DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14483/25909398.22674Publicado:
2025-02-13Número:
Vol. 12 Núm. 12 (2025): Enero-diciembre 2025Sección:
Sección CentralNot So Far from the Madding Crowd: The Aesthetics and Politics of ‘Skill’ in Hu- man-Nonhuman Animal Circus Acts in Colonial Bengal (Late 19th to Early 20th Century)
No tan lejos del mundanal ruido: La estética y la política de la ‘habilidad’ en los actos circenses entre humanos y animales no humanos en la Bengala colonial (finales del siglo XIX a principios del siglo XX)
Não tão longe da multidão enlouquecida: A estética e a política da “habilidade” em atos circenses entre humanos e animais não humanos na Bengala colonial (final do século XIX ao início do século XX)
Palabras clave:
Human-nonhuman animal, embodiment, skill, animal capital, training, circus, colonial India (en).Palabras clave:
Humano-no humano, corporeidad, habilidad, entrenamiento, circo, India colonial, capital animal (es).Palabras clave:
Humano-não-humano, corporeidade, habilidade, capital animal, treinamento, circo, Índia colonial (pt).Descargas
Resumen (en)
In this article, I examine a range of circus literature and materials (archives, visual ephemera, posters, handbills, circus lore, and fiction that map The Great Bengal Circus in relation to traveling circuses in the nineteenth and ear-ly twentieth centuries, which followed transnational rou-tes. By focusing on the modality of three specific and his-torically important animal species and their relationship with humans, their visualization and encounter as fleshly events, and the related cultural politics, I seek to unpack the anthropomorphic and zoomorphic entanglements in understanding the body. I situate this analysis within the context of colonial modernity in India, contrasting it
with Eurocentric ideas (framed through binaries such as “wild” vs. “tame” or “human” vs “non-human”) that the visceral (in)articulations of “skill” and “virtuosity” as institutionalized concepts obfuscate.
Resumen (es)
En este artículo, analizo una amplia variedad de literatura y materiales circenses (archivos, efímeros visuales, carteles, panfletos, tradiciones circenses y ficción) que documentan el recorrido del Gran Circo de Bengala en relación con los circos itinerantes del siglo XIX y principios del siglo XX, los cuales seguían rutas transnacionales. Al centrarme en la representación de tres especies animales específicas, de relevancia histórica, y en su relación con los humanos, exploro su visualización y encuentro como eventos corpóreos, junto con las políticas culturales asociadas. Mi objetivo es desentrañar las intersecciones antropomórficas y zoomórficas que intervienen en la comprensión del cuerpo. Este análisis se inscribe en el contexto de la modernidad colonial en la India, en contraste con las ideas eurocéntricas, estructuradas a partir de binarios como “salvaje” frente a “domesticado” o “humano” frente a “no humano,” las cuales tienden a ser oscurecidas por las (in)articulaciones viscerales de la “habilidad” y la “virtuosidad” como conceptos institucionalizados.
Resumen (pt)
Neste artigo, examino uma ampla variedade de literatura e materiais circenses (arquivos, coisas efêmeras visuais, cartazes, panfletos, tradições circenses e ficção) que documentam a jornada do Grande Circo de Bengala em relação aos circos itinerantes do século XIX e início. Séculos XX. XX, que seguiu rotas transnacionais. Ao concentrarme na representação de três espécies animais específicas e historicamente relevantes e na sua relação com os humanos, exploro a sua visão e encontro como eventos corporais, juntamente com as políticas culturais associadas. Meu objetivo é desvendar as intersecções antropomórficas e zoomórficas que intervêm na compreensão do corpo. Esta análise inscrevese no contex-to da modernidade colonial na Índia, em contraste com as ideias eurocêntricas, estruturadas a partir de binários como “selvagem” versus “domesticado” ou “humano” versus “não humano”, que tendem a ser obscurecidos pela visão visceral. (in)articulações de “habilidade” e “virtuosismo” como conceitos institucionalizados.
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Derechos de autor 2025 Prodosh Bhattacharya
Esta obra está bajo una licencia internacional Creative Commons Atribución-NoComercial-SinDerivadas 4.0.
