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Futures of the past
mnemocultures and the question of inheritance
pp. 59-88
Abstract
In contrast to the European preference for archivally retained memories, this chapter demonstrates how Sanskrit traditions sustained and augmented their inheritances through embodied and performative memories. While examining their cultivated indifference toward literacy, the chapter emphasizes the absence of any significant impact of literacy on Sanskrit traditions for millennia. Contemporary debates regarding the memory and literacy in the Indian context are critically examined in this chapter.
Publication details
Published in:
(2014) Cultures of memory in South Asia: orality, literacy and the problem of inheritance. Dordrecht, Springer.
Pages: 59-88
DOI: 10.1007/978-81-322-1698-8_3
Full citation:
(2014) Futures of the past: mnemocultures and the question of inheritance, In: Cultures of memory in South Asia, Dordrecht, Springer, 59–88.