The Limits of Orientalism: Seventeenth-century Representations of India - Hardcover

Sapra, Rahul

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1611490146 ISBN 13: 9781611490145

Publisher: University of Delaware Press, 2011

Synopsis

The Limits of Orientalism: Seventeenth-Century Representations of India challenges recent postcolonial readings of European, and particularly English, representations of India in the seventeenth century. The book critiques Edward Said's discourse of "Orientalism" by destabilizing the notion of a homogeneous "West": the English interest was commercial, unlike the colonially and religiously motivated Portuguese, and therefore instead of representing Mughals as barbaric "others," the English travelers drew parallels between the Mughals and themselves in their writings, associating with them as partners in trade and potential allies in war. The Europeans praised Muslims' civility and religious tolerance, yet tended to be more conflicted with the Hindus; eventually their negative views underwent a transformation, questioning the Orientalist notion of the homogeneous "Indian." By historicizing the European representations of India, the book undercuts postcolonial analyses by critics such as Kate Teltscher, Jyotsna Singh, Nandini Bhattacharya, Balachandra Rajan, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Shankar Raman and others.

About this title

Review:

This book challenges postcolonial understandings of European, but particularly English, travellers' accounts of India in the seventeenth century. Since the publication of Edward Said's Orientalism in 1978, most scholars have used these accounts to demonstrate a discourse of 'Orientalism'....This book makes a useful contribution to the revisionist assault on Said's Orientalism.--Times Literary Supplement

The Limits of Orientalism is a welcome addition to the increasing number of books on European writing on India in the centuries before the establishment of colonial rule.--Religious Studies Review

In this sense, the author has succeeded in inspiring readers to confront authors who use simplistic notions and depend on a single discourse with a view to dissect the meanings of texts...The book is an important addition to the understanding of Saidian Orientalism.... The book has not only challenged the Saidian argument, but also presented alternatives, which can be used to achieve the desired result.--Seventeenth-Century News

About the Author:

Rahul Sapra is associate professor in the Department of English at Ryerson University, Toronto.

About this edition

• Publisher: University of Delaware Press
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 1611490146
• ISBN 13: 9781611490145
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 224