Description
Book SynopsisKnown for his most famous works, such as The Myth of the Lazy Native (1977) and The Problem of Corruption (1986), as well as his concept of the “captive mind,” Syed Hussein Alatas (1928-2007) made significant contributions to decolonization theory, social theory, and other forms of thought critical of the current neo-colonial and neoliberal world. Although Edward Said acknowledged his debt to Syed Hussein Alatas’ work, especially its influence on Orientalism, his most well known book, Alatas’ work has long been overlooked by Eurocentric Western academia.
Spurred by the commitment to celebrate and develop Syed Hussein Alatas’ work, this edited volume attempts to demonstrate its relevance to numerous academic fields, and the potential for his thought to be transformative in the international socio-political realm. Twenty authors from various disciplines and countries have contributed, in the hopes of bringing his work to the forefront of social and political theory.
Contributors are: Mona Abaza, Joseph Alagha, Masturah Alatas, Sharifah Munirah Alatas, Syed Farid Alatas, Syed Imad Alatas, Hira Amin, Dustin J. Byrd, Zawawi Ibrahim, N. Jayaram, Teo Lee Ken, Habibul Haque Khondker, Victor T. King, João Marcelo E. Maia, Seyed Javad Miri, Carimo Mohomed, Chandra Muzaffar, Norshahril Saat, Mostafa Soueid, and Esmaeil Zeiny.
Table of ContentsAcknowledgements
Notes on Contributors
Introduction
Dustin J. Byrd and Seyed Javad Miri
Part 1
Alatas’ Work and Legacy
1 Developing a School of Autonomous Knowledge Thoughts of the Late Syed Hussein Alatas
Syed Imad Alatas
2 The Midlife of an Idea Syed Hussein Alatas’ Captive Mind after Fifty Years
Masturah Alatas
Part 2
Theorizing the Captive Mind
3 Alatas on Colonial and Autonomous Knowledge
Syed Farid Alatas
4 The Psychological Dynamics of Mental Captivity Subsequent Conceptual Developments
Dustin J. Byrd
5 The Cartography of Reception of ‘The Captive Mind’ in Iran
Esmaeil Zeiny
6 “The Captive Mind” and Social Sciences in Southeast Asia Syed Hussein Alatas
Mona Abaza
7 The Captive Mind Syndrome in Indian Sociology
N. Jayaram
8 Psychological Feudalism Malay Political Culture and Responses towards Modernization
Norshahril Saat
9 “Irrational” Beliefs in a “Rational” World Religion and Modernization
Hira Amin
Part 3
Mythologizing and Demythologizing the Native
10 Demythologizing Dominant Discourses Syed Hussein Alatas’ The Myth of the Lazy Native and the Discourse on Malay Cultural Values and Underdevelopment
Zawawi Ibrahim
11 Syed Hussein Alatas Colonialism and Modernity
Joseph Alagha and Mostafa Soueid
12 The Invention of “Islam” How (Lazy) Historians and Social Scientists Created a Fantasy
Carimo Mohomed
Part 4
Alatas and the Socio-political
13 Syed Hussein Alatas and the Question of Intellectuals
Seyed Javad Miri
14 West-Centric Geopolitical Discourse Situating Syed Hussein Alatas in International Relations
Sharifah Munirah Alatas
15 Alatas Pioneer in the Study of, and the Struggle against, Corruption
Chandra Muzaffar
16 Syed Hussein Alatas and the Question of Political Thought
Teo Lee Ken
17 Contributions of Syed Hussein Alatas towards Global Sociology
Habibul Haque Khondker
18 East-West Interactions and Complexities Syed Hussein Alatas, Willem Wertheim and Edward Said
Victor T. King
19 Hidden Connections Syed Hussein Alatas and Latin American Sociology
João Marcelo E. Maia
Index
