Building Histories offers innovative accounts of five medieval monuments in Delhi the Red Fort, Rasul Numa dargah, Jama Masjid, Purana Qila, and Qutb complex tracing their modern lives from the nineteenth century into the twentieth. ?Mrinalini Rajagopalan argues that the modern construction of the history of these monuments entailed the careful selection, manipulation, and regulation of the past by both the colonial and later postcolonial states. Although framed as objective "archival" truths, these histories were meant to erase or marginalize the powerful and persistent affective appropriations of the monuments by groups who often existed outside of the center of power. By analyzing these archival and affective histories together, Rajagopalan works to redefine the historic monument far from a symbol of a specific past, the monument is shown in Building Histories to be a culturally mutable object with multiple stories to tell.

About the Author
Mrinalini Rajagopalan is assistant professor in the Department of History of Art and Architecture at the University of Pittsburgh.


Book Information
ISBN 9780226283470
Author Mrinalini Rajagopalan
Format Hardback
Page Count 272
Imprint University of Chicago Press
Publisher The University of Chicago Press
Weight(grams) 936g
Dimensions(mm) 26mm * 19mm * 2mm