Orientalism Transposed: The Impact of the Colonies on British Culture

by Julie F. Codell (Editor), Dianne Sachko Macleod (Editor)

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 cross-cultural cross-dressing to Buddhism, British artists and writers appropriated unfamiliar and challenging aspects of the culture of 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.

249 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1998