From our book- and digital-centric perspective, it is easy to miss the centrality of magazines in South Asia. In a society where books were too expensive and religious books and textbooks were often the only books held at home, magazines fulfilled many functions. They relayed news, provided a space for social, literary, political and religious debates, engaged in lively diatribes with each other, and in the colonial period strained the limits of censorship. Magazines were windows onto the world and platforms where even secluded women acquired a public voice. Magazines introduced new writing, trained literary criticism, and moulded literary tastes far beyond the school curriculum. Once in a while, spectacular special issues turned magazines into collectible and historic items. What was it about magazines that made them so crucial to the lives of so many people? These lectures explore the world of Indian magazines from three angles: the magazines’ orientation in time and space; their ability to assemble publics and establish an intimate connection to readers; and some of the peculiar genres magazines gave rise to.
The lectures can also be accessed online on Teams. Please find the link here: www.asc.ox.ac.uk/RML24
