Product Description

Examining case studies, each a micro history of a particular colonial situation and a sexual encounter, this is a thorough investigation of the connections of homosexuality and imperialism from the late 1800s until the era of decolonization.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #304340 in Books
• Published on: 2002-11-21
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 464 pages

Review
"Fascinating... this growing body of scholarship should prompt fresh interpretation of empire and colonialism's interaction with gender and sexuality... Excellent bibliography.."
-Choice
"Combining extensive scholarly research with the kind of solid storytelling that marks the most interesting historical writing, Aldrich examines the complex roles homosexual relationships played during colonialist expansion.."
-Lambda Book Report, January 2004
"Aldrich does make the important point, though, that the outlook of homosexual and homosocial administrators had a direct impact on colonial policy."
-"Geist

From the Back Cover

Colonialism and Homosexuality is a thorough investigation of the connections of homosexuality and imperialism from the late 1800s - the era of 'new imperialism' - until the era of decolonization. Robert Aldrich reconstructs the context of a number of liaisons, including those of famous men such as Cecil Rhodes, E.M. Forster or André Gide, and the historical situations which produced both the Europeans and their non-Western lovers.

Colonial lands, which in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century included most of Africa, South and Southeast Asia and the islands of the Pacific and Indian Oceans and the Caribbean, provided a haven for many Europeans whose sexual inclinations did not fit neatly into the constraints of European society.

Each of the case-studies is a micro-history of a particular colonial situation, a sexual encounter, and its wider implications for cultural and political life. Students both of colonial history, and of gender and queer studies, will find this an informative read.