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Foucault and the Kamasutra: The Courtesan, the Dandy, and the Birth of Ars Erotica as Theater in India
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About Foucault And The Kamasutra: The Courtesan, The
Product Description The Kamasutra is best known in the West for its scandalous celebration of unbridled sensuality. Yet, there is much, much more to it; embedded in the text is a vision of the city founded on art and aesthetic pleasure. In Foucault and the "Kamasutra", Sanjay K. Gautam lays out the nature and origin of this iconic Indian text and engages in the first serious reading of its relationship with Foucault. Gautam shows how closely intertwined the history of erotics in Indian culture is with the history of theater-aesthetics grounded in the discourse of love, and Foucault provides the framework for opening up an intellectual horizon of Indian thought. To do this, Gautam looks to the history of three inglorious characters in classical India: the courtesan and her two closest male companions—her patron, the dandy consort; and her teacher and advisor, the dandy guru. Foucault’s distinction between erotic arts and the science of sexuality drives Gautam’s exploration of the courtesan as a symbol of both sexual-erotic and aesthetic pleasure. In the end, by entwining together Foucault’s works on the history of sexuality in the West and the classical Indian texts on eros, Gautam transforms our understanding of both, even as he opens up new ways of investigating erotics, aesthetics, gender relations, and subjectivity. Review “Foucault and the Kamasutra captivates with brilliant insights and the powerful articulation of a very exciting and persuasive reading of both the Kamasutra and Foucault. It will be read, reread, and discussed extensively. Predictably, there will be disagreements and questions, but no one can overlook this book. Gautam moves beyond known boundaries and his linguistic skills are put to the very best use when he reads classical texts.” ― V. Narayana Rao, Emory University “An audacious reconsideration of venerable texts in new and playful proximities with one another, this book attempts to restore the courtesan to her rightful place at the heart of Indian theater and erotics. Gautam provocatively reimagines the courtesan, her patrons, and her teachers as invigorating the life of the ancient city. His formulations irresistibly remind one of the courtesans and dandies who inhabit Bombay cinema, and make one wonder about the literary and theatrical ancestors of these figures.” ― Ruth Vanita, University of Montana “This is a valuable contribution to Foucault studies. Taking seriously and positively Foucault’s heuristic opposition between an ars erotica and a scientia sexualis, Gautam grounds his reading in an expert account of one of the non-Western traditions of ars erotica to which Foucault refers. It is good to have a careful and non-reductive account of Foucault’s relation to Orientalism.” ― David M. Halperin, University of Michigan About the Author Sanjay K. Gautam is associate professor of history at the University of Colorado Boulder.
