The Rumour of Calcutta : Tourism, Charity and the Poverty of Representation

An extraordinary study of the politics of representation, this book explores the discursive construction of a 'city of intensities'.

The author analyses representations of Calcutta in a wide variety of discourses: in the gossip and travellor-lore of backpackers and volunteer charity workers; in writing - from classic literature to travel guides; in cinema, photography and maps. The book shows how the rumours of westerners contribute to the elaboration of an imaginary city; and in doing so, circulate in ways fundamental to the maintenance of international order.

A provocative and original reading of both Heidegger and Marx, the book also draws upon writers as diverse as Spivak, Trinh, Jameson, Clifford, Virilio, Bataille, Derrida, Deleuze and Guattari. As such it is essential reading for students and scholars in cultural studies, anthropology, development and sociology.

“Excellent... in some places exciting, in others brilliant. I can pay Hutnyk no greater compliment than to say that his story of Calcutta should survive as a living imagery.” —Ashis Nandy, Center for the Study of Developing Societies, New Delhi

“A substantial contribution to an established and rapidly developing interdisciplinary literature on tourism as a key topic in the study of contemporary cultures... among the most intensive, original and theoretically sophisticated critical studies of contemporary tourism” —George Marcus, Professor of Anthropology, Rice University