Orientalism Transposed
Subtitle
The Impact of the Colonies on British Culture
Edited by Julie Codell and Dianne S. Macleod
The cultural impact of the British on their colonies has been extensively investigated, but this text asks in what way British culture was transformed by its contact with the colonies. The essays in this volume demonstrate how influential the empire was on British culture during the 19th century. They show how, from crosscultural crossdressing to Buddhism, British artists and writers appropriated unfamiliar and challenging aspects of the culture of the empire for their own purposes. An examination is also made of the extent to which colonized people engaged in the orientalizing discourse, amending and subverting it, even reapplying its stereotypes to the British themselves. Finally, two essays explore instances of the exchange of ideas between colonies.
Bio
Julie Codell is an art history professor and affiliate in film and Asian studies at ASU. She wrote "The Victorian Artist" and edited "Transculturation in British Art;" "Power and Resistance;" "Political Economy of Art;" "Genre, Gender, Race, & World Cinema;" and "Imperial Co-Histories." She also co-edited several other works.
Praise for this book
'Orientalism Transposed' remains a provocative and valuable book. Certainly, it raises important questions about the nature of cultural interaction during the colonial era — indeed, more questions than its contributors can answer — and goes far toward fracturing Said's influential conception of an all-encompassing, uncomplicated, and historically static Orientalist discourse.
Heather Streets Victorian Studies
The essays ... offer insights into the colonial encounter and the construction of the Orient that are contributions of inestimable value to our understanding of the relationship between Britain and its colonies. Codell’s essay examines ... biographies of Sayaji Rao ... to assess the king’s role in shaping his image overseas ... as an active agent. This essay ... analyzes ... complex interrelationships between cultures ... in charged political situations ... debunking ... the idea that British colonial power was a unified, singular actor.
Rebecca Brown CAA reviews
