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Biography
My primary research interests are connected to the postcolonial theory of colonial anxiety. In particular, the dichotomy of the colonial and migrational nuances / signifiers involved. As a primary means of investigation, I have extensively used Lacanian thought into structural anxiety to analyse a range of sources including epistolary correspondence, literature and fiction, periodicals and primary printed material such as travellers' diaries.
My interest in this field of study developed out of my research into the personal experiences of colonial servants living in India and working for the East India Company during the early eighteenth century. I realised that many of the assumptions that scholars work from in terms of migration in empire and, more specifically, colonial anxiety, did not sit easy with existing studies or theories. This was primarily due to theoretical assumptions arising out of later examples from periods when the notion of empire and imperial service were well established. For earlier periods, for example that of Sir Robert Cowan, Governor of Bombay (1729-34), signifiers of colonial anxiety could not be effectively tied to existing theories in a neat way.
The date range of my research interests spans the period 1680-1865. Geographically, my work has examined South and Southeast Asia, the Arabian Peninsula and North America. My interest in the postcolonial world has evolved out of my work into empire from epistolary sources. This was initially confined to postcolonial theory on the notion of colonial anxiety with regard to manuscript sources. My interests very rapidly diversified into the literary aspects of colonial anxiety and the postcolonial question for India and Indonesia. Publications on this were released throughout 2020 and 2021.
As regards my American postcolonial connection, my current work has examined literary accounts (published diaries / fiction / periodicals) of trail life and society in the Nineteenth Century American West. Again, this was primarily carried out through the lens of the postcolonial theory of colonial anxiety. Further publications on this development are currently in press and are due for publication in late 2022 and into 2023. This is also the subject of the monograph that I am currently working on, with the American example providing the main thread of discussion. Effectively, I wish to more fully integrate the history of American migration, settlers and colonisation into the wider canon of postcolonial studies.
Activities
Education and qualifications (1)
Works (17)
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