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Myths and symbols in Indian art and civilization
Zimmer, Heinrich; Campbell, Joseph
Princeton University Press
, 2026
; English
; 297 Pages
In this landmark study of Indian art and religion, Heinrich Zimmer offers a compelling introduction to the visual language of India’s sacred traditions. Featuring seventy illustrations and drawing directly from Sanskrit sources, Myths and Symbols in Indian Art and Civilization explores the meanings of key motifs in myth, legend, and folklore. With clarity and insight, the book reveals how Hindu and Buddhist symbols express timeless human concerns in ways that resonate across cultures and eras.
Zimmer, Heinrich; Campbell, Joseph
Princeton University Press
, 2026
; English
; 297 Pages
In this landmark study of Indian art and religion, Heinrich Zimmer offers a compelling introduction to the visual language of India’s sacred traditions. Featuring seventy illustrations and drawing directly from Sanskrit sources, Myths and Symbols in Indian Art and Civilization explores the meanings of key motifs in myth, legend, and folklore. With clarity and insight, the book reveals how Hindu and Buddhist symbols express timeless human concerns in ways that resonate across cultures and eras.
eBook
Staple to superfood : a global history of the sweet potato
Edward, Wang Q.
Columbia University Press
, 2025
; English
; 503 Pages
Sweet potatoes were among the American crops Christopher Columbus brought back to Europe-where they were thought to be an aphrodisiac. In China, this versatile root became a staple that fueled rapid population growth. Introduced to Japan to stave off famine, sweet potatoes later sustained the country's imperial expansion. Because this hardy plant can thrive in almost any soil, it has long been cultivated as a subsistence crop in Southeast Asia, Africa, and Oceania. In recent years, Western health experts have begun touting the humble sweet potato as a "superfood" with numerous nutritional benefits.
Considering these events and many others, Staple to Superfood explores the sweet potato's rich history and remarkable global influence. Q. Edward Wang demonstrates how this resilient root has not only nourished communities but also defined their identities. Tracing its journeys through the intricate networks of global trade and cultural exchange, he shows how the sweet potato transformed agricultural practices, culinary traditions, and social structures worldwide. From the Americas to Europe to Asia and the Pacific, the spread of this crop illuminates the varied paths that global development has taken. Wang also contrasts the sweet potato with its botanically unrelated namesake, the white potato. Blending agricultural, cultural, and historical perspectives, Staple to Superfood offers a fresh look at the power of food to transform societies. It is a compelling exploration of how the sweet potato shaped the modern world and continues to influence global food systems today.
Edward, Wang Q.
Columbia University Press
, 2025
; English
; 503 Pages
Sweet potatoes were among the American crops Christopher Columbus brought back to Europe-where they were thought to be an aphrodisiac. In China, this versatile root became a staple that fueled rapid population growth. Introduced to Japan to stave off famine, sweet potatoes later sustained the country's imperial expansion. Because this hardy plant can thrive in almost any soil, it has long been cultivated as a subsistence crop in Southeast Asia, Africa, and Oceania. In recent years, Western health experts have begun touting the humble sweet potato as a "superfood" with numerous nutritional benefits.
Considering these events and many others, Staple to Superfood explores the sweet potato's rich history and remarkable global influence. Q. Edward Wang demonstrates how this resilient root has not only nourished communities but also defined their identities. Tracing its journeys through the intricate networks of global trade and cultural exchange, he shows how the sweet potato transformed agricultural practices, culinary traditions, and social structures worldwide. From the Americas to Europe to Asia and the Pacific, the spread of this crop illuminates the varied paths that global development has taken. Wang also contrasts the sweet potato with its botanically unrelated namesake, the white potato. Blending agricultural, cultural, and historical perspectives, Staple to Superfood offers a fresh look at the power of food to transform societies. It is a compelling exploration of how the sweet potato shaped the modern world and continues to influence global food systems today.
eBook
Wijaya, Trissia; Heathershaw, John (Series Editors); Hameiri, Shahar (Series Editors); Hönke, Jana (Series Editors)
Bristol University Press
, 2025
; English
; 263 Pages
This book explores the political economy of Chinese and Japanese infrastructure financing in Indonesia, examining how Chinese and Japanese actors utilize diverse modes including Official Development Assistant, commercial loans, export credits, business-to-business investments, and public–private partnerships to ensure profitability and manage risks. Moving beyond traditional views of these financing modes as geoeconomic statecraft, the book exposes readers to a new perspective by situating infrastructure financing in the context of capitalist development. It reveals how contestation, conflicts, and compromise between socio-political forces including different segments of Japanese and Chinese capital, state actors, and civil society actors in Indonesia give shape to distinct modes of financing. Through detailed case studies and interviews across Japan, China and Indonesia, it uncovers the interplay between these forces and how their relations are sustained through regulatory complexes underpinning large-scale projects.
Wijaya, Trissia; Heathershaw, John (Series Editors); Hameiri, Shahar (Series Editors); Hönke, Jana (Series Editors)
Bristol University Press
, 2025
; English
; 263 Pages
This book explores the political economy of Chinese and Japanese infrastructure financing in Indonesia, examining how Chinese and Japanese actors utilize diverse modes including Official Development Assistant, commercial loans, export credits, business-to-business investments, and public–private partnerships to ensure profitability and manage risks. Moving beyond traditional views of these financing modes as geoeconomic statecraft, the book exposes readers to a new perspective by situating infrastructure financing in the context of capitalist development. It reveals how contestation, conflicts, and compromise between socio-political forces including different segments of Japanese and Chinese capital, state actors, and civil society actors in Indonesia give shape to distinct modes of financing. Through detailed case studies and interviews across Japan, China and Indonesia, it uncovers the interplay between these forces and how their relations are sustained through regulatory complexes underpinning large-scale projects.
eBook
The army-state and spatial politics in Burma : from Junta to Junta
M. Seekins, Donald; Heathershaw, John (Series Editors); Hameiri, Shahar (Series Editors); Hönke, Jana (Series Editors); Koopman, Sara (Series Editors)
Bristol University Press
, 2025
; English
; 274 Pages
This book paints a clear picture of Burmese political and social dynamics between 1948–2024 that is not distorted by seeing Burma as simply another case of western-inspired democratization or its failure. The book makes the argument that instead of focusing exclusively on the faults of Burma’s army-state and political leaders, the country’s spatial constitution is fundamental to understanding its post-1948 failure to achieve national unity. Throughout the analysis, Seekins reveals how the struggle to defend space from the homogenizing and coercive power of the state is essentially one of autonomy.
M. Seekins, Donald; Heathershaw, John (Series Editors); Hameiri, Shahar (Series Editors); Hönke, Jana (Series Editors); Koopman, Sara (Series Editors)
Bristol University Press
, 2025
; English
; 274 Pages
This book paints a clear picture of Burmese political and social dynamics between 1948–2024 that is not distorted by seeing Burma as simply another case of western-inspired democratization or its failure. The book makes the argument that instead of focusing exclusively on the faults of Burma’s army-state and political leaders, the country’s spatial constitution is fundamental to understanding its post-1948 failure to achieve national unity. Throughout the analysis, Seekins reveals how the struggle to defend space from the homogenizing and coercive power of the state is essentially one of autonomy.
eBook
Masuya, Tomoko; Otsuka, Osamu; Kawamoto, Masatomo
Edinburgh University Press
, 2025
; English
; 473 Pages
Examines how world histories were produced in Ilkhanid and Timurid Iran
Presents Japanese scholarship on mediaeval manuscripts of histories written in Persian
Analyses histories written in West Asia from an East Asian perspective
Addresses authorship and methodology questions arising from different text versions through a comparative analysis of a number of manuscripts
Catalogues the extant corpus of universal history works written in Persian
Utilises a range of approaches from codicology and historiography to art history
This collection of essays brings together codicological, historiographical and art-historical studies of Medieval Persian history manuscripts. The main subject is Rashīd al-Dīn’s Jāmiʿ al-tavārīkh (Compendium of Chronicles). Considered the first ‘world history’, it was originally written in Persian in the early fourteenth century, when vast areas of the Eurasian continent were under Mongol rule. There is also a particular focus on Persian manuscripts preserved in India, which have heretofore been largely ignored. Though developed and sophisticated, Japanese studies on the Jāmiʿ al-tavārīkh remain mostly unknown outside of Japan due to the language barrier. In this volume, Japanese scholars offer their East Asian perspective on this and other West Asian histories for the first time in English, using not only Persian but also Chinese and Sanskrit sources.
Through a comparative analysis of a number of manuscripts, the volume tackles various questions concerning the production of texts during the Ilkhanid and Timurid periods. It reveals valuable clues regarding the sources used in historical writings, the process of writing, revising and illustrating the manuscripts, and the production of copies and recensions in the Persianate realms under Mongol rule.
Masuya, Tomoko; Otsuka, Osamu; Kawamoto, Masatomo
Edinburgh University Press
, 2025
; English
; 473 Pages
Examines how world histories were produced in Ilkhanid and Timurid Iran
Presents Japanese scholarship on mediaeval manuscripts of histories written in Persian
Analyses histories written in West Asia from an East Asian perspective
Addresses authorship and methodology questions arising from different text versions through a comparative analysis of a number of manuscripts
Catalogues the extant corpus of universal history works written in Persian
Utilises a range of approaches from codicology and historiography to art history
This collection of essays brings together codicological, historiographical and art-historical studies of Medieval Persian history manuscripts. The main subject is Rashīd al-Dīn’s Jāmiʿ al-tavārīkh (Compendium of Chronicles). Considered the first ‘world history’, it was originally written in Persian in the early fourteenth century, when vast areas of the Eurasian continent were under Mongol rule. There is also a particular focus on Persian manuscripts preserved in India, which have heretofore been largely ignored. Though developed and sophisticated, Japanese studies on the Jāmiʿ al-tavārīkh remain mostly unknown outside of Japan due to the language barrier. In this volume, Japanese scholars offer their East Asian perspective on this and other West Asian histories for the first time in English, using not only Persian but also Chinese and Sanskrit sources.
Through a comparative analysis of a number of manuscripts, the volume tackles various questions concerning the production of texts during the Ilkhanid and Timurid periods. It reveals valuable clues regarding the sources used in historical writings, the process of writing, revising and illustrating the manuscripts, and the production of copies and recensions in the Persianate realms under Mongol rule.
eBook
Chinese calcuttawallah: articulating a diaspora ethnic identity in India
Roy, Kunaljeet; Basu, Sukla
Edinburgh University Press
, 2025
; English
; 279 Pages
Offers a comprehensive ethno-spatial study of the unique Chinatown landscapes of Kolkata
Harnesses cartographic and archival records which depict the multi-cultural landscape formation in Kolkata
Examines how the Chinatown landscapes of Kolkata relate to diaspora identity and place-making
Adopts visual ethnographic ‘streetscape’ and cognitive ‘emotional’ cartographic research techniques to depict the everyday geography of the ‘twin Chinatowns’
(Re)Connects to transnational ‘hybrid’ identity-making spaces and rebuilds cultural ties for the 'Chinese Calcuttawallah'
By examining the everyday geographies of ethnic identity, place-making and cultural landscape transformations, as well as tracing the root of the Chinese community’s origin through cartographic and archival records, this book depicts multi-cultural landscape formation in Kolkata (Calcutta). The authors capture how Kolkata’s vibrant Chinese community has uniquely shaped the 'twin Chinatowns' amidst the city’s diverse urban tapestry and gradually modified the adjacent cultural landscape towards a 'little China'. As these neighbourhoods encounter modern challenges of gentrification and global connectivity, the book explores the ways in which the community, particularly its youth, navigates the complexities of maintaining a transnational identity while being deeply rooted in the local cultural milieu. From the continuous ebb and flow of migration to the fostering of hybrid identities, this analysis examines how these transformations impact community cohesion and cultural heritage.
Roy, Kunaljeet; Basu, Sukla
Edinburgh University Press
, 2025
; English
; 279 Pages
Offers a comprehensive ethno-spatial study of the unique Chinatown landscapes of Kolkata
Harnesses cartographic and archival records which depict the multi-cultural landscape formation in Kolkata
Examines how the Chinatown landscapes of Kolkata relate to diaspora identity and place-making
Adopts visual ethnographic ‘streetscape’ and cognitive ‘emotional’ cartographic research techniques to depict the everyday geography of the ‘twin Chinatowns’
(Re)Connects to transnational ‘hybrid’ identity-making spaces and rebuilds cultural ties for the 'Chinese Calcuttawallah'
By examining the everyday geographies of ethnic identity, place-making and cultural landscape transformations, as well as tracing the root of the Chinese community’s origin through cartographic and archival records, this book depicts multi-cultural landscape formation in Kolkata (Calcutta). The authors capture how Kolkata’s vibrant Chinese community has uniquely shaped the 'twin Chinatowns' amidst the city’s diverse urban tapestry and gradually modified the adjacent cultural landscape towards a 'little China'. As these neighbourhoods encounter modern challenges of gentrification and global connectivity, the book explores the ways in which the community, particularly its youth, navigates the complexities of maintaining a transnational identity while being deeply rooted in the local cultural milieu. From the continuous ebb and flow of migration to the fostering of hybrid identities, this analysis examines how these transformations impact community cohesion and cultural heritage.
eBook
Sex work in Southeast Asia: scenes of ambivalence in literature and film
Barnes, Leslie
Edinburgh University Press
, 2025
; English
; 254 Pages
Examining the ambivalences that mark Southeast Asian sex industries under global imperialism, this book explores the multi-layered subjectivities of sex workers, procurers and clients, and interrogates the frameworks in which discourses surrounding sex work circulate.
Engaged with debates concerning the status of transactional sex, Leslie Barnes explores the symbolic force and concrete conditions of sex work in Cambodia and Vietnam, considering how these debates and the figures they ensnare are mediated by fiction and creative nonfiction.
The book’s scenes of ambivalence show how the aesthetic treatment of sex work stretches the paradigms we use to make sense not only of sex work, but also of art, the evidentiary status of testimony and the spectacles of pleasure and suffering.
Contesting essentialism and authenticity, and working to suspend judgement, these scenes encourage a re-examination of what we think we know about sex work, how we know it and what we do with that knowledge.
Barnes, Leslie
Edinburgh University Press
, 2025
; English
; 254 Pages
Examining the ambivalences that mark Southeast Asian sex industries under global imperialism, this book explores the multi-layered subjectivities of sex workers, procurers and clients, and interrogates the frameworks in which discourses surrounding sex work circulate.
Engaged with debates concerning the status of transactional sex, Leslie Barnes explores the symbolic force and concrete conditions of sex work in Cambodia and Vietnam, considering how these debates and the figures they ensnare are mediated by fiction and creative nonfiction.
The book’s scenes of ambivalence show how the aesthetic treatment of sex work stretches the paradigms we use to make sense not only of sex work, but also of art, the evidentiary status of testimony and the spectacles of pleasure and suffering.
Contesting essentialism and authenticity, and working to suspend judgement, these scenes encourage a re-examination of what we think we know about sex work, how we know it and what we do with that knowledge.
eBook
Triangle republics : cross-border literary transits between the Cold War Koreas and Japan
Kief, I Jonathan
Columbia University Press
, 2025
; English
; 361 Pages
:"Explores the robust and dynamic literary dialogues that emerged between writers in North Korea, South Korea, and Japan during the Cold War decades of the 1950s-1980s. Unlike the dominant narrative of these years, which assumes that the post-1945 processes of decolonization and division isolated these three literary domains from one another, the book shows how the shared predicaments of the Cold War and national division in fact brought them together, with a key role played by the Korean diasporic community in Japan, which was uniquely positioned to interact with writers and texts from both Koreas. With its multilingual, regional perspective, the book challenges the "national literature" paradigm of literary studies, showing how cross-border networks of textual transit and exchange played a central role in the creative transformations of these decades"-- Provided by publisher
Kief, I Jonathan
Columbia University Press
, 2025
; English
; 361 Pages
:"Explores the robust and dynamic literary dialogues that emerged between writers in North Korea, South Korea, and Japan during the Cold War decades of the 1950s-1980s. Unlike the dominant narrative of these years, which assumes that the post-1945 processes of decolonization and division isolated these three literary domains from one another, the book shows how the shared predicaments of the Cold War and national division in fact brought them together, with a key role played by the Korean diasporic community in Japan, which was uniquely positioned to interact with writers and texts from both Koreas. With its multilingual, regional perspective, the book challenges the "national literature" paradigm of literary studies, showing how cross-border networks of textual transit and exchange played a central role in the creative transformations of these decades"-- Provided by publisher
eBook
Asean centrality and the revitalisation of regional connectivity
Liu, Hong; Lee, Celia; Goh, Jeremy
World Scientific
, 2025
; English
; 229 Pages
In a world of increasingly interconnected economies, the shift toward deeper regional cooperation has become a defining feature of modern trade relations.
One of the most significant manifestations of this trend is the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), an agreement that encompasses key players in the Asia- Pacific region, including China and the ten ASEAN countries.
This book is a collaboration between Nanyang Centre for Public Administration (NCPA), Singapore Manufacturing Federation (SMF) and Lien Ying Chow Legacy Fellowship (LYCLF), explores the evolution of this collaboration, with a particular focus on ASEAN centrality, its impact on global value chains and the broader economic landscape.
This book is divided into three themes: Regional Integration and Connectivity of ASEAN, Building of the ASEAN Community through ASEAN-China Economic Cooperation, and Exporting Member States' Role in Regional Integration and Development, written with the goal of offering a thorough analysis of RCEP's role in reshaping the dynamics of trade and commerce in the region.
It presents an in-depth look at how this partnership impacts the global value chain and offers fresh insights for academics, business leaders, and policy makers alike.
Liu, Hong; Lee, Celia; Goh, Jeremy
World Scientific
, 2025
; English
; 229 Pages
In a world of increasingly interconnected economies, the shift toward deeper regional cooperation has become a defining feature of modern trade relations.
One of the most significant manifestations of this trend is the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), an agreement that encompasses key players in the Asia- Pacific region, including China and the ten ASEAN countries.
This book is a collaboration between Nanyang Centre for Public Administration (NCPA), Singapore Manufacturing Federation (SMF) and Lien Ying Chow Legacy Fellowship (LYCLF), explores the evolution of this collaboration, with a particular focus on ASEAN centrality, its impact on global value chains and the broader economic landscape.
This book is divided into three themes: Regional Integration and Connectivity of ASEAN, Building of the ASEAN Community through ASEAN-China Economic Cooperation, and Exporting Member States' Role in Regional Integration and Development, written with the goal of offering a thorough analysis of RCEP's role in reshaping the dynamics of trade and commerce in the region.
It presents an in-depth look at how this partnership impacts the global value chain and offers fresh insights for academics, business leaders, and policy makers alike.
eBook
Structural shift of geopolitics in the Indo-pacific
World Scientific
, 2025
; English
; 257 Pages
This book — the latest in our series East Asian Security — was inspired by the Japan-Taiwan Security Dialogue, held by the Taiwan Center for Security Studies, National Chengchi University, and Osaka-based Momoyama Gakuin University.
For years, China's political-economic development continued on a trajectory that Western leaders hoped would mirror that of Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan, and so many others before them: political liberalization followed economic development.
Alas, China chose a different path: one driven by a revanchist mindset and a desire to dismantle the current unipolar order, removing the US from the position of global hegemon — starting with the Indo-Pacific region.Now, as the world holds its breath while an assertive China policy under a new, second Trump administration takes shape, this slow structural shift of geopolitics in the Indo-Pacific region threatens to accelerate. The book examines this geopolitical shift from a variety of perspectives, bringing together research and analysis from a number of experts in the field from several different nations and disciplines.
It is organized according to three broad themes: the increasing internationalization of Indo-Pacific security, the region's shifting alliance structures, and the growing competition over hegemony.
World Scientific
, 2025
; English
; 257 Pages
This book — the latest in our series East Asian Security — was inspired by the Japan-Taiwan Security Dialogue, held by the Taiwan Center for Security Studies, National Chengchi University, and Osaka-based Momoyama Gakuin University.
For years, China's political-economic development continued on a trajectory that Western leaders hoped would mirror that of Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan, and so many others before them: political liberalization followed economic development.
Alas, China chose a different path: one driven by a revanchist mindset and a desire to dismantle the current unipolar order, removing the US from the position of global hegemon — starting with the Indo-Pacific region.Now, as the world holds its breath while an assertive China policy under a new, second Trump administration takes shape, this slow structural shift of geopolitics in the Indo-Pacific region threatens to accelerate. The book examines this geopolitical shift from a variety of perspectives, bringing together research and analysis from a number of experts in the field from several different nations and disciplines.
It is organized according to three broad themes: the increasing internationalization of Indo-Pacific security, the region's shifting alliance structures, and the growing competition over hegemony.
