Description: Oriental Networks explores forms of interconnectedness between Western and Eastern hemispheres during the long eighteenth century. Contributors discuss relationships between individuals and institutions as precursors to modern networks as they facilitated the exchange of cultural commodities (plants, animals, and artifacts), practices, and ideas. Highlighting ambiguities and unexpected outcomes of networking, the volume adds historical perspective to our understanding of globalization.
Review Quotes: "The topic is clearly timely, as questions surrounding globalization and networks continue to be some of the most pressing of the twenty-first century. Such questions thus continue to demand historical investigation that is both substantial in its scholarship and innovative in its approach - a dual hurdle that Oriental Networks clears with ease, even panache. The editors are to be commended on their choice of contributions, which impressively encompass canonical and non-canonical writers, and contain an embarrassment of archival riches. The fact that the collection is lavishly, intelligently illustrated is a real bonus, too!"--Evan Gottlieb "author of Romantic Globalism: British Literature and Modern World Order, 1750-1830"