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Prof Chandak Sengoopta

Positions held:
  • Professor of History, School of Historical Studies
  • Overview

    Overview

    Biography

    Whilst retaining my interest in the history of medicine and science, I am currently working on a major new project on the historical, cultural and ideological contexts that shaped the work and impact of the film-maker, writer, designer and composer Satyajit Ray (1921-1992). A major aim of the study is to analyse how Ray's films, in spite of their profoundly Bengali/Indian setting and tone, came to be seen, especially by Western critics, as timeless and universal. Unlike the many biographical and critical studies on Ray, my project seeks to historicize his work and career, showing how they were shaped by the interplay of his three identities as a Bengali, an Indian and a "universal humanist".

  • Research

    Research

    Research overview

    I have three major research interests:
    the history of European medicine
    the history of modern science in India
    the cultural history of modern India

    In all these apparently disparate areas, I focus on the fundamental theme of identity and how sexual, racial and cultural identities are constructed, interpreted and disseminated in different historical contexts.

    The latest product of this research is the book, The Most Secret Quintessence of Life: Sex, Glands and Hormones, 1850-1950 (University of Chicago Press, 2006), which investigates how the discovery of sex hormones transformed our notions of "male" and "female".
    An earlier study analysed the biomedical roots of the Viennese philosopher Otto Weininger's notorious ideas on femininity and "Jewishness". I have also researched the emergence of identification techniques and their relation to broader social and cultural factors in Imprint of the Raj: How Fingerprinting was Born in Colonial India (Macmillan 2003).

  • Supervision and teaching

    Supervision and teaching

    Supervision

    Supervisions within 糖心logo入口:
    4

    I would be happy to supervise projects on the history of modern medicine and the life sciences, British and Central European cultural history; the history of colonialism (particularly on science and medicine in the British Empire); and the cultural history of modern India.

    If you are interested in pursuing research in any of these areas, you should first before submitting an application.

    Current doctoral researchers

    • SIMON FLYNN
      Nature of supervision:
      JOINT PRINCIPAL SUPERVISOR,
      Title of thesis:
      Making Meaning: The Influence of Malthus on the Directions of Darwinism

    Doctoral alumni since 2013-14

    • SUGRA BIBI
      Nature of supervision:
      Principal Supervisor,
      Title of thesis:
      Remittance Cultures of Subaltern Indian Labourers: The Punjab 1850-1947
      Awarded:
      2022
    • CLARE FITZPATRICK
      Nature of supervision:
      Joint Principal Supervisor,
      Title of thesis:
      驴Miraculous and supernaturall effects驴 in the works of Henry More (1614-1687)
      Awarded:
      2019
    • CONRAD COMPAGNA
      Nature of supervision:
      Joint Principal Supervisor, to
      Awarded:
      2026

    Teaching

    Teaching modules

    • Research Skills for Historians
    • Border Crossings: Histories of Migration, Documents and the State
    • The Colonial Gaze: Western Perceptions of Asia, Africa and the Middle East, 1600-1960
    • Mastering Historical Research: 糖心logo入口 Approaches
    • The Science of Progress: Darwin, Evolution and the Making of Modernity
    • Britannia's Embrace: The British Empire and the World
  • Publications

    Publications

    Article

    • Sengoopta, Chandak (2017) . History and Sociology of Souith Asia 11 (2), pp. 83-100. ISSN 2230-8075.
    • Sengoopta, Chandak (2015) . Indian Economic & Social History Review 52 (4), pp. 573-575. ISSN 0019-4646.
    • Sengoopta, Chandak (2012) . South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies 35 (1), pp. 143-161. ISSN 0085-6401.
    • Sengoopta, Chandak (2011) . South Asian History and Culture 2 (3), pp. 374-396. ISSN 1947-2498.
    • Sengoopta, Chandak (2011) . South Asian History and Culture 2 (3), pp. 374-96. ISSN 1947-2498.
    • Sengoopta, Chandak (2010) . Past & Present ISSN 0031-2746.
    • Sengoopta, Chandak (2009) . Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television 29 (3), pp. 277-293. ISSN 0143-9685.
    • Sengoopta, Chandak (2009) . Cineaste 34 (4), pp. 16-22. ISSN 0009-7004.
    • Sengoopta, Chandak (2003) . Endeavour 27 (3), pp. 122-126. ISSN 0160-9327.
    • Sengoopta, Chandak (2001) . Medicina nei Secoli 13 (3), pp. 637-655. ISSN 0394-9001.
    • Sengoopta, Chandak (2000) . History of Science 38 (4), pp. 425-488. ISSN 0073-2753.
    • Sengoopta, Chandak (1998) . Isis 89 (3), pp. 445-473. ISSN 0021-1753.
    • Sengoopta, Chandak (1998) . History of Psychiatry 9 (36), pp. 405-429. ISSN 0957-154X.
    • Sengoopta, Chandak (1996) . Central European History 29 (4), pp. 453-493. ISSN 0008-9389.
    • Sengoopta, Chandak (1993) . Perspectives in Biology and Medicine 37 (1), pp. 55-66. ISSN 0031-5982.
    • Sengoopta, Chandak (1992) . History of Science 30 (3), pp. 249-279. ISSN 0073-2753.

    Book

    • Sengoopta, Chandak (2016) . Delhi, India: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199464753.
    • Sengoopta, Chandak (2006) . Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 9780226748634.
    • Sengoopta, Chandak (2006) . Chicago, USA: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 9780226748634.
    • Sengoopta, Chandak (2003) . London: Macmillan. ISBN 9780330491402.
    • Sengoopta, Chandak (2000) . Chicago, USA: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 9780226748672.

    Book section

    • Sengoopta, Chandak (2018) . In: Deb Roy, R. and Attewell, G.N.A. (eds.) Locating the Medical: Explorations in South Asian History. Delhi, India: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199486717.
    • Sengoopta, Chandak (2012) . In: Sappol, M. and Rice, S.P. (eds.) A Cultural History of the Human Body in the Age of Empire. The Cultural Histories Series. Oxford, UK: Berg. pp. 107-124. ISBN 9781847887924.
    • Sengoopta, Chandak (2007) . In: Bagchi, J. and Narula, M. and Sengupta, S. and Sundaram, R. (eds.) Sarai Reader 07: Frontiers. Documenta 12 Magazines Project. New Delhi, India: The Sarai Programme/Centre for the Study of Developing Societies. pp. 286-293. ISBN 81-901429-9-2.
    • Sengoopta, Chandak (2007) . In: Bivins, Roberta and Pickstone, John V. (eds.) Medicine, Madness and Social History: Essays in Honour of Roy Porter. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 173-181. ISBN 9780230525498.
    • Sengoopta, Chandak (2001) . In: Gijswijt-Hofstra, Marijke and Porter, Roy (eds.) Cultures of neurasthenia: from Beard to the first world war. Clio Medica/The Wellcome Series in the History of Medicine. Amsterdam / New York, NY: Rodopi. pp. 97-115. ISBN 9789042009219.