Matthew A. Cook

Matthew A. Cook is Professor of South Asian & Postcolonial Studies in the Department of Language & Literature and the Department of History at the North Carolina Central University, USA. His past teaching appointments include Michigan State University, North Carolina State University, New York University, Columbia University, Hofstra University, and Duke University. He was also Visiting Professor and Chair at the Institute for the Study of Islamic Societies and the Muslim World at École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales, Paris, France in 2015. Cook's research focus is on Sindh, colonialism in South Asia, and the methodological conjunction of anthropology and history. He is editor or co-editor of three books by Oxford University Press: Observing Sindh: Selected Reports by Edward Paterson Del Hoste (2008); Interpreting the Sindhi World: Essays on Society and History (2010); Willoughbhy's Minute: Treaty of Nownahar, Fraud, and the British in Sindh (2013); and his latest Discovering Sindh's Past: Selections from the Journal of the Sindh Historical Society, 1934–1948 (2017). He is also the author of Annexation and the Unhappy Valley: The Historical Anthropology of Sindh's Colonization (Brill, 2016). Cook's most recent book is Annexation and the Unhappy Valley: The Historical Anthropology of Sindh's Colonization, Revised Pakistan Edition (OUP, 2021). He is also the author of book chapters, journal articles, and reviews published by Oxford University Press, Edwin Mellen Press, S.M.I. University Press, Modern Asian Studies, Eastern Anthropologist, Sagar, Columbia Journal of Historiography, Columbia Historical Review, Educational Practice and Theory, Curriculum and Teaching, Contemporary Islam, The Journal of British Studies, Bulletin of the Center for Social Sciences Karachi, Pakistan Studies Newsletter, South Asian Review, Journal of Pacific Affairs and Itinerario.

Books

Annexation and the Unhappy Valley: The Historical Anthropology of Sindh’s Colonization, Revised Pakistan Edition (London & Karachi: Oxford University Press, 2021).

Discovering Sindh’s Past: Selections from the Journal of the Sindh Historical Society, ed. with Michel Boivin and Julien Levesque (London & Karachi: Oxford University Press, 2017).

Annexation and the Unhappy Valley: The Historical Anthropology of Sindh’s Colonization (Leiden & Boston: Brill, 2016).

Willoughby's Minute: The Treaty of Nownahar, Fraud and British Sindh, ed. (London & Karachi: Oxford University Press, 2013).

Interpreting the Sindhi World: Essays on Society and History, ed. with Michel Boivin (London & Karachi: Oxford University Press, 2010).

Observing Sindh: Selected Reports by Edward Paterson Del Hoste, ed. (London & Karachi: Oxford University Press, 2008).

Chapters, Book Reviews and Other Articles

“Scripting Colonialism: Indexical Bleaching, Orthography, and the Sufi Paradigm” (in preparation).

“Review Article of ‘Colonialism and Knowledge in Grierson’s Linguistic Survey of India’ by Javed Majeed, ‘Region and Nation in Grierson’s Linguistic Survey of India’ by Javed Majeed, and ‘Linguistic Heritage of Colonial Practice’ by Brigette Weber.” In Itinerario: Journal of Imperial and Global Interactions (commissioned & expected 2021).

“Starting Sindh: Early and Later Encounters with People and a Region,” in Saaz Aggarwal, ed., Sindhi Tapestry: An Anthology of Reflections on Sindhi Identity (Pune, India: Black & White Fountain, 2020).

“Language Shift and Identity Reproduction Among Diaspora Sindhis in India and Southeast Asia” (with Maya Khemlani David). In Modern Asian Studies 54.4 (2020).

“Discovering Sindh’s Past: Intertwined Identities, Pre-Partition Politics and the Journal of the Sindh Historical Society (with Michel Boivin and Julien Levesque). In Discovering Sindh’s Past: Selections from the Journal of the Sindh Historical Society, ed. with Michel Boivin and Julien Levesque (London & Karachi: Oxford University Press, 2017).

“East India Company and the Growth of Multinational Trade” (Multimedia Essay). In Sahapedia: Arts, Cultures and Heritage of India (http://www.sahapedia.org/east-india-company-and-the-growth-of-sindhi-multinational-trade).

“Book Review of Beyond Caste: Identity and Power in South Asia, Past and Present by Sumit Guha.” In H-Empire/H-Net Network on Imperial and Colonial Studies (https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showpdf.php?id=47239).

“Beyond the Conceit of Historical Context: Socio-Cultural Distinctions and the Annexation of Sindh.” In The Proceedings of the Sindh Through the Centuries Seminar (Karachi: S.M.I. University Press, 2015).

“Book Review of Britain’s Oceanic Empire: Atlantic and Indian Ocean Worlds, 1550-1850 by H.V. Bowen, Elizabeth Mancke and John Reid, eds.” In Journal of British Studies 53.1 (January 2014).

“Criticizing Colonialism: Willoughby’s Minute and Sindh.” In Willoughby's Minute: The Treaty of Nownahar, Fraud and British Sindh (London & Karachi: Oxford University Press, 2013).

“Interview with Professor Matthew Cook, North Carolina Central University.” In Bulletin of the Center for Social Sciences Karachi (December 2013).

“Book Review of Muslims in Indian Cities: Trajectories of Marginalization by Laurent Gayer and Christophe Jaffrelot, eds.” In Contemporary Islam: Dynamics of Muslim Life 9.1 (on-line 2013/in print 2015).

“Book Review of The Powerful Ephemeral: Everyday Healing in an Ambiguously Islamic Place by Carla Bellamy.” In Contemporary Islam: Dynamics of Muslim Life 8.1 (on-line 2012/in print 2014).

“Introduction: Mohajirs, Sindh and Pakistan.” In My Life’s Journey: The Early Years, 1966-1988 by Altaf Hussain (London & Karachi: Oxford University Press, 2011).

“Book Review of Sharing the Sacred: Practicing Pluralism in Muslim North India by Anna Bigelow.” In Contemporary Islam: Dynamics of Muslim Life 7.2 (on-line 2011/in print 2013).

“Introduction: Notes on the Study of Sindhi History and Identity” (with Michel Boivin). In Interpreting the Sindhi World: Essays on Culture and History (London & Karachi: Oxford University Press, 2010).

“Getting Ahead or Keeping Your Head?: The ‘Sindhi’ Migration of Eighteenth Century India.” In Interpreting the Sindhi World: Essays on Culture and History (see above).

“In Historical Tandem: Empire-States, the Nation and Western India.” In A History of the British Conquest of Afghanistan and Western India, 1838-1849 by Frank H. Wallis (New York: Edwin Mellen Press, 2009).

“Book Review of Christian Identity and Dalit Religion in Hindu India, 1868-1947 by Chad Bauman.” In Itinerario: International Journal on the History of European Expansion of Global Interaction 33.1 (2009).

“Book Review of Pakistan: Social and Cultural Transformation in a Muslim Nation by Mohammed Qadeer.” In Journal of Pacific Affairs 81.2 (Summer 2008).

“Wittgenstein in the Classroom: Notes on Teacher Reflection” (with Allen P. Cook). In Curriculum and Teaching 23.1 (2008).

“Introduction: The Imperial Context of Del Hoste’s 1832 Reports.” In Observing Sindh: Selected Reports by Edward Paterson Del Hoste (London & Karachi: Oxford University Press, 2008).

“Introduction: The Pun, the Historical Study of Sindh, and Huttenback's Anatomy of Imperialism.” In British Relations with Sind, 1799-1843: An Anatomy of Imperialism by Robert Huttenback (London & Karachi: Oxford University Press, 2007).

“Book Review of Hindi-English/English-Hindi Dictionary and Phrasebook by Todd Scudiere” (with Premlata Vaishnava). In South Asian Review 25.1 (2004).

“Book Review of Ornamentalism: How the British Saw their Empire by David Cannadine.” In Sagar 10 (Spring 2003).

“Globalization and Local Realizations: South Asians in the American Higher Education System” (with Allen Cook). In Educational Practice and Theory 25.2 (2003).

“Historian Among the Anthropologists.” In The Columbia Journal of Historiography 1 (Fall 2003).

“Rethinking the Sectarian Trope and Culture in the Historiography of Vijayanagara.” In Sagar 9 (Fall 2002).

“Dam(n) Nature and Culture: An Anthropological View on the Kalabagh Hydroelectric Project.” In Sindh Watch (January-March 2002).

“Book Review of The Conquest of Scinde by Humida Khuhro, ed.” In Pakistan Studies Newsletter 4.1 (Spring 2002).

“Book Review of The Global World of Indian Merchants, 1750-1947: The Traders of Sind from Bukhara to Panama by Claude Markovits.” In The Columbia Historical Review 2 (Winter 2002).

“History of Sindh?” In Emerging Sindhi Nation: 7th International Sindhi Sammelan Omnibus. Prem Lalvani, ed. (Chicago: Alliance of Sindhi Associations of the Americas, 2000).

“Riva’s Story: A Case of South Asian Linguistic Dislocation” (with Allen and Joyce Cook). In Sagar 5.1 (Spring 1998).

“Editor’s Note: South Asia at Large.” In Sagar 5.1 (Spring 1998).

“Reexamining Rex: Radcliffe-Brown, Evolution and the History of Anthropology.” In Eastern Anthropologist: Special Golden Anniversary Edition 50.3-7 (1997).

“Editor’s Note: Towards a Regional Studies Approach.” In Sagar 4.2 (Fall 1997).

“Book Review of Contesting the Nation by David Ludden, ed.” In Sagar 3.2 (Fall 1996).