments.
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  1. ISBN-13
    978-1107082250
  2. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  3. Publisher
    Cambridge University Press
  4. Publication date
    December 11, 2014
  5. Part of series
    Asian Connections
  6. Language
    English
  7. File size
    3282 KB
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"The perspective of The Crisis of Global Modernity is thus post-secular and post-national: Duara recognizes that the climate crisis has indeed changed everything and that it is futile to attempt to engage with it through the 19th and 20th century frameworks of economy and governance that created it in the first place."
Amitav Ghosh, www.amitavghosh.com/blog

'… a short review of it at best can only be an invitation to readers to take it on. But is the reward is more than worth it. … At the end of the day, perhaps most reassuring is our confidence in the hopeful Duara who has, on thinking through this crisis of global modernity, recommended a way forward for us.' Roger T. Ames, Pacific Affairs

"Ranging across history, religion, politics and ethics as they have appeared in multiple traditions, Duara draws out implications of our now-global quest for "modernity" and "development" for environmental sustainability. This is a provocative intervention in some of the most fundamental issues of our times."
Kenneth Pomeranz, University of Chicago

"Incisive and inspiring … Duara draws on his deep knowledge of China and other Asian philosophical traditions. He locates rich dialogical resources for alternative modes of human flourishing. This book is a profound challenge to received models of modernity."
Kenneth Dean, McGill University, Montréal

"Prominent historian Duara has done some of the best historical studies on Asia, and in particular on China … In this new book, Duara expands his profound knowledge of China and other Asian societies to the entire globe, and offers a historical sociology of global modernity. … Duara maintains that Western modernity, marked by secularism and individualism, is in deep crisis; environmental degradation worldwide, the rise of non-Western powers, and the loss of transcendent authority all pose severe challenges to the national-modernization model. As Duara sees it, traditional philosophical thought in Asia, particularly Confucianism, may offer a viable path forward. Oriental wisdom, such as the emphasis on self-cultivation, harmony, cooperation, and responsibility, can help the modern world transcend national sovereignty and achieve physical salvation of the planet. While theoretically ambitious, the book’s biggest strength lies in its rich historical narrative … intellectually rewarding. Summing up: highly recommended."
J. Li, Choice

"Duara’s opus is both timely and important. By re-vitalizing ancient Asian traditions which also emphasize sustainability, we can develop a stronger global consensus to protect our global commons. Duara’s magnificent book will do the world a great service."
Kishore Mabhubani, National University of Singapore

"The intersection of the personal, the ecological, and the universal is a key vector in Prasenjit Duara's disentangling of what it will take to achieve the "physical salvation" of our world. This is a brilliant text; it contributes to the methodological understanding of our period."
Saskia Sassen, Columbia University, author of Expulsions

'… a questing, ambitious and occasionally polemical work that charts his [Duara’s] search for an Asian-inspired new ecological consciousness. … By presenting his inspiring new vision of an evolving pan-Asian civic-minded solidarity, Duara, with all his usual elegance and erudition, enables us to share in that hope.' Roy Starrs, Journal of World History

"Modernity in its Western guise has generated a degraded, unsustainable world. To find the basis for a more viable, "post-Western modernity", Duara maintains that we must look beyond this tradition. Drawing on a capacious command of Asian history and society, Duara probes the region’s older philosophies to offer a vision that might nurture a truly global commons. This is work that is ambitious in the best possible sense."
Jean Comaroff, Harvard University, Massachusetts

About the Author

Prasenjit Duara is the Raffles Professor of Humanities and Director of the Asia Research Institute at the National University of Singapore. He received his PhD in Chinese history from Harvard University, and taught at the University of Chicago between 1991 and 2008, where he served as Professor and Chair of the Department of History and Chair of the Committee on Chinese Studies. In 1988, he published Culture, Power and the State: Rural North China, 1900–1942, which won the Fairbank Prize of the American Historical Association and the Levenson Prize of the Association of Asian Studies, USA. Among his other books are: Rescuing History from the Nation (1995); Sovereignty and Authenticity: Manchukuo and the East Asian Modern (2003); an edited volume, Decolonization: Now and Then (2004); and A Companion to Global Historical Thought, co-edited with Viren Murthy and Andrew Sartori (2014). His work has been widely translated into Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and several European languages.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00OUWJKEG
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Cambridge University Press (December 11, 2014)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ December 11, 2014
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 3282 KB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Up to 4 simultaneous devices, per publisher limits
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 338 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 5 ratings

About the author

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Prasenjit Duara

Prasenjit Duara

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Prasenjit Duara is the Raffles Professor of Humanities and Director, Asia Research Institute at National University of Singapore. He was born in Assam, India; educated in Dehra Dun and Delhi in North India; received his PhD in Chinese history from Harvard University; and was previously Professor and Chair of the Dept of History and Chair of the Committee on Chinese Studies at the University of Chicago. In 1988, he published Culture, Power and the State: Rural North China, 1900-1942 (Stanford Univ Press), which won the Fairbank Prize of the AHA and the Levenson Prize of the AAS, USA. Among his other books are Rescuing History from the Nation (U Chicago 1995), Sovereignty and Authenticity: Manchukuo and the East Asian Modern (Rowman 2003), an edited volume, Decolonization: Now and Then (Routledge, 2004) and A Companion to Global Historical Thought co-edited with Viren Murthy and Andrew Sartori (John Wiley, 2014). His work has been widely translated into Chinese, Japanese, Korean and the European languages.

His new book, The Crisis of Global Modernity: Asian Traditions and a Sustainable Future was published

Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
4.7 out of 5
5 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Ernest Yanarella
5.0 out of 5 stars An Asian and Global Way Forward in the Call to Sustainability
Reviewed in the United States on May 27, 2016
Prasenjit Duara has written a tough book, an erudite work, a volume that in many ways is the culmination of his entire scholarly career of teaching, writing, and administering to Chinese, Indian, and global histories, values, and ideas that have intersected, circulated, and looped back amongst themselves. Rebuffing the linear histories that camouflage more than they reveal, he offers a rich and illuminating analysis of how Asian religions and philosophies may offer hope for a sustainable future that is at once local and emplaced and global and circulating at many different scales.
His careful and patient clarification of circulating histories, dialogical transcendence, historical logics of global modernity and trafficking between secularism and transcendence, networks of sustainability, and hope and the commons reward the serious reader in an abundance of ways. His defense of Asian traditions particularly of China and India against the shortcomings and collusion of Abrahamic religions will prove a challenge to the faithful and believers of Christianity, Judaism, and Muslim religion in contributing to the crisis of global modernity.
Along the way, he shows his respect for aspects of twentieth century philosophy and its relevance and circulation of ideas and concepts of Western thinkers such as Ernst Bloch, Jürgen Habermas, Foucault, and Derrida. In the end, the promises of his introduction are more than amply fulfilled in the main body of the work and beautifully—and hopefully—summarized in his closing reprise and epilogue, titled, “Of Reason and Hope.”
4 people found this helpful
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Simon
5.0 out of 5 stars the right book for people with an interest in Asia which does not stop at Samosa or Dim-Sum
Reviewed in the United States on September 14, 2016
I have just finished reading this book cover to cover. As I am sort of exhausted you will understand that I will abstain from writing a long commentary. Thought-provoking, entertaining, erudite (jingshenboda). An expert on Asia who is Asian himself. Duara writes with such lucidity that you want him to write on all pressing matters of this time.
With that said, be prepared to take time to read this book. It took me on the average twice as long per page as compared with other books, as for Duara's way of writing is also an art to itself and if there is a way he can make the text more aesthetic, even at the cost of efficiency of the text, he is ready to take that cost.
What makes me give the book five stars is that Duara, although delivering a great piece of scholarship, is not shy to make value judgements where necessary (eg. ecology, labour rights etc). This courage is not often seen in researchers who are often content with merely conveying the status quo.
Writing a text which opts to demonstrate the entangled history, the circulatory history of different regions in Asia is a bold project. Duara did a very good job.
6 people found this helpful
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