Call for Papers for JBS Vol.4, No.2 on the theme of Microhistory: Bengali Perspectives

Call for Papers for JBS Vol.4, No.2 on the theme of Microhistory: Bengali Perspectives

After the proud publications of our issues on Ognijug, the age of revolutionary nationalism in Bengal (Vol.1, No.1), Bengali Cinema: Bengalis and Cinema (Vol.1, No.2), Bengali Theatre: Bengalis and Theatre (Vol.2, No.1), Science and Technology in History: Modern Bengali Perspectives (Vol.2, No.2), Literature and Movements: Bengali Crossroads (Vol.3, No.1), Kolkata (Vol.3, No.2), Bengali Music: Bengalis and Music (Vol.4, No.1), Journal of Bengali Studies (JBS), a peer reviewed interdisciplinary online academic journal (ISSN: 2277- 9426) meant for scholarly discussions into the history and culture of the Indic Bengali people, is pleased to announce the Call for Papers for its eighth issue (Vol.4, No.2) on the theme of Microhistory: Bengali Perspectives, due to be published on the occasion of Kalipujo, 23 Kartik 1422, 10 November 2015. The final date for submission of article/review/workshop is 31 October 2015. Commentaries in JBS are accepted by invitation/commission alone. If you want to author a commentary instead of a regular article or review, or want to know how they are different, please get in touch with the editorial board beforehand at shoptodina@gmail.com

Microhistory: Bengali Perspectives

The theme of JBS Vol.4 No.2 is Microhistory: Bengali Perspectives.

Existing models of historiography mostly qualify as macrohistory and often don't do justice to several smaller events, minute timelines, localized events of a caste/community, oral histories, narratives from a specific locality, and that's why microhistory emerged in western academia during 1970s, 80s and 90s as a distinct method to approach various socio-cultural issues which are often silenced and marginalized within the ambit of professional historical research.

Microhistory is the study of the smaller histories. Microhistory can be the annals of a certain district, a specific community, a particular class, a certain caste. Microhistory might involve the study of a specific event, a certain oral history, a certain fair, a certain gathering from the remote and/or recent past.

To the best of our knowledge, this will be first systematic use of microhistorical methodology to study the events, societal formations, cultural aspects and human geographies of the Bengali people, though many proto-microhistorical attempts have been made in the past. Ishwar Chandra Gupta's study of different districts of east Bengal qualifies as a proto-microhistory, for example.

The topics for contribution will include the following but will not be exclusively limited to the same.

• History of the Bengali diaspora, . Colonies of Bengalis in different Indian states and territories: the stories of Bengalis settled outside Bengal. Bengalis outside India.
• Specific counter-cultures of Kolkata Bengalis which set them apart from mainstream India, non-aesthetically (or anaesthetically) dominated by commerce, power, interest. Film Society movement. Little Mag movement. Group Theatre movement. Bengali music as a form of rebellion from Salil Choudhury to Rupam Islam.
• Clubs as community formation. Organization of Baroyari Durgapujo.
• Bengali snacks (e.g. telebhaja, rolls) and sweets, Bengali eateries and food culture.
• Bengali romance with books. Writers, Publishing houses, College Street Boipara, Kolkata Book Fair, book shops in the districts.
• History of the various regions, districts, cities, villages, localities of Bengal. Archaeology and new townships. Juxtaposition of exotic antiquities and casual, callous, amnesiac everyday.
• Bengalis in education. Histories of schools, colleges, universities, institutes. Histories of students and youth organizations, movements. Histories and legends of teachers.
• Bengalis in business.
• Topography of water, rain, monsoon, rivers, ponds waterbodies, boats and fishermen.
• Histories of farmers and farming. Rituals and festivals associated with agriculture.
• Histories of cultural celebrations, religious rituals, festivals, social gatherings. Rother Mela, Shib Ratri, marriage ceremonies etc.
• Little histories of Partition. Histories of displacement. Setting up of refugee colonies, oral history, family narratives.
• History of Bengali castes, sub-castes, communities, professional classes.
• Bengali fondness for travel. Travels to Puri, Digha, Darjeeling.
• Bengalis and internet. Community formation, politics, cultural groupings and events in Facebook and other social networking sites.
• History of Suburban culture. Stations, markets, livelihood, office-goers, local trains.
• History of Western, Russian and Chinese influences on Bengali culture. Bengalis and European languages and literature (including the Bengali tryst with English), Bengali literature and Naxalism, the realm of Soviet books in Bengali.

General details about submissions to Journal of Bengali Studies:

Journal of Bengali Studies is published in English and is an online journal. A contribution must be electronic and in English language. It should consistently follow any one of these three scholarly styles of citation: MLA style, Chicago Manual of Style and APA style. Contributions must always be 1.5 line-spaced. An article, with manually edited notes and bibliography (DO NOT use the footnote and endnote mechanisms of your writing software e.g. MS Word, and instead just manually insert your notes, references and bibliography into the article), should not be more than 10000 words. In case of reviews, the upper limit is 2000 words; we welcome reviews of new books as well as old and out of print ones, not necessarily of books written in English alone; we accept reviews of books, texts and artworks (new and old alike) which are related to our theme. We also have a section called Workshop: Theory in Practice. This section features creative/critical fieldnotes which are related to our theme. Any kind of creative/literary writing that concerns Bengali microhistory is welcome in this issue; a priority may be given to historical fictions/plays/poetry concerning local tenors and colors of Bengal and different Bengali communities, which may be originally written in Bengali, in which case it has to be in English translation, or it may be originally written in English. In either case, it should focus on our theme and be relevant to the CFP. The workshop may also include critical writings, for example, the narration of one's experiences with a specific Bengali microhistory, exploring the question of one's involvement with the social, cultural, literary, economic and political aspects of a certain Bengali microhistory. Upper Limit of Creative Workshop: 10000 words. We have no lower word limit for the contributions, the authors are free to use their discretion. Contributions should only be in MS Word, Open Office, or RTF format and should be emailed to all of these three email ids: editorbengalistudies@gmail.com, editjbs@gmail.com and shoptodina@gmail.com. Also, do not forget to attach a brief bionote about yourself while sending your write-up. Before submission, please see our Submission Guidelines and Terms and Conditions at http://bengalistudies.blogspot.in/. For further details about the objectives of our journal, please see the JBS Manifesto at http://bengalistudies.blogspot.in/.

Editor: Tamal Dasgupta