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Imperial Eyes: Travel Writing and Transculturation
Studies in colonial and exploration discourse have identified the enormous significance of travel writing as an ideological apparatus of Empire. The study of travel writing has, however, tended to remain either naively celebratory, or dismissive, treating texts as symptoms of imperial ideologies.
Imperial Eyes explores European travel and exploration writing, in conjunction with European economic and political expansion since 1700. It is both a study in the genre and a critique of an ideology. Pratt examines how travel books by Europeans create the domestic subject of European imperialism, and how they engage metropolitan reading publics with expansionist enterprises whose material benefits accrued mainly to the very few. These questions are addressed through readings of travel accounts connected with particular sentimental historical travel writing. It examines the links with abolitionist rhetoric; discursive reinventions of South America during the period of its independence (1800-1840); and 18th-century European writings on Southern Africa in the context of inland expansion.
Imperial Eyes explores European travel and exploration writing, in conjunction with European economic and political expansion since 1700. It is both a study in the genre and a critique of an ideology. Pratt examines how travel books by Europeans create the domestic subject of European imperialism, and how they engage metropolitan reading publics with expansionist enterprises whose material benefits accrued mainly to the very few. These questions are addressed through readings of travel accounts connected with particular sentimental historical travel writing. It examines the links with abolitionist rhetoric; discursive reinventions of South America during the period of its independence (1800-1840); and 18th-century European writings on Southern Africa in the context of inland expansion.
272 pages, Paperback
First published January 30, 1992
35 people are currently reading
879 people want to read
About the author
Mary Louise Pratt
23 books19 followersMary Louise Pratt is Silver Professor in the Department of Social and Cultural Analysis, and the Department of Iberian and Latin American Studies at New York University, where she is affiliated with the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, and the Hemispheric Institute for Performance and Politics.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
February 8, 2008
Pratt examines the intersections between travel writing and empire. She examines how the ideals of natural history both developed with the expansion of empire and then contributed to a travel writing that produced imperial relationships in the “planetary consciousness” deployed in its production. This scientific mode complemented another style of travel writing popular at the same time which fit a model of commerce but sentimentalized it through romance. Both the desired trade and the represented romance fit idealized model of reciprocity. These two forms of writing she names “anti-conquest” as they attempt to display European innocence in their travels from the violence of the colonial/imperial project. Pratt’s reading moves forward in time and is never ignorant of the specifics of place. She examines the reinvention of America (and American nature) in travel writing after independence from Spain. She talks about transculturation – how writers from the margins absorb, critique, respond to these forms of writing. She critics a reading of romanticism in travel writing as reflecting the romanticism of the period and instead asks how the imperial ideologies and the experiences of the contact zone itself produce the romanticism of the period. Its really an excellent book, and made me rethink how I want to teach U.S. Nature Writing and how I think about the relationship between representations of American landscapes, and representations of territorialized national identities.
June 10, 2016
This is by far the densest book I have ever read, but it is so perfectly relevant to my academic interests that I'm going to be buying my own copy ASAP so I can re-read it again with a highlighter in hand and a notebook next to me. This is just an extremely excellent analysis and has helped me realize how interested I am in the intersection of travel writing (though for me it's specifically female travel writers) and imperialism/colonialism, which might, in fact, end up being what I study when I inevitably (hopefully..) go back to school. So, thank you Pratt for this fantastic work!
August 17, 2013
Since the publication of The Travels of Marco Polo in the early fourteenth century, European adventurers, explorers, tourists, and scientists have traversed other parts of the world and written accounts of their experiences for European audiences. In Imperial Eyes: Travel Writing and Transculturation, Mary Louise Pratt studied the accounts of Europeans and European-Americans who traveled to European colonies and other non-European parts of the world from the early eighteenth century to the early twenty-first century. According to Pratt, European travel books presented Europeans with an image of the rest of the world as vulnerable to European control and ultimately shaped Europeans’ impression of their place in the world.
Pratt’s survey focused especially upon writings about travel in Africa and South America. By employing elements of literary analysis to travel writing, Pratt demonstrated how Europeans viewed imperial possessions and subjects. Northern European, bourgeois travel writers, such as Anders Sparrman, John Barrow, Alexander Von Humboldt, and Mary Kingsley, portrayed colonial and neo-colonial dominions as vulnerable, subjectable, and profitable lands and societies. Although stylistic approaches shifted over the course of nearly 300 years, travel writers consistently constructed an image of European ownership of the non-European world. In this image, Europe, the center of civilization, owned and rightfully controlled the barbarous periphery of the imperial world. This image of imperial ownership “created the imperial order ‘at home’ and gave” Europeans their place at the top of that order (3). Ultimately, the European imperial gaze was constant and monolithic from the 1800s to the 2000s. The travel writing by Europeans and United States citizens in the 1970s drew on many of the basic assumptions and images employed by travel writers of the 1790s (216). Pratt concluded that Eurocentric “imperial eyes” continue to influence US and European responses and opinions in the twenty-first century in regard globalization and migration from former colonies to former imperial powers (241-243).
However, Pratt did not exclusively focus on European travel writers. Pratt explored the phenomenon of transculturation where imperial subjects selected, coopted, and transformed the image European travel writers presented of subjugated societies and cultures. In Latin America, for example, creole, European-American elites constructed a perception of themselves that reinforced European imagery. Creoles identified themselves as civilized Europeans and the masses of indigenous, mixed, and African peoples in Latin America as barbarous subjects. In the decolonized, neo-imperial twentieth century, Latin American travel writers adopted European forms of travel writing; however, Latin American writers were not governed by a Eurocentric interpretation of the world. Travel writing allowed Latin American writers to conceive of their own nations not as a “poor reflection of Europe,” but “as a unique self-creation.”
Imperial Eyes, at its core, was an interdisciplinary study. Pratt not only historicized the writings of European travelers, but also incorporated literary analysis to her study. For example, by focusing upon the language, presentation, and imagery of the naturalist writings of Anders Sparrman, Pratt revealed how Sparrman constructed an image of southern Africa freely open to European domination (48-55). Pratt, therefore, demonstrated the value of an interdisciplinary approach to a historical topic. Imperial Eyes also revealed the inherent value of travel narratives in the history of European imperialism. Finally, Pratt successfully incorporated the perspective of subjugated peoples in contrast to the writings of Europeans. This allowed Imperial Eyes to be international in scope and scale.
Nevertheless, Pratt’s work suffered from a number of conceptual problems. Pratt attempted to draw continuity in European perceptions of non-Europeans over the course of 300 years; however, Pratt skipped large periods of time in between some writings. The first eight chapters of the book surveyed travel accounts mostly written between the 1750s and the 1850s. However, the final two chapters addressed only a handful of accounts between the 1860s and the 2000s. Also, Pratt focused almost exclusively upon Africa and Latin America in her study. This approach did not incorporate European travel writing in regard to Asia, the Pacific, or North America. Pratt did not demonstrate how or if European travel writing in a major colony like India differed from southern Africa or Peru. The large gaps in time and omission of large parts of the world detracted from Pratt’s overall argument and made it far from comprehensive.
Imperial Eyes also failed to fully consider the wide variety of travel accounts. Although Pratt discussed shifts in style and motivation in travel writing over time, she depicted European travel writing as monolithic and consistent over 300 years. However, not all writings support Pratt’s argument. For example, in Insurgent Mexico, the American journalist John Reed recounted his experiences traveling in Mexico and reporting on the Mexican Revolution in 1913 and 1914. Reed portrayed Mexicans not as vulnerable, neo-imperial subjects, but as empowered individuals fighting for their country’s freedom. By arguing that travel writers always saw the world through “imperial eyes,” Pratt overlooked travel accounts that perceived of non-Europeanized parts of the world differently.
Nevertheless, Imperial Eyes represented a pioneering approach to the history of imperialism by employing an interdisciplinary approach to the study of travel narratives. Although flaws and omissions did undermine Pratt’s larger argument, Imperial Eyes should stand as a model for interdisciplinary studies. Pratt’s work will also undoubtedly influence future studies that utilize travel accounts and narratives.
Pratt’s survey focused especially upon writings about travel in Africa and South America. By employing elements of literary analysis to travel writing, Pratt demonstrated how Europeans viewed imperial possessions and subjects. Northern European, bourgeois travel writers, such as Anders Sparrman, John Barrow, Alexander Von Humboldt, and Mary Kingsley, portrayed colonial and neo-colonial dominions as vulnerable, subjectable, and profitable lands and societies. Although stylistic approaches shifted over the course of nearly 300 years, travel writers consistently constructed an image of European ownership of the non-European world. In this image, Europe, the center of civilization, owned and rightfully controlled the barbarous periphery of the imperial world. This image of imperial ownership “created the imperial order ‘at home’ and gave” Europeans their place at the top of that order (3). Ultimately, the European imperial gaze was constant and monolithic from the 1800s to the 2000s. The travel writing by Europeans and United States citizens in the 1970s drew on many of the basic assumptions and images employed by travel writers of the 1790s (216). Pratt concluded that Eurocentric “imperial eyes” continue to influence US and European responses and opinions in the twenty-first century in regard globalization and migration from former colonies to former imperial powers (241-243).
However, Pratt did not exclusively focus on European travel writers. Pratt explored the phenomenon of transculturation where imperial subjects selected, coopted, and transformed the image European travel writers presented of subjugated societies and cultures. In Latin America, for example, creole, European-American elites constructed a perception of themselves that reinforced European imagery. Creoles identified themselves as civilized Europeans and the masses of indigenous, mixed, and African peoples in Latin America as barbarous subjects. In the decolonized, neo-imperial twentieth century, Latin American travel writers adopted European forms of travel writing; however, Latin American writers were not governed by a Eurocentric interpretation of the world. Travel writing allowed Latin American writers to conceive of their own nations not as a “poor reflection of Europe,” but “as a unique self-creation.”
Imperial Eyes, at its core, was an interdisciplinary study. Pratt not only historicized the writings of European travelers, but also incorporated literary analysis to her study. For example, by focusing upon the language, presentation, and imagery of the naturalist writings of Anders Sparrman, Pratt revealed how Sparrman constructed an image of southern Africa freely open to European domination (48-55). Pratt, therefore, demonstrated the value of an interdisciplinary approach to a historical topic. Imperial Eyes also revealed the inherent value of travel narratives in the history of European imperialism. Finally, Pratt successfully incorporated the perspective of subjugated peoples in contrast to the writings of Europeans. This allowed Imperial Eyes to be international in scope and scale.
Nevertheless, Pratt’s work suffered from a number of conceptual problems. Pratt attempted to draw continuity in European perceptions of non-Europeans over the course of 300 years; however, Pratt skipped large periods of time in between some writings. The first eight chapters of the book surveyed travel accounts mostly written between the 1750s and the 1850s. However, the final two chapters addressed only a handful of accounts between the 1860s and the 2000s. Also, Pratt focused almost exclusively upon Africa and Latin America in her study. This approach did not incorporate European travel writing in regard to Asia, the Pacific, or North America. Pratt did not demonstrate how or if European travel writing in a major colony like India differed from southern Africa or Peru. The large gaps in time and omission of large parts of the world detracted from Pratt’s overall argument and made it far from comprehensive.
Imperial Eyes also failed to fully consider the wide variety of travel accounts. Although Pratt discussed shifts in style and motivation in travel writing over time, she depicted European travel writing as monolithic and consistent over 300 years. However, not all writings support Pratt’s argument. For example, in Insurgent Mexico, the American journalist John Reed recounted his experiences traveling in Mexico and reporting on the Mexican Revolution in 1913 and 1914. Reed portrayed Mexicans not as vulnerable, neo-imperial subjects, but as empowered individuals fighting for their country’s freedom. By arguing that travel writers always saw the world through “imperial eyes,” Pratt overlooked travel accounts that perceived of non-Europeanized parts of the world differently.
Nevertheless, Imperial Eyes represented a pioneering approach to the history of imperialism by employing an interdisciplinary approach to the study of travel narratives. Although flaws and omissions did undermine Pratt’s larger argument, Imperial Eyes should stand as a model for interdisciplinary studies. Pratt’s work will also undoubtedly influence future studies that utilize travel accounts and narratives.
August 24, 2020
Me enseñó muchísimo sobre literatura de viajes y los cambios en sus tópicos que no han desparecido contrario a lo que podríamos esperar.
Yo llegué a este libro buscando ejemplos de cómo era la representación de los nativos africanos y americanos en los libros de los europeos: me llevé más que eso. Con una prosa ligera y clara, Pratt cuenta la historia de los viajes de exploración desde el siglo XVII hasta nuestros días.
Yo llegué a este libro buscando ejemplos de cómo era la representación de los nativos africanos y americanos en los libros de los europeos: me llevé más que eso. Con una prosa ligera y clara, Pratt cuenta la historia de los viajes de exploración desde el siglo XVII hasta nuestros días.
August 10, 2010
Few scholarly studies achieve a stance that is both critical and impartial -- to do so, one must allow the texts studied to speak largely for themselves: allowing them the rope to hang themselves, as it were. Pratt manages this marvelously, and continues this balance across a wide range of travel literature dealing with Africa and South America, much of it European. However, Pratt is also ethically acute enough to find counter-narratives in what she calls "autoethnographic" expression, the writers and narrators of the 'colonies' who, in effect, write back to the empire, and smart enough to avoid the commonplace binary of "authentic" and "inauthentic" expression in texts from the "contact zone" of cultures, as she puts it. Her studies are broad and yet detailed, well-written and in some cases emotionally charged. Students of decolonization owe Pratt a debt impossible to repay.
December 13, 2009
Awesome book. I learned so much more than I can say from it. I constantly reference/think about this book in daily life and school. Great commentary on how the world is based on a fairly "western" European culture and tradition. It gives insight as to why this has developed and is hard to change.
December 15, 2015
While reading Imperial Eyes, my background in American Indian Studies led me to continue to question how, and when, travelers and explorers are representing Indigenous peoples. Since the narratives discussed throughout Imperial Eyes<.i> are situated from a mostly white (and often male) personal accounting of events, one area of discussion that is quite interesting is that of Indigenous peoples and their representations – largely in part it seems as if Indigenous peoples in the context of Pratt’s work are viewed as interesting figures that inhabit new lands being traveled to, but they are still often marginalized.
Imperial Eyes itself is fascinating on many levels. Once more, Indigenous issues were at the forefront of my interest, but from a literary standpoint there were also instances in which the novels/stories/writings of authors and explorers alike were engaging because of their plotlines (regardless of if there are completely believable!). The passage about the “indigenous horde” that led to outsiders wanting to colonize Indigenous peoples summarizes, in a rather poignant manner, how Indigenous people are often viewed when colonizing forces invade their lands (Pratt 183). While I tend to disagree with the way in which Indigenous peoples across the globe were colonized, it is perhaps safe to say that the literature that appears from these periods of colonization are beneficial products of those campaigns. Through some of these stories, we are better able to understand the complex human relationships that formed during the colonial contact era. Particularly interesting was the story of Joanna. Part of the reason this narrative is of note is because it is one of many “transracial love affairs in the fiction of this time” and presents a “romantic transformation of a particular form of colonial exploitation, whereby European men on assignment to the colonies brought local women from their families to serve as sexual and domestic partners for the duration of their stay” (Pratt 93).
The fact that this is a transracial love affair is almost risqué, but is complex because Stedman presents the tale in a rather romantic fashion. He loves Joanna and is willing to take her back to England with him when he is recalled, but it is Joanna that decides she cannot go to England because it would impugn Stedman’s honor and she knows she would not be happy there. This is seemingly unbelievable, but at the same time it is amazing that a woman in Joanna’s situational and economic position would reject “European culture and the invitation to assimilate” to remain in her homelands, where she eventually will meet her demise (Pratt 99). Pratt argues that this story in part symbolizes a political allegory, and alludes to the independence America sought from England (99). While I agree, I would also suggest that the tale of Joanna is a romanticized story about rejecting colonization as an Indigenous individual if you can obtain enough agency to reject your colonizer. After all, the story ends with Steadman returning to England where he finds a new love interest, and Joanna is left behind and dies at the hands of jealous others because of her love affair – thus, the colonizer is free to return home, but the colonized female figure is forever tarnished in her homeland, and now having no where else to go, or no other community to support her, she is instead doomed to die (perhaps alluding to the final form of colonization).
Pratt’s work was helpful in establishing an overview and presenting many of the tropes that can be found in travel narratives, and how they change over time. The last section on current trends and “Thinking through mobility: 1980-2007” was a perfect way to contextualize these themes in a contemporary setting. It is important to note that peoples across the globe are still being colonized, but also that there are still populations of people that are traveling in various forms (crossing borders, etc.).
I highly recommend this book if you're interested in learning about tourism, travel narratives, etc. But if that is not something you're interested in, you may not enjoy this read.
Imperial Eyes itself is fascinating on many levels. Once more, Indigenous issues were at the forefront of my interest, but from a literary standpoint there were also instances in which the novels/stories/writings of authors and explorers alike were engaging because of their plotlines (regardless of if there are completely believable!). The passage about the “indigenous horde” that led to outsiders wanting to colonize Indigenous peoples summarizes, in a rather poignant manner, how Indigenous people are often viewed when colonizing forces invade their lands (Pratt 183). While I tend to disagree with the way in which Indigenous peoples across the globe were colonized, it is perhaps safe to say that the literature that appears from these periods of colonization are beneficial products of those campaigns. Through some of these stories, we are better able to understand the complex human relationships that formed during the colonial contact era. Particularly interesting was the story of Joanna. Part of the reason this narrative is of note is because it is one of many “transracial love affairs in the fiction of this time” and presents a “romantic transformation of a particular form of colonial exploitation, whereby European men on assignment to the colonies brought local women from their families to serve as sexual and domestic partners for the duration of their stay” (Pratt 93).
The fact that this is a transracial love affair is almost risqué, but is complex because Stedman presents the tale in a rather romantic fashion. He loves Joanna and is willing to take her back to England with him when he is recalled, but it is Joanna that decides she cannot go to England because it would impugn Stedman’s honor and she knows she would not be happy there. This is seemingly unbelievable, but at the same time it is amazing that a woman in Joanna’s situational and economic position would reject “European culture and the invitation to assimilate” to remain in her homelands, where she eventually will meet her demise (Pratt 99). Pratt argues that this story in part symbolizes a political allegory, and alludes to the independence America sought from England (99). While I agree, I would also suggest that the tale of Joanna is a romanticized story about rejecting colonization as an Indigenous individual if you can obtain enough agency to reject your colonizer. After all, the story ends with Steadman returning to England where he finds a new love interest, and Joanna is left behind and dies at the hands of jealous others because of her love affair – thus, the colonizer is free to return home, but the colonized female figure is forever tarnished in her homeland, and now having no where else to go, or no other community to support her, she is instead doomed to die (perhaps alluding to the final form of colonization).
Pratt’s work was helpful in establishing an overview and presenting many of the tropes that can be found in travel narratives, and how they change over time. The last section on current trends and “Thinking through mobility: 1980-2007” was a perfect way to contextualize these themes in a contemporary setting. It is important to note that peoples across the globe are still being colonized, but also that there are still populations of people that are traveling in various forms (crossing borders, etc.).
I highly recommend this book if you're interested in learning about tourism, travel narratives, etc. But if that is not something you're interested in, you may not enjoy this read.
June 12, 2020
Should be required reading. Exhaustive study on a niche issue that changed the world.
June 6, 2022
No soy lector de historias, o sea, de libros que se agotan en una historia cuya perfecta exposición oral cabe en pocos minutos. Me hace falta la teoría, esto es, la filosofía, el psicoanálisis, la sociología, en fin, los estudios culturales. Este es un libro sobre libros de viajes. Los libros de viajes me gustan porque hay acción y aventura. Pero más allá está la mirada del narrador y de los narrados. Edward Said dice que Robisnson Crusoe es un libro singular porque se trata de un inglés que coloniza una isla, la hace suya, y, además, consigue un sirviente, el bueno de Friday, arquetipo del buen salvaje. La profesora Pratt explica la mirada del conquistador y propone entre otras, una tesis iluminadora para quienes estamos interesados en los cruces culturales o el poscolonialismo, a saber, el punto de contacto. Creo que este es uno de los libros más preciados de mi biblioteca
June 30, 2025
Gostei muito das ferramentas de análise textual que ela usa pra esses relatos de viagem coloniais. Foi super útil para minha pesquisa, que é sobre um livro de relatos de viagem da LeAnne Howe, uma autora Choctaw. O livro da Pratt me ajudou a entender o quão excepcional é o livro da Howe, não só por ela ser uma viajante colonizada, mas pela atitude textual dela ser radicalmente diferente da arrogância típica dos imperialistas. Nas palavras de Dean Rader, as trapalhadas interculturais da Howe chamam a atenção para uma "shared goofiness" intercultural, algo de que os viajantes de Pratt parecem inteiramente incapazes. O relato de viagem deles é sobre conquista e inferiorização -- imagina que não, escrevendo pra leitores europeus, que estavam morando na própria barriga grávida de capitalismo desses impérios. Enfim, um livro repleto de boas sacadas e interpretações discursivas.
August 3, 2022
El texto me colocó en una especie de metadiegesis. Permite pensarse a uno mismo como viajero y pensar cuidadosamente a los viajados a los que frecuentemente se les quita la voz.
Si bien es un texto teórico y antropólogico no tiene nada que pueda agotar o generar tedio en su lectura, todo lo contrario. Si uno se acerca pensándose a sí mismo como un viajero, se dará cuenta hasta que punto nuestros ojos pueden resultar ser no los nuestros, sino los imperiales, que poseen, arrebatan, aniquilan.
Y por su puesto, de está lectura se desprenden tantos y tantos textos por descubrir acerca la literatura de viajes. Más aún, hacer este análisis en la literatura contemporánea sería más que una misión titática, una tarea noble, fortuita y necesaria.
Si bien es un texto teórico y antropólogico no tiene nada que pueda agotar o generar tedio en su lectura, todo lo contrario. Si uno se acerca pensándose a sí mismo como un viajero, se dará cuenta hasta que punto nuestros ojos pueden resultar ser no los nuestros, sino los imperiales, que poseen, arrebatan, aniquilan.
Y por su puesto, de está lectura se desprenden tantos y tantos textos por descubrir acerca la literatura de viajes. Más aún, hacer este análisis en la literatura contemporánea sería más que una misión titática, una tarea noble, fortuita y necesaria.
October 21, 2022
Es interesante cómo la modificamos los lugares y culturas desde la mirada que nos introdujo nuestra propia cultura. En algunos casos intencionadamente, como reseña en este libro Mary Louise Pratt, al punto de deshumanizar o denigrar a otros por temas que tienen poco o nada que ver con la cultura en sí, sino más bien con la intención del observador. En los casos analizados en el libro, la de colonizar y explotar a otros.
August 12, 2023
Such a marvelous, comprehensive work.
Pairs very well with similar works about literature associated with social ideas of change!
Added to my growing dislike of Joan Didion!
Very very good sources, I am def going to check out some of what I read in there. Author was very clear and skillful in every sentence.
I can’t believe I started this on the day I got it, empire is really a topic I am very interested in! Critiquing it and understanding how ot functions. Very good work done here!
Pairs very well with similar works about literature associated with social ideas of change!
Added to my growing dislike of Joan Didion!
Very very good sources, I am def going to check out some of what I read in there. Author was very clear and skillful in every sentence.
I can’t believe I started this on the day I got it, empire is really a topic I am very interested in! Critiquing it and understanding how ot functions. Very good work done here!
November 10, 2021
An excerpt from this book was assigned for a class I am taking in Early American Literature. I was instantly hooked. I was as equally fascinated by the theory as I was taken by the clarity of the prose. Definitely a favorite!
Read
September 8, 2023Read for research; will not rate. Will say that I found it very inspiring and enlightening, though (also a lot of choice quotations with immediate relevance to my not-quite-academic interest in travel writing, nature writing, and porlar exploration fiction).
October 21, 2018
Beautiful ironic prose, biting analysis. The second edition, which I read, has a good postscript of the world from 2007, where the normative state of immobility can no longer be assumed.
November 10, 2019
Dense but insightful. Pratt provides the terms that critical writers of travel narratives will employ for years to come. "Anti-Conquest" and "seeing-man" to name a few.
Read
April 6, 2024Required reading for a class.
November 7, 2013
I read the first half of this book for a class, and I will need to come back and finish the rest sometime soon.
This book offers a series of fascinating explorations of how the first Western eyes (e.g., Mungo Park) were no mere observers of African, but served as forward patrols for colonial conquest. The seeds of Western comparative thought can be found in their missives and accounts, which were wildly popular in Europe and became useful for forming a colonial sensibility about who Africans 'were' and how their land could be appropriated to colonial ends.
Pratt is trained in linguistic studies and that skill is put to good use here. She offers close and skillful analyses of the ways in which pronouns, tenses, and form all represent ways in which the colonial subject is produced through a construction of the "Other."
I know (but haven't yet read) that in later chapters, she addresses more contemporary writers, including one of my ol' favorites, Paul Thoureax. I love that Peace Corps misanthrope, but he had it coming.
This book offers a series of fascinating explorations of how the first Western eyes (e.g., Mungo Park) were no mere observers of African, but served as forward patrols for colonial conquest. The seeds of Western comparative thought can be found in their missives and accounts, which were wildly popular in Europe and became useful for forming a colonial sensibility about who Africans 'were' and how their land could be appropriated to colonial ends.
Pratt is trained in linguistic studies and that skill is put to good use here. She offers close and skillful analyses of the ways in which pronouns, tenses, and form all represent ways in which the colonial subject is produced through a construction of the "Other."
I know (but haven't yet read) that in later chapters, she addresses more contemporary writers, including one of my ol' favorites, Paul Thoureax. I love that Peace Corps misanthrope, but he had it coming.
Read
December 10, 2009Pratt takes as her topic the interesting question of how Europeans talked to themselves in the realm of popular culture about the imperial enterprises they undertook in late 18th and the 19th centuries. The most useful aspect of the book is the selection of telling examples of travel writing as justification of imperialism, and especially the notion of cultural superiority.
Unfortunately Pratt's analysis is in the overwrought mode, typically titled "postmodernism," which infected much of the academic establishment in the 1990s. She seems not to be able to proceed more than a few pages without inventing a new analytic neologism to explain what might be more readily taken in with simple common sense.
Unfortunately Pratt's analysis is in the overwrought mode, typically titled "postmodernism," which infected much of the academic establishment in the 1990s. She seems not to be able to proceed more than a few pages without inventing a new analytic neologism to explain what might be more readily taken in with simple common sense.
August 16, 2012
Imperial Eyes is to be considered as an analysis of the personality of real Europeans, it takes on consideration a concept that most people must wonder, How every beautiful thing is related and centralized to Europe, and How every awful thing is related to the East, in other words, she could considered as a new alien of Edward Said, the Orientalist writer.
March 20, 2011
Clear, precise, and helpful academic study of travel writing. Fascinating reading of Linnaeus's classification system in relation to the production of European knowledge about other cultures, peoples, systems, etc.
May 14, 2013
pratt's classic is still one of the most useful scholarly investigations, with a wide array of applications across disciplines. her thoughts and principles are clear, her examples engaging and far-reaching.
November 20, 2011
Not particularly impressed by this book. At all. I had hoped for something a little general about travel writing and transculturation, but I found this to be very specialized and centered on Africa and South America, completely ignoring Asia. So no, not impressed.
July 7, 2009
Great read and study of travel literature written by Europeans on their "adventures" in Africa and the Americas. I personally enjoyed the chapters on the reinvention of America.
August 21, 2010
Given the number of references I've seen to this book, I thought it would be a fount of quotes for my research on the discourse of tourism. Alas, it was not.
January 29, 2016
Some interesting information on travel, literature and colonization.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews