Ghosts in the machine: famines and the afterlives of empire

Journal article

What did ‘afterlife’ mean to the rulers, agents and subjects of modern empires? Why did ‘afterlife’ emerge as a key narrative device in their attempts to make sense of how empire worked? My suggestion here is that ‘afterlife’ was a heuristic that both confirmed and contested the ‘scientific’ rules of modern empires. It became a staple of a wide range of literary and cultural genres – from gothic and ‘sensation’ fiction to memoirs, romances, histories and scientific and medical treatise – to the extent that we might think of it being a crucial component of the imperial life-world itself.

Authors: Mukherjee, P

• Publication status: Accepted
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis
• Journal: Atlantic Studies: Global Currents
• Acceptance date: 2025-12-09
• EISSN: 1740-4649
• ISSN: 1478-8810
• Language: English
• Keywords: Lal Behari Day; W.W. Hunter; Bithia M. Croker; Mahasweta Devi; famines