Connecting Spaces

This book examines how nineteenth-century Bengal witnessed women writers like Krishnabhabini Devi, Prasanyamoyee Devi, Swarnakumari Devi and Abala Bose interrogated social stereotypes. It presents the first translation of travel writings and letters by Abala Bose, and examines an Indian woman’s close observation as she toured India in colonial times and Europe, America and Japan at the height of British imperialism. Her travelogues in colonial India and imperial England relate to and interrogate the hegemonic role of Western ideologies and deconstruct stereotypes of women’s travelogues, thus contributing to the female consciousness and tradition of women’s writings. The volume will be of great interest to scholars and researchers of South Asian history, imperial and colonial history, and gender and women's studies.

Trans-Himalayan Buddhism is not simply a cultural spectacle across spaces north and south, east and west of the Himalayas. It is also a subject of interactive behaviour among Buddhist communities who have been dispersed over the Kunlun mountains or the Kashgar markets that have been the meeting points of pilgrims, traders, merchants, envoys, military men, artists and scholar travelers. The northern reach of Buddhism is incomprehensible without reflections on shared histories and common concerns which the book tries to focus on. The ambit of Buddhist studies reflects not only the spiritual and philosophical domain of Buddhism but also a symbiotic relationship between the monastic establishment and protectors of cultural tradition-a trend that one sees in the context of Buddhist revivalist projects in Mongolia and Buryatia. The presence of a Buddhist order in the political realm has revived intellectual debates about the relationship between spiritual and temporal authority. The interface between South Asian and South East Buddhism on the one hand and Central Asian Buddhism on the other is also delicately balanced in Buddhist cultural discourse. The relevance of Buddhism in a globalized world has also given a new direction to the realm of Buddhist studies. This book takes into account the competing discourses of preservation and revival of Buddhism in the trans-Himalayan sector. It not only deals with the cultural ethos that Buddhism represents in this region but also the diverse Buddhist traditions that are strongly entrenched despite colonial intervention. Juxtaposed to the aesthetic variant is the extremely sensitive response of the Buddhist communities in India and Asiatic Russia centred round the issue of displacement. It is this issue of duality of common traditions and fractured identities that has been dealt with in the present volume.

In the current panorama of urban growth and planning in many urban territories of western societies, open spaces are residual spaces of urban occupation or are reserved for eventual occupation. Open spaces have been viewed in this manner in the earlier stages of the compact city and especially now, in a time of the dispersed territories characterized by discontinuity, heterogeneity, and fragmentation. The disciplinary perspectives of ecology, geology, landscape architecture, and urbanism, but also public opinion, have for some time promoted the conservation and protection of the most valuable natural spaces, and efforts have been made to remove such spaces from the real estate market. However, such positions, usually radical, are insufficient for territorial equilibrium and inevitably lead to the progressive disappearance of valuable natural spaces.

Small Spaces recasts the history of the British empire by focusing on the small spaces that made the empire possible. It takes as its subject a series of small architectural spaces, objects, and landscapes and uses them to narrate the untold stories of the marginalized people-the servants, women, children, subalterns, and racialized minorities-who held up the infrastructure of empire. In so doing it opens up an important new approach to architectural history: an invitation to shift our attention from the large to the small scale. Taking the British empire in India as its primary focus, this book presents eighteen short, readable chapters to explore an array of overlooked places and spaces. From cook rooms and slave quarters to outhouses, go-downs, and medicine cupboards, each chapter reveals how and why these kinds of minor spaces are so important to understanding colonialism. With the focus of history so often on the large scale - global trade networks, vast regions, and architectures of power and domination - Small Spaces shows instead how we need to rethink this aura of magnitude so that our reading is not beholden such imperialist optics. With chapters which can be read separately as individual accounts of objects, spaces, and buildings, and introductions showing how this critical methodology can challenge the methods and theories of urban and architectural history, Small Spaces is a must-read for anyone wishing to decolonize disciplinary practices in the field of architectural, urban, and colonial history. Altogether, it provides a paradigm-breaking account of how to 'unlearn empire', whether in British India or elsewhere.

Every home has its tiny room, oddly shaped hallway, empty landing, or other difficult-to-decorate area--but these innovative and quick approaches are the first step in turning neglected spaces into models of decorative style. The topics covered range from Themes and Collections to Perfecting Your Palette; some of the ideas are as simple as varying the sizes of objects in a display to create visual interest. Other concepts--such as creatively mixing formal and informal elements--will free home decorators from tired and dull design tenets and bring "fresh air" into any decor.

This text challenges binary perceptions of space and explores the possibilities afforded by a hybrid learning space at the intersection of physical, virtual, formal and informal spaces. It examines how new technologies and modes of delivery, including media-enhanced learning and open education, present opportunities as well as challenges. Chapters are supported by a wealth of case studies which illustrate academic innovation in diverse learning spaces and demonstrate how it can be used to inspire learners and promote student engagement. Packed with practical guidance and questions for reflection and discussion, this thought-provoking and timely guide is an essential resource for anyone involved in improving the student learning experience.

Buildings can breathe naturally, without the use of mechanical systems, if you design the spaces properly. This accessible and thorough guide shows you how in more than 260 color diagrams and photographs illustrating case studies and CFD simulations. You can achieve truly natural ventilation, by considering the building's structure, envelope, energy use, and form, as well as giving the occupants thermal comfort and healthy indoor air. By using scientific and architectural visualization tools included here, you can develop ventilation strategies without an engineering background. Handy sections that summarize the science, explain rules of thumb, and detail the latest research in thermal and fluid dynamics will keep your designs sustainable, energy efficient, and up-to-date.

One may visit famous gardens in Tokyo, Kyoto, or Osaka—or one may visit Japanese-styled gardens in New York, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Berlin, London, Paris, São Paulo, or Singapore. We often view these gardens as representative of the essence of Japanese culture. Christian Tagsold argues, however, that the idea of the Japanese garden has less do to with Japan's history and traditions, and more to do with its interactions with the West. The first Japanese gardens in the West appeared at the world's fairs in Vienna in 1873 and Philadelphia in 1876 and others soon appeared in museums, garden expositions, the estates of the wealthy, and public parks. By the end of the nineteenth century, the Japanese garden, described as mystical and attuned to nature, had usurped the popularity of the Chinese garden, so prevalent in the eighteenth century. While Japan sponsored the creation of some gardens in a series of acts of cultural diplomacy, the Japanese style was interpreted and promulgated by Europeans and Americans as well. But the fashion for Japanese gardens would decline in inverse relation to the rise of Japanese militarism in the 1930s, their rehabilitation coming in the years following World War II, with the rise of the Zen meditation garden style that has come to dominate the Japanese garden in the West. Tagsold has visited over eighty gardens in ten countries with an eye to questioning how these places signify Japan in non-Japanese geographical and cultural contexts. He ponders their history, the reasons for their popularity, and their connections to geopolitical events, explores their shifting aesthetic, and analyzes those elements which convince visitors that these gardens are "authentic." He concludes that a constant process of cultural translation between Japanese and Western experts and commentators marked these spaces as expressions of otherness, creating an idea of the Orient and its distinction from the West.