Robert Aldrich

This comprehensive and authoritative book is about the last colonies, those remaining territories formally dependent on the colonial powers.

Through an examination of forty figures in European culture, The Seduction of the Mediterranean argues that the Mediterranean, classical and contemporary, was the central theme in homoerotic writing and art from the 1750s to the 1950s. Episodes of exile, murder, drug-taking, wild homosexual orgies and court cases are woven into an original study of a significant theme in European culture. The myth of a homoerotic Mediterranean made a major contribution to general attitudes towards Antiquity, the Renaissance and modern Italy and Greece.

x, 357 p. : 24 cm

Monarchies and Decolonisation provides new perspectives on the role of European colonial monarchies, and the monarchies of Asia, in the late colonial period, during the process of decolonization, and in its aftermath. With case studies drawn from former colonies in South and Southeast Asia, as well as Japan and Thailand, contributors examine the changes in forms of government - from colonial monarchies to those of independent states, from monarchies to republics, and from monarchies with empires to those which no longer had them - in the lead-up to the decolonization of India and Indonesia in the 1940s down to to the handover of Hong Kong to China in 1997. It shows how monarchies, with or without success, tried to accommodate the independence of former colonies, restructuring themselves for political transition, challenges from republicanism and radicalism and, in some cases, recasting themselves in the the wake of the loss of overseas empires. Looking at the phenomenon of hundreds of rulers of princely states in India and sultanates in Indonesia, the 'white rajahs' of Sarawak and such well-known figures as King Sihanouk of Cambodia and Emperor Hirohito of Japan, it develops new transnational and comparative insights into the institution of monarchy in modern Asia. With chapters written by internationally recognized scholars from half a dozen countries, the volume will prove valuable to historians of modern Asia, of colonialism and decolonisation, and of studies in modern monarchy.

"A comprehensive biographical survey from ancient Chinese courtiers to pioneers of gay liberation in the twenty-first century, from the unknowable relationships of the distant past to the frankest affirmations of modern sexual identity"--Publisher description.

Exile in Colonial Asia: Kings, Convicts, Commemoration explores the phenomenon of exile within and from colonial Asia between the seventeenth and early twentieth centuries from several disciplinary perspectives: anthropology, gender studies, literature, history, and Asian, Australian, and Pacific studies. Chapters cover myriad contexts from Colombo to Cape Town, from New Caledonia to New South Wales, from Burma to Banda; French, British, and Dutch policies toward, and practices of banishment; various categories of people whose lives were touched or shaped by exile in the colonial period, among them royalty, slaves, convicts, rebels, soldiers and officials; the condition of exile and the ways it was remembered, reconfigured, and commemorated after the fact. Rather than confining themselves to the European colonial archives, the authors, whenever possible, put special emphasis on the use of indigenous primary sources hitherto little explored. In addition to presenting fascinating, little known, and diverse case studies of exile in colonial Asia, the volume collectively offers a broad, contextualized, comparative perspective on a theme that links the narratives of diverse peoples and locales, invites imaginative methodological innovation in exploring multiple archives, and expands our theoretical frontiers in thinking about the interconnected histories of penal deportation, labor migration, political exile, colonial expansion, and individual destinies.--

500 entries from more than 100 contributors, profiling gay and lesbians throughout history, ranging from Sappho to Andre Gide; most entries are accompanied by a bibliography.

This collection of original essays explores the connections between monarchy and colonialism, from the old regime empires down to the Commonwealth of today. With case studies drawn from Britain, France, the Netherlands, Germany and Italy, the chapters analyse constitutional questions about the role of the crown in overseas empires, the pomp and pageantry of the monarchy as it transferred to the colonies, and the fate of indigenous sovereigns under European colonial control.

This work of reference covers figures who have had an impact upon gay and lesbian life throughout recent history, and not merely individuals who were or are themselves homosexual. Unless explicitly stated, no inferences should be made about subjects' sexual orientation.

"Ceylon, or Sri Lanka, was long known to travellers for its luxuriant landscapes, colourful temples and friendly inhabitants--the island once named Serendip. This book explores the sojourns of gay visitors from the late 1800s to the modern day, providing a history of homosexuality, travel and cultural encounter on the island.The book offers profiles of major figures in Sri Lankan culture and of homosexual visitors, both famous and infamous, to the island. It discusses the experiences of sojourners including the Victorian social reformer Edward Carpenter and the German naturalist Ernst Haeckel, such British and American writers as Paul Bowles and Arthur C. Clarke, and the Australian painter Donald Friend. It also pays particular attention to Lionel Wendt, one of the most important modernist photographers outside Europe. For these figures, an erotic appreciation of young men whom they encountered mixed with interest in Sinhalese art, Buddhist and Hindu spirituality, and the flora and fauna of the island. Their experiences influenced modern writing, art and dance. Cultural influences moved in both directions, however, and Sri Lankans also found inspiration from abroad. The book argues that homosexuals played a major role in the transmission of cultural influences from Sri Lanka to the rest of the world, and from the wider world to this Indian Ocean island.Providing an original analysis of gay cultures in Sri Lanka from Victorian encounters to the present day, this book is the first study of Sri Lanka as a site of gay travel. An excellent study of trans-national cultural exchange, sexuality and the relationships between them, it will be of interest to academics in the field of Asian Studies, Colonial History and Gay and Queer Studies"--