Speaker: Christopher Harding

Topic: Under Western Eyes: the West’s Fascination with Asia

Venue: Vinson Building

Time: 10.00-11.00 Saturday 14 September

Talk Summary:

From the time of the ancient Greeks onwards, the West’s relationship with Asia consisted largely of outrageous tales of strange beasts and monsters, of silk and spices shipped over vast distances and an uneasy sense of unknowable empires fantastically far away. By the 20th century much of Asia might have come under Western rule after centuries of warfare, but its intellectual, artistic and spiritual influence was fighting back. China, India and Japan were all acknowledged to be both great civilisations and also seen as superseded by the West. From Chicago to Calcutta, and from antiquity to the new millennium, a dramatic account of misunderstandings, of inspiration, of geniuses, adventurers and conmen is revealed.