Competing Reading Rooms. Discourses and practices in dealing with printmedia in colonial India
Heike Liebau
The project concentrates on so-called Reading Rooms in colonial India. They were founded as independent societies or as parts of religious, political or professional associations since the mid-19th-century. They provided information and supported education and parenting. At the same time, Reading Room Associations were places for socialization as well as, new public spaces for political and religious influence. The project brings the involved actors such as: founders, supporters, members and users into focus. It investigates the labour practices in the Reading Rooms as well as the contents of the print media utilized. The thesis of the project suggests that these Reading Rooms functioned as important forums for debates about current issues in the early stage of the development of the print media. Moreover it states that they created the identity of broad population groups. In a historical longitudinal section the project traces the development of these institutions and works out their propagation beyond their specific context.
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