Arts and Aesthetics in a Globalizing World

This is an investigation of arts and aesthetics in their widest senses and experiences, presenting a variety of perspectives which range from the metaphysical to the political. Moving beyond art as an expression of the inner mind and invention of the individual self, the volume bridges the gap between changing perceptions of contemporary art and aesthetics, and maps globalizing currents in a number of contexts and regions.The volume includes an impressive variety of case studies offered by established leaders in the field and original and emerging scholarly talent covering areas in India, Nepal, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, Rwanda, and Germany, as well as providing transnational or diasporic perspectives. From the contradictory demands made on successful artists from the south in the global art world such as Anish Kapoor, to images of war and puppetry created by female political prisoners, the volume compels creative and political interpretations of the ever-changing and globalizing terrain of arts and aesthetics.

Raminder Kaur is Professor of Anthropology and Cultural Studies in the School of Global Studies at the University of Sussex, UK.Parul Dave-Mukherji is Professor in the School of Arts and Aesthetics at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India.

IntroductionRaminder Kaur, University of Sussex, UK and Parul Dave-Mukherji, Jawaharlal Nehru University, IndiaOf Mockery and Mimicking: Gaganendranath Tagore's Critique of Henri Bergson's Laughter (1911)Emilia Terracciano, Courtaud Institute of Art and University College London, UKThe Return of the Aura: Anish Kapoor, the Studio and the World Denis Vidal, IRD/Paris Diderot/EHESS, FranceThe Practice of Art: An Alternative View of Contemporary Art-making in TehranLeili Sreberny-Mohammadi, New York University, USAArt Under Siege: Perils and Possibilities of Aesthetic Forms in a Globalising World Patricia Spyer, Leiden University, The NetherlandsHot Bricolage: Magical Mimesis in Modern IndiaChristopher Pinney, UCL, UKWaste and the Aesthetics of Justice Shiv Visvanatham, O.P. Jindal Global University, India Slaps, Beatings, Laughter, Adda, Puppet Shows: Naxal Women Prisoners in Calcutta and the Art of Happiness in Captivity Atreyee Sen, University of Manchester, UKRwanda: Healing and the Aesthetics of Poetry Andrea Grieder, University of Zurich, Switzerland, and EHESS Paris, France The Aesthetics of Diaspora: Sensual Milieus and Literary Worlds Pnina Werbner, Keele University, UK and Mattia Fumanti, University of St. Andrews, UKFor Love's Sake? Changing landscapes of sonic and visual aesthetics of weddings in the Kathmandu Valley (Nepal)Christiane Brosius, University of Heidelberg, GermanyThe Aesthetics of Pirate Modernities: Bhojpuri Cinema and the UnderclassesAkshaya Kumar, University of Glasgow, UKIntimacy Out of Place: On the Workings of Smell in an Exhibition on Human SexualitySusanne Schmitt, University of Munich, GermanyConsuming Culture: The Refiguration of Aesthetics in Nagaland Cultural Tourism in India's North EastSoumendra Patnaik, University of Delhi, IndiaReflections upon the Meaning of Contemporary Digital Image-Making Practices in IndiaPaolo Favero, University of Antwerp, Belgium and Giulia Battaglia, Musée du Quai Branly, ParisReflectionsMarilyn Strathern, University of Cambridge, UKIndex