Presented By: Center for South Asian Studies
CSAS Kavita Datla Memorial Lecture | Criss-crossing narratives of empire: Sir Syed at Versailles and the French conquest of Algeria
David Lelyveld
Attend in person or via Zoom: https://myumi.ch/Rm5e4
In 1869, Sayyid Ahmad Khan (“Sir Syed”) made a brief stop in Paris on his way to a life-transforming journey to Britain. At Versailles, he was shocked and upset when confronted by a huge, almost panoramic painting, “La prise de smala d’Abd el-Kader” for its brutal depiction of the humiliation of the Algerians, particularly the women, which for the French was a triumphal celebration of a turning point in their conquest of Algeria a quarter century earlier. Sayyid Ahmad’s encounter with the painting summons up a challenge for historical exposition, weaving together histories of nineteenth-century French and British imperialism with respect to North Africa and India and the lives of two major contemporary leaders, Amir Abd al-Qadir and Sayyid Ahmad Khan.
David Lelyveld is the author of Aligarh’s First Generation: Muslim Solidarity in British India (1978, reprinted 2003). His publications also deal with the social and political history of Urdu and its differentiation from Hindi. He has held faculty and administrative positions at the University of Minnesota, Columbia and Cornell. He retired as Professor of History at William Paterson University in New Jersey.
The lecture is made possible through the generosity of Dr. Kavita Datla's family and friends.
Free and open to the public
In 1869, Sayyid Ahmad Khan (“Sir Syed”) made a brief stop in Paris on his way to a life-transforming journey to Britain. At Versailles, he was shocked and upset when confronted by a huge, almost panoramic painting, “La prise de smala d’Abd el-Kader” for its brutal depiction of the humiliation of the Algerians, particularly the women, which for the French was a triumphal celebration of a turning point in their conquest of Algeria a quarter century earlier. Sayyid Ahmad’s encounter with the painting summons up a challenge for historical exposition, weaving together histories of nineteenth-century French and British imperialism with respect to North Africa and India and the lives of two major contemporary leaders, Amir Abd al-Qadir and Sayyid Ahmad Khan.
David Lelyveld is the author of Aligarh’s First Generation: Muslim Solidarity in British India (1978, reprinted 2003). His publications also deal with the social and political history of Urdu and its differentiation from Hindi. He has held faculty and administrative positions at the University of Minnesota, Columbia and Cornell. He retired as Professor of History at William Paterson University in New Jersey.
The lecture is made possible through the generosity of Dr. Kavita Datla's family and friends.
Free and open to the public
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