The Evolution of Pragmatism in India

"A magnificent study of Ambedkar’s complex engagement with Dewey’s ideas, which he reworked to address India’s specific political and social conditions." * New York Review of Books *
"The book is indeed very persuasive that to fully understand Ambedkar, one must understand his relationship with Dewey. . . . it is hard to imagine a more careful and compelling exploration." * LSE Review of Books *
“A work of scholarship that shows the global relevance of pragmatism in the 20th Century introduces the fascinating philosophy of Ambedkar to a non-Indian audience, and provides an entry for further scholarship on this profound thinker and activist. . . . Stroud’s book is groundbreaking.” * Transactions of the Charles S. Peirce Society *
"The story of pragmatism is often framed as a distinctly American one, with minor forays and moments of appreciation in Europe and elsewhere. The Evolution of Pragmatism in India helps to revise and reframe that hoary narrative. Stroud, associate professor of communication at the University of Texas at Austin, offers an illuminating exploration of an under-examined figure in pragmatism’s variegated history." * Philosophy in Review *
"Ambedkar’s intellectual inheritance has been delved into like seldom before. . . . The significance of the text must be considerable within both Ambedkarite scholarship and in other disciplines which seek to look into the various issues of social conflict/cohesion and understand them in terms of socio-political operations of force." * Journal of Comparative Literature and Aesthetics *
“Ambedkar was one of the greatest legal and political thinkers of the twentieth century, but his thought is barely known in the United States. With wide-ranging research and insightful philosophical probing, Stroud shows that Ambedkar, using Dewey’s works as a fulcrum, created a distinctive form of Buddhist pragmatism, committed to meliorist social dialogue, non-anger, and the flexible pursuit of social democracy. A major achievement.” -- Martha C. Nussbaum, University of Chicago
“In this meticulously researched book, Stroud positions Ambedkar’s engagement with Dewey’s thought as a defining moment in the global history of American pragmatism. The Evolution of Pragmatism in India is a major contribution to Ambedkar studies, which enlarges our methodological repertoire for approaching this foundational thinker of caste inequality.” -- Anupama Rao, Columbia University
"Stroud’s in-depth exploration of the influence of Dewey’s pragmatism on Ambedkar’s thought not only allows us to comprehend the positions that Ambedkar took but also, equally, to appreciate the compromises he made in his policy engagement for Dalit empowerment from 1919 to 1956." -- Sukhadeo Thorat, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Indian Institute of Dalit Studies
“In this carefully researched and skillfully presented work, Stroud examines Ambedkar’s adoption of a revivified Buddhism and Dewey’s pragmatism as tools for his struggle against the Hindu caste system. By expanding our understanding of the global potentials of pragmatism, Stroud has made a major contribution to East-West scholarship.” -- Larry A. Hickman, Center for Dewey Studies