British Orientalisms, 1759-1835
British Orientalisms, 1759-1835 by James Watt, published by Cambridge University Press on November 10, 2022, is a scholarly exploration of how Britons perceived their relationship with the East during a transformative period in history. Spanning 300 pages, this study remaps the literary history of British Orientalisms from the aftermath of the Seven Years’ War to the publication of T. B. Macaulay’s influential ‘Minute on Indian Education’. Watt investigates the cultural shifts that occurred as Britons navigated their identities and national consciousness in an era marked by empire and revolution.
Readers will find an in-depth analysis of the evolving literary forms and styles that emerged in response to these cultural dynamics. The book delves into how traditional ‘Eastern’ narratives were adapted and challenged, reflecting the broader cultural conflicts of a nation grappling with its global position and relationships. By examining the interplay between literary criticism and political science, Watt sheds light on the complexities of British identity and its engagement with the East during this pivotal time.
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How did Britons understand their relationship with the East in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries? James Watt’s new study remaps the literary history of British Orientalisms between 1759, the ‘year of victories’ in the Seven Years’ War, and 1835, when T. B. Macaulay published his polemical ‘Minute on Indian Education’. It explores the impact of the war on Britons’ cultural horizons, and the different and shifting ways in which Britons conceived of themselves and their nation as ‘open’ to the East across this period. Considering the emergence of new forms and styles of writing in the context of an age of empire and revolution, Watt examines how the familiar ‘Eastern’ fictions of the past were adapted, reworked, and reacted against. In doing so he illuminates the larger cultural conflict which animated a nation debating with itself about its place in the world and relation to its others.
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