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Toxic histories : poison and pollution in modern India / David Arnold, University of Warwick.

By: Material type: TextTextLanguage: English Series: Science in History | Science in historyPublication details: Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2016.Description: ix, 241 pages ; 24 cmISBN:
  • 9781107126978
  • 9781107565739
  • 9781316634967
Subject(s): DDC classification:
  • 615.950 23 ARN
Online resources:
Contents:
1. The social life of poisons 2. The imperial pharmakon 3. Panics and scares 4. Toxic evidence 5. Intimate histories 6. Embracing toxicity 7. Polluted places, poisoned lives
Summary: "Toxic Histories combines social, scientific, medical and environmental history to demonstrate the critical importance of poison and pollution to colonial governance, scientific authority and public anxiety in India between the 1830s and 1950s. Against the background of India's 'poison culture' and periodic 'poison panics', David Arnold considers why many familiar substances came to be regarded under colonialism as dangerous poisons. As well as the criminal uses of poison, Toxic Histories shows how European and Indian scientists were instrumental in creating a distinctive system of forensic toxicology and medical jurisprudence designed for Indian needs and conditions, and how local as well as universal poison knowledge could serve constructive scientific and medical purposes. Arnold reflects on how the 'fear of a poisoned world' spilt over into concerns about contamination and pollution, giving ideas of toxicity a wider social and political significance that has continued into India's postcolonial era"--
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Holdings
Item type Current library Collection Call number Status Date due Barcode
General Books General Books CUTN Central Library Medicine, Technology & Management Non-fiction 615.950 ARN (Browse shelf(Opens below)) Available 37731
General Books General Books CUTN Central Library Medicine, Technology & Management Non-fiction 615.950 ARN (Browse shelf(Opens below)) Available 36420

1. The social life of poisons 2. The imperial pharmakon 3. Panics and scares 4. Toxic evidence 5. Intimate histories 6. Embracing toxicity 7. Polluted places, poisoned lives

"Toxic Histories combines social, scientific, medical and environmental history to demonstrate the critical importance of poison and pollution to colonial governance, scientific authority and public anxiety in India between the 1830s and 1950s. Against the background of India's 'poison culture' and periodic 'poison panics', David Arnold considers why many familiar substances came to be regarded under colonialism as dangerous poisons. As well as the criminal uses of poison, Toxic Histories shows how European and Indian scientists were instrumental in creating a distinctive system of forensic toxicology and medical jurisprudence designed for Indian needs and conditions, and how local as well as universal poison knowledge could serve constructive scientific and medical purposes. Arnold reflects on how the 'fear of a poisoned world' spilt over into concerns about contamination and pollution, giving ideas of toxicity a wider social and political significance that has continued into India's postcolonial era"--

Includes bibliographical references (pages 212-236) and index.

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