Ornamentalism facts for kids
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| Author | Sir David Cannadine |
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| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre | History |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press |
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Publication date
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2001 |
| Pages | 264 |
| ISBN | 978-0195157949 |
Ornamentalism: How the British Saw Their Empire is a book by David Cannadine about British perceptions of the British Empire. Cannadine argues that class, rank and status were more important to the British Empire than race. The title of the work Ornamentalism is a direct reference to Edward Said's book Orientalism, which argues the existence of prejudiced outsider interpretations of the East ("the Other"), shaped by the attitudes of European imperialism in the 18th and 19th centuries. It has also been argued to borrow tones from the title of Joseph Schumpeter's "Imperialism and Social Classes", which some historians see as the origins of the 'Ornamentalist' perspective in academic history'.
Criticism
Ornamentalism has attracted considerable attention from both academics and the public. Stanley Hoffmann, a history professor at Harvard University described the book as "delightful and instructive", revealing a "far more complex reality" of the British Empire. Richard Gott, a journalist and historian, argued that "his book is not just a restatement of traditional conservative history, it is a romantic and postmodernist version suitable for the New Labour era."
The book has also been criticized for underplaying the racial elements of the British imperial project. This view was echoed by Fouad Ajami, a former professor of Middle Eastern history and politics at Princeton University and Johns Hopkins University. Gyan Prakash, a historian and professor at Princeton University, argued that "The empire itself was based on a racial divide -- you cannot get away from that."
See also
