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“I met a chap one day in Hell / and asked him how he liked it: “Well,”
He answered candidly, “you see, / there’s nothing strange in this to me.
I lived among them all – the heat / the stink, the racket, the deceit,
Corruption, avarice and fear; / and nearly all my friends are here…”
These lines, penned in the 1940s, mark the end of a unique period in British history. Taking as our point of departure the establishment and maintenance of British rule in India, we will be looking at a way of life, with its changing fashions, that was to last at least two centuries. What kind of a “hell” did India turn out to be for those sent out to administer it? What attempts were made to turn “strange” life in India into something more familiar, more secure, more like “home”? In addressing this question we will be looking at the personal statements made and visual images drawn by / captured on lens by a spectrum of diasporic Britons with regard to, among other topics, official duties, social life, domestic arrangements, entertainments like charades and costume balls, and last but not least, the so-called ‘natives’ with whom they had dealings either as servants or subordinates.
Course material will either be placed in the Semesterapparat (IB) or, if otherwise difficult to locate, will be made available in CLIX.
Participation
All lecture series material to be read in preparation for each session as scheduled; regular participation in the full lecture series; end of term written test.
Please check the TAS website under "Your Studies" for guidelines, especially on note-taking during a lecture series. |
