Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2000 10:59:27 -0400
Subject: Re: Empires Re-done


I cannot respond to Mrembo's request with references in social sciences, but
I would like to recommend J.M. Coetzee's novel Waiting for the Barbarians as
a postcolonial reworking of some of the cultural themes that are commonly
seen as Roman. Best, Lisa
----------
>From: "John W. Marshall" <john.marshall-AT-utoronto.ca>
>To: postcolonial-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu
>Subject: RE: Empires Re-done
>Date: Mon, Jul 10, 2000, 9:16 AM
>

>Mrembo,
>
>Your question is excellent and I have thought in the vicinity of it for some
>time.  It is virtually impossible, however, to answer it succinctly and I
>wouldn't claim to be competent to answer it at length.  There are huge
>differences in economic structures and technologies in general not to
>mention that the Roman Empire changed substantially over its course as did
>the British Empire--so the endeavour of synthesizing each side in
>preparation for a comparative also presents substantial problems.
>
>Pretty much a non-answer, eh?  But it leads me to the question of
>post-colonial theory and the practice of history.  I am interested in
>looking at the Roman Empire (in, say, its first three centuries) through the
>lens of post-colonial theory, or perhaps utilizing the fruits of
>post-colonial analysis of the British Empire.  So, what would list members
>offer as the most compelling examples of where post-colonial theory has
>transformed social historical research?  That is to say, where are these
>fruits most obvious so that a scholar of religion in the Roman Empire can
>see the benefit of post-colonial theory improving historical research?
>
>Mrembo, if you want to formulate things more specifically, I'll take another
>run at it.
>
> --jwm
>_____________________________________________________________________
>John W. Marshall                     Assistant Professor
>                                     Department for the Study of Religion
>                                     University of Toronto
>john.marshall-AT-utoronto.ca
>
>
>
>
>     --- from list postcolonial-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu ---
>


     --- from list postcolonial-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu ---