Bengal was the first "modern" province in India - the first, that is, to undergo a forced encounter with Western modernity. From this point of view, the writers in this book consider what the case of Bengal says about the workings of Western modernity in a colonial setting. This collection probes questions of pedagogy, nationalism and gender. By applying the theoretical insights of recent historical and cultural studies to the specific circumstances of Bengal, the authors develop an approach to Indian intellectual and cultural history, adding to our understanding of contemporary intellectual modernity. Subjects include colonialist and nationalist surveillance of Bengali literature, the disposition of the nation's art, the politics of child rearing, the mapping of Calcutta and the disciplining of historical memory.