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Caste of Merit : Engineering Education in India by Ajantha Subramanian (2019, Hardcover)
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About this product
Product Identifiers
PublisherHarvard University Press
ISBN-100674987888
ISBN-139780674987883
eBay Product ID (ePID)26038844606
Product Key Features
Book TitleCaste of Merit : Engineering Education in India
Number of Pages384 Pages
LanguageEnglish
Publication Year2019
TopicComputers & Technology, Educational Policy & Reform / Federal Legislation, Social Classes & Economic Disparity, Discrimination & Race Relations, Anthropology / Cultural & Social, Asia / India & South Asia
GenreSocial Science, Education, History
AuthorAjantha Subramanian
FormatHardcover
Dimensions
Item Height1.3 in
Item Weight27.6 Oz
Item Length9.5 in
Item Width6.5 in
Additional Product Features
LCCN2019-005718
TitleLeadingThe
ReviewsSubramanian's book is profoundly historical, with a broad focus on the evolution of technical education and social life since the colonial period, as well as the ways caste continues to shape power and hierarchies in contemporary India. A valuable contribution to the growing literature on caste and its reproduction in modern times., With a rare combination of originality and intellectual rigor, Subramanian provides a masterful and disturbing analysis of democratic ideals, meritocracy, and the endurance of caste at the paramount higher education institutions of modern India. A timely and impressive achievement., The Caste of Merit depicts how upper-caste Indians remade themselves through the ideology of meritocracy. Through her richly detailed ethnography, Ajantha Subramanian sheds new light on the troubling relationship between meritocracy and the reproduction of inequality. A must-read for anyone interested in how meritocracy works in contemporary societies., The Caste of Merit is a brilliant contribution to the study of both privilege and meritocracy in contemporary India. It is a powerful intervention in our ongoing debates about diasporic mobility and a genuinely novel treatment of caste as an enduring reality for those struggling to make their way in today's world of competitive high-tech career trajectories. A distinguished and innovative work, both ethnographically and theoretically., A critique of casteism and growing inequality, this book also doubles as a fascinating history of IIT. Best read in Straussian fashion as a sympathetic story of origins., A critique of casteism and growing inequality, this book also doubles as a fascinating history of ITT. Best read in Straussian fashion as a sympathetic story of origins., What does 'merit'--which is often posed as the ideal criterion for university admissions--really mean in a context where caste pervades public life? Drawing on a rich ethnography focused on the IIT Madras, in the South Indian city of Chennai, Subramanian argues that in 'merit,' upper-caste Indians find a liberal and secular rendering of caste...In both India and America, Subramanian argues, a fantasy of having transcended identity politics has allowed for the entrenchment of power., An original, incisive, and scrupulous work of historical anthropology...With a particular focus on IIT Madras and Tamil Nadu, Subramanian explores the psychology and the demographics of India's new engineers, and the politics of caste, class, and reservations., In India--as in the United States and elsewhere--academic advancement rarely occurs without a foundation of family privilege. Focusing on the IIT in Madras, Subramanian shows how upper-caste Tamil graduates have converted their caste privilege into professional prestige and resisted attempts to increase the enrollment of lower-caste groups.
SynopsisHow the language of "merit" makes caste privilege invisible in contemporary India. Just as Americans least disadvantaged by racism are most likely to endorse their country as postracial, Indians who have benefited from their upper-caste affiliation rush to declare their country postcaste. In The Caste of Merit, Ajantha Subramanian challenges this comfortable assumption by illuminating the controversial relationships among technical education, caste formation, and economic stratification in modern India. Through in-depth study of the elite Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs)--widely seen as symbols of national promise--she reveals the continued workings of upper-caste privilege within the most modern institutions. Caste has not disappeared in India but instead acquired a disturbing invisibility--at least when it comes to the privileged. Only the lower castes invoke their affiliation in the political arena, to claim resources from the state. The upper castes discard such claims as backward, embarrassing, and unfair to those who have earned their position through hard work and talent. Focusing on a long history of debates surrounding access to engineering education, Subramanian argues that such defenses of merit are themselves expressions of caste privilege. The case of the IITs shows how this ideal of meritocracy serves the reproduction of inequality, ensuring that social stratification remains endemic to contemporary democracies., How the language of "merit" makes caste privilege invisible in contemporary India. Just as Americans least disadvantaged by racism are most likely to endorse their country as post-racial, Indians who have benefited from their upper-caste affiliation rush to declare their country post-caste. In The Caste of Merit, Ajantha Subramanian challenges this comfortable assumption by illuminating the controversial relationships among technical education, caste formation, and economic stratification in modern India. Through in-depth study of the elite Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs)-widely seen as symbols of national promise-she reveals the continued workings of upper-caste privilege within the most modern institutions. Caste has not disappeared in India but instead acquired a disturbing invisibility-at least when it comes to the privileged. Only the lower castes invoke their affiliation in the political arena, to claim resources from the state. The upper castes discard such claims as backward, embarrassing, and unfair to those who have earned their position through hard work and talent. Focusing on a long history of debates surrounding access to engineering education, Subramanian argues that such defenses of merit are themselves expressions of caste privilege. The case of the IITs shows how this ideal of meritocracy serves the reproduction of inequality, ensuring that social stratification remains endemic to contemporary democracies., Just as Americans least disadvantaged by racism are most likely to call their country postracial, Indians who have benefited from upper-caste affiliation rush to declare their country a postcaste meritocracy. Ajantha Subramanian challenges this belief, showing how the ideal of meritocracy serves the reproduction of inequality in Indian education.
LC Classification NumberHT720.S823 2019
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