Ambassador Viswanathan’s Post

Published in 2023, ‘The Turkic Peoples in World History’ by Joo-Yup Lee delves into the rich history and dynamic identities of the Turkic peoples, uncovering their monumental contributions to world history through the creation of powerful empires and their profound impact on regions from China to Europe. Book Summary: “The Turkic Peoples in World History is a thorough and rare introduction to the Turkic world and its role in world history, providing a concise history of the Turkic peoples as well as a critical discussion of their identities and origins. The "Turks" stepped on to the stage of history by establishing the Türk Qaghanate, the first trans-Eurasian empire in history, in 552 CE. In the following millennium, they went on to create empires that had a profound impact on world history such as the Uyghur, Khazar, and Ottoman empires. They also participated in building the Mongol empire, and these Turko-Mongol empires are credited with shaping the destinies of pre-modern China, the Middle East, and Europe. By treating the history of the Turkic peoples as a process of amalgamation and integration, rather than simply categorizing the Turkic peoples chronologically or geographically, this book offers new insights into Turkic history. This volume is a comprehensive guide for students and scholars in the fields of world history, Central Asian history, and Middle Eastern studies who are seeking to understand the historical roles of Turkic peoples and their origins.” Available: https://lnkd.in/db5uMBfX Tags: #turks_zubairsbookshelf

AHIF Releases Spring 2024 Issue of The Journal of Modern Hellenism "The Spring 2024 issue contains a wide range of diverse studies which are representative of the rich diachronic scope of Hellenism and its lasting international impact. The articles contributed by a distinguished group of scholars, cover important subjects in the fields of the history of medicine, economics, music and nationalism, language and literature, modern Greek history, and education. Similarly, the books reviewed represent Hellenism’s importance and impact upon Byzantine art and culture, American diplomacy and the understanding of international affairs, European and Greek revolutionary movements, and Greek American culture.” The new issue also continues the “Archives and Sources” section which was introduced last year, and which seeks to bring important previously unpublished primary sources and resources to the attention of the public and academic community." - Dr. Gus Hatzidimitriou, JMH Managing Editor Link to issue: https://lnkd.in/eAs5X9Uj

There is a lot of China research that is very present-centric, and that is no bad thing. However, I like to broaden the scope into earlier periods of history. My plan is to first (relatively) master Confucian Classical Chinese, then Daoism, then Mahayana Buddhism. This may well take decades, but my plan is to finish my academic book, then do journal articles on both Confucian Classical Chinese and Modern Chinese texts, then do a monograph on Daoism, then finally progress to Buddhism.

Research: East Asia I was pleasantly surprised to learn of the Manchu script's; ᠮᠠᠨᠵᡠ ᡥᡝᡵᡤᡝᠨ manju hergen connection to Syriac; Classical Syriac Edessan Aramaicܠܫܢܐ ܣܘܪܝܝܐ, Leššānā Suryāyā, Arabic; اَلْعَرَبِيَّةُ, al-ʿarabiyyah and Aramaic; ארמית, ܐܪܡܐܝܬ, Arāmāiṯ The "Silk Road" or "Jade Road" depending on which anthropologist you ask was a famous multinational trade route connecting West & East Emporiums, City States, Nations, and Empires. It's amazing to see the tapestry of cultures from this time expressed in language, alphabets, and art. - A bilingual edition of “The Romance of the Western Chamber,” with a Chinese title of “He bi Xi xiang ji” 合璧西廂記. The book’s Manchu title is “Manju nikan si siyang gi bithe.” Published in 1710. Chinese Rare Book Collection, Library of Congress Asian Division.

I enjoyed reading this article by Wesley Macheso, btw, is free to read and download! #queeringtropics #queertropics

Latest #FromtheVault: Today we are revisiting: “Pharaohs and Embargos: Reinterpreting the New Kingdom in Anglophone Cultural Memory through Egyptomania Songs” by Sophia Baldassari. Twentieth-century Anglophone waves of "Egyptomania" - in the second and seventh decades forms the basis for much of our cultural understanding of the New Kingdom. The songs "Old King Tut" and "King Tut" provide examples of this aforementioned narrative surrounding the life of Tutankhamen, an eighteenth-dynasty Pharaoh. Their extremely inaccurate lyrics do more than induce eye-rolling from scholars of Ancient Egyptian history, these subversions of the truth reveal the politics behind both twentieth-century waves of Egyptomania. This essay, written for the Sarah Lawrence Programme at Wadham College, University of Oxford, examines these songs as examples of cultural attitudes towards the New Kingdom with the relevant social context. 

#89 by NITHISH G S : QUAINT and CURIOUS by JOHN Etymology of words with micro-detailing on the history and source of the words through its events in respective languages, cultures and official records.

Now in AMAZON.... This book primarily sheds light on the contributions of the British media in dehumanizing Muslims and oriental refugees through news coverage, movies, tv shows, documentaries, and even on social media by presenting them as threats to national security, economy, and the Western cultural values. It may include some specific terms that might need an explanation or definition for the average Western reader that may not have so much in common with Muslims and their religion on daily basis. Namely, Orientalism, Refugee, Media, and Islamophobia. It thus, seeks to analyze orientalism in the British media. It also portrays the impact of orientalism in English literature with the aim of comprehending the stereotypes and images at work in the types of cognition European countries have about Muslims and Muslim countries. The book is greatly indebted to Edward Said’s two ground-breaking publications on the top of other valuable contributions to the field by various scholars with their books and articles. One of them is Orientalism 1979, which in fact forms the theoretical framework.