Burton Stein
Encyclopedia
Burton Stein was a scholar of India.
Stein was born and grew up in Chicago, Illinois and served in the Second World War, before commencing tertiary study at the now disused Navy Pier facility that in 1945 was the Chicago campus of the University of Illinois. Stein was an unusual case in that he never completed a bachelors degree. He was admitted directly into a Master of Arts program at the University of, finishing his masters in 1954 under the supervision of Robert Crane. Burt then wrote his Ph.D. dissertation in 1957 on the economic functions of South India
’s medieval Tirupati temple.
Upon the completion of his PhD, Stein was appointed to a teaching post at the University of Minnesota
, where he stayed until the end of 1965. He then moved to the University of Hawaii
where he stayed for 17 years until 1983. He held visiting professorships at the University of Chicago
, University of Pennsylvania
, University of Washington
, University of California, Berkeley
and the Centre for Historical Studies of Jawaharlal Nehru University
. In 1983 he married the author Dorothy Stein and moved to London, where he lived within ten minutes of the India Office Library. He was appointed a Professorial Research Associate of the School of Oriental and African Studies
at the University of London
.
Stein was known for his wide ranging participation in seminars and other South Asian scholarly work. Stein continued to write prolifically in his retirement and he continued to spend significant amounts of time consulting with students and other scholars. He was known for his dry sense of humour and usually responded to student questioning by posing counterquestions.
Stein's contributions as a research scholar was mainly focused on premodern and colonial South India. He spent the early 1960s formulating a hypothesis about the nature of "state" in South India. Burt was skeptical of the existence of a Chola "empire" as a bureaucratic structure. He was a proponent of and alternative concept, adapted from the work of Aidan Southall work on African society, the "segmentary state". He used this in his first book, Peasant, State and Society in Medieval South India printed in 1980. In retirement, Burt's writing productivity increased over time, with four more books written and a fifth published posthumously.
Burt and Jan Broek, a colleague from Minnesota first devised the idea of a historical atlas of South Asia, and enlisted the backing of Charles Leslie Ames to establish a fellowship in historical cartography of the Indian subcontinent
. Under the leadership of Joseph E. Schwartzberg
, the work on the atlas began in the mid-1960s. Burt was an active advisor on the project, which resulted in the publications of A Historical Atlas of South Asia, published by the University of Chicago Press in 1978.
Burt was survived by his wife and three children from a previous marriage.
Stein was born and grew up in Chicago, Illinois and served in the Second World War, before commencing tertiary study at the now disused Navy Pier facility that in 1945 was the Chicago campus of the University of Illinois. Stein was an unusual case in that he never completed a bachelors degree. He was admitted directly into a Master of Arts program at the University of, finishing his masters in 1954 under the supervision of Robert Crane. Burt then wrote his Ph.D. dissertation in 1957 on the economic functions of South India
South India
South India is the area encompassing India's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry, occupying 19.31% of India's area...
’s medieval Tirupati temple.
Upon the completion of his PhD, Stein was appointed to a teaching post at the University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
, where he stayed until the end of 1965. He then moved to the University of Hawaii
University of Hawaii
The University of Hawaii System, formally the University of Hawaii and popularly known as UH, is a public, co-educational college and university system that confers associate, bachelor, master, and doctoral degrees through three university campuses, seven community college campuses, an employment...
where he stayed for 17 years until 1983. He held visiting professorships at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
, University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
, University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
, University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
and the Centre for Historical Studies of Jawaharlal Nehru University
Jawaharlal Nehru University
Jawaharlal Nehru University, also known as JNU, is located in New Delhi, the capital of India. It is mainly a research oriented postgraduate University with approximately 5,500 students and a faculty strength of around 550.-History:...
. In 1983 he married the author Dorothy Stein and moved to London, where he lived within ten minutes of the India Office Library. He was appointed a Professorial Research Associate of the School of Oriental and African Studies
School of Oriental and African Studies
The School of Oriental and African Studies is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the University of London...
at the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
.
Stein was known for his wide ranging participation in seminars and other South Asian scholarly work. Stein continued to write prolifically in his retirement and he continued to spend significant amounts of time consulting with students and other scholars. He was known for his dry sense of humour and usually responded to student questioning by posing counterquestions.
Stein's contributions as a research scholar was mainly focused on premodern and colonial South India. He spent the early 1960s formulating a hypothesis about the nature of "state" in South India. Burt was skeptical of the existence of a Chola "empire" as a bureaucratic structure. He was a proponent of and alternative concept, adapted from the work of Aidan Southall work on African society, the "segmentary state". He used this in his first book, Peasant, State and Society in Medieval South India printed in 1980. In retirement, Burt's writing productivity increased over time, with four more books written and a fifth published posthumously.
Burt and Jan Broek, a colleague from Minnesota first devised the idea of a historical atlas of South Asia, and enlisted the backing of Charles Leslie Ames to establish a fellowship in historical cartography of the Indian subcontinent
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent, also Indian Subcontinent, Indo-Pak Subcontinent or South Asian Subcontinent is a region of the Asian continent on the Indian tectonic plate from the Hindu Kush or Hindu Koh, Himalayas and including the Kuen Lun and Karakoram ranges, forming a land mass which extends...
. Under the leadership of Joseph E. Schwartzberg
Joseph E. Schwartzberg
Joseph E. Schwartzberg is a University of Minnesota professor emeritus of geography and prominent world federalist scholar.Schwartzberg was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1928. He has done significant work in seeking solutions to the Kashmir conflict. He also developed the idea of "weighted voting"...
, the work on the atlas began in the mid-1960s. Burt was an active advisor on the project, which resulted in the publications of A Historical Atlas of South Asia, published by the University of Chicago Press in 1978.
Burt was survived by his wife and three children from a previous marriage.