All Blog Posts Tagged 'transnational' (49)

Beyond Victoriana #83 Enichari Corps: Slaves in the Ottoman Military — Guest Blog by Harry Markov

When I agreed to write the series about Bulgaria under the Ottoman rule as a suitable stage for the steampunk genre, I underestimated the challenge these articles present. I want to deliver a portrayal of a complicated and cruel span of five centuries in Bulgarian history. At the same time I’m dealing with controversial and sensitive material, given that the Ottoman occupation has hindered Bulgaria’s access to Europe during the time of the Industrial Revolution.… Continue

Added by Ay-leen the Peacemaker on July 11, 2011 at 12:06pm — No Comments

Fact or Faked: The Travels of Jacob D'Anacona--Guest Blog by Rachel Landau

The City of Light is the journal of the travels of Jacob D'Ancona, a 13th century pious Jewish merchant. Readers follow Jacob on a three-year journey, starting from his hometown of Ancona in present-day Italy, overland through Damascus and Baghdad, and then by sea, stopping at various ports and places until he reaches the city of Zaitun, modern-day Quanzhou, where he stays to buy goods and talk to the scholars of the city. It consists of equal parts travelogue/memoir and a… Continue

Added by Ay-leen the Peacemaker on June 5, 2011 at 12:00am — No Comments

“The Sikh Pioneers of North America”: The Punjabi-Mexican Americans of California

ca. 1909. Sikhs from India at the Calapooia Lumber Company, Crawfordsville, Linn County, Oregon, 1905-1915. (Crawfordsville is about 30 miles north of Eugene, Oregon). (Photo courtesy of Stephen Williamson www.efn.org/~opal/indiamen.htm)

In California at the turn of the 20th century, a community grew in southern California with an interesting history: Punjabi-Mexican families of the Imperial Valley. This unique… Continue

Added by Ay-leen the Peacemaker on May 31, 2011 at 9:02pm — No Comments

QUAINT #20: Roots of the Yellow Peril, Part 2

Note: Read Part 1 of this essay here.

Cartoon from The Wasp. Image courtesy of Berkeley University. Click for link.

Historical and cultural trends fed into the development during the 19th century of the Yellow Peril in the United States and Europe.… Continue

Added by Ay-leen the Peacemaker on May 18, 2011 at 12:00am — No Comments

Beyond Victoriana #76 The Life of Malik Ambar, India's African Ruler--Guest Blog by Eccentric Yoruba

A portrait of Malik Ambar signed by Hashem (C 1624-25); photo courtesy V&A Images, Victoria and Albert Museum, London; A painting showing Jehangir shooting arrows into the severed head of Malik Ambar signed by Abul-Hasan (C 1616), © The Trustees of the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin (www.cbl.ie)

Earlier this year, my attention was drawn to a discussion on … Continue

Added by Ay-leen the Peacemaker on May 15, 2011 at 10:30am — No Comments

QUAINT #18 Roots of the Yellow Peril, Part I

Note: Jess Nevins' entry on the Yellow Peril was just too fascinating to be abridged, and so it will be posted in two parts. Follow along next Wednesday for Part II.

Film poster for The Face of Fu Manchu, who is one of the best known examples of the Yellow Peril stereotype. Image courtesy of Wikipedia.

The Yellow Peril. Although the anti-Asian stereotype of the “Yellow… Continue

Added by Ay-leen the Peacemaker on May 11, 2011 at 3:36pm — No Comments

QUAINT #17 Assowaum from "The Regulators of Arkansas" by Friedrich Gerstäcker

Image from the Gerstäcker Magazine from the Gerstäcker Museum, featuring his illustrated Westerns. Click for source (in German).

Assowaum was created by Friedrich Gerstäcker and appeared in Die Regulatoren in Arkansas ("The Regulators of Arkansas, 1845"). Gerstäcker (1816-1872) was a German who went to America in 1837. For six years he lived a checkered life in America, working as a… Continue

Added by Ay-leen the Peacemaker on May 5, 2011 at 8:26pm — No Comments

QUAINT #16 Vathek: An Arabian Tale by William Beckford

Vathek was created by William Beckford and appeared in Vathek: An Arabian Tale from an Unpublished Manuscript, with Notes Critical and Explanatory (1786). Beckford (1760-1844) was one of English literature's real oddities. He lived a life of scandal and extravagance, both financial and sexual, and even in the 21st century his name retains the… Continue

Added by Ay-leen the Peacemaker on April 20, 2011 at 12:00am — No Comments

#72 Passover Traditions from Jewish Cultures Worldwide--Guest Blog by Rachel Landau

This Monday is the first night of Pesach, or Passover. In the days when the Temple was standing, every Jew was required to make a pilgrimage to the Temple and make an offering there. Around the world and on six continents, Jews still follow the same structure for a Passover seder, as outlined in the Haggadah nearly two thousand years ago. But Jews are not monolithic: each community adds its own variations and customs to the mix.

A picture from the Sarajevo Haggadah,… Continue

Added by Ay-leen the Peacemaker on April 17, 2011 at 12:00am — No Comments

“African Fabrics”: The History of Dutch Wax Prints–Guest Blog by Eccentric Yoruba

Vlisco model. Click for source.

“A picture of a pipe isn't necessarily a pipe, an image of “African fabric” isn't necessarily authentically [and wholly] African”.

These above words are quoted by… Continue

Added by Ay-leen the Peacemaker on April 10, 2011 at 12:00am — 1 Comment

QUAINT #14 The Land of Agartha from “Mission de l’Inde en Europe, Mission de l’Europe en Asie” by Joseph Alexandre Saint-Yves

One representation of Agartha, based on writings of Raymond W. Bernard, which assumed that Agartha existed inside the Earth with an opening entrance in the Himalayas. Click for source.

Agartha was created by “Saint Yves d'Alveydre” and appeared in Mission de l'Inde en Europe, Mission de l'Europe en Asie (Mission to India from Europe, Mission to Europe from Asia, 1885). Joseph Alexandre Saint-Yves, Marquis d’Alveydre (1824-1909) was a…

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Added by Ay-leen the Peacemaker on April 4, 2011 at 9:54pm — No Comments

QUAINT #13 Hagar of the Pawnshop, The Gypsy Detective by Fergus Hume

Image courtesy of Phountains. Click for source.

Hagar Stanley was created by Fergus Hume and appeared in Hagar of the Pawnshop, The Gypsy Detective (1898). Hume (1859-1932) was born in England but grew up in New Zealand and moved to Australia to practice law.… Continue

Added by Ay-leen the Peacemaker on March 30, 2011 at 5:18pm — No Comments

QUAINT #10 Cahina from “A Royal Enchantress” by Leo Charles Dessar

Cahina was created by Leo Charles Dessar and appears in A Royal Enchantress (1900). Dessar (1847-1924) was a New York judge who was a part of the corrupt Tammany Hall political system.

There was a real Cahina (alternatively, “Kahena” or “Kahina”), a Queen of the Berbers in the 7th and 8th… Continue

Added by Ay-leen the Peacemaker on March 9, 2011 at 12:00am — No Comments

International Women's Day: A Brief History

During the aftermath of the Industrial Revolution, causes for gender equality were being raised by men and women throughout the world. In 1909, under the helm of the Socialist Party of America, the first National Women's Day was celebrated in the United States on February 28th. In 1910, at the International Conference of Working Women in Copenhagen, influential German socialist politician Clara Zetkin proposed that a day be…

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Added by Ay-leen the Peacemaker on March 7, 2011 at 9:49pm — No Comments

Beyond Victoriana #65 "Steampunk" Characters: About Characterization in Jules Verne's Novels--Guest Blog by Harry Markov

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea 1871 title page. Image courtesy of Wikipedia.

Did Verne create “steampunk” characters in his novels? Though I cannot define Verne as being a steampunk writer, I can say that Verne’s works, while written in a cut and dry cataloguing style, nonetheless emphasizes moral and social qualities as much as it does scientific ones. Given these circumstances, I will consider what are considered important values that a person should have according to… Continue

Added by Ay-leen the Peacemaker on February 27, 2011 at 5:28pm — No Comments

QUAINT #8 Tokeah from the White Rose by “Charles Sealsfield” aka Karl Anton Postl

Tokeah, or The White Rose opening page

Tokeah was created by “Charles Sealsfield” and appeared in Tokeah; or the… Continue

Added by Ay-leen the Peacemaker on February 23, 2011 at 12:00am — No Comments

QUAINT #6 Hajji Baba from "Hajji Baba of Ispahan" & "Hajji Baba in England" by James Morier

Hajji Baba enjoys the company of Zeenab. After Ḥabl al-matin Persian tr., Calcutta, 1905, opp. p. 142. Caption & Image courtesy of Encyclopaedia Iranica. Click for source.

Hajji Baba was created by James Morier and appeared in Hajji Baba of Ispahan (1824) and Hajji Baba in England (1827). Morier (1780-1849) was a British… Continue

Added by Ay-leen the Peacemaker on February 9, 2011 at 12:00am — No Comments

Lunar New Year's: A Global Perspective

For Tết (Vietnamese Lunar New Year), I'm spending the day with my family (and getting in gear for TempleCon.) But I wanted to leave a little note for today to those who celebrate Lunar New Year's in any manner.

Most people would recognize that today is Chinese New Year, and that it is the Year of the Metal Rabbit.

For the Vietnamese, however, Feb 2nd was the start of our New Year, the Year of the Metal Cat.

Either one… Continue

Added by Ay-leen the Peacemaker on February 3, 2011 at 4:32pm — No Comments

Beyond Victoriana #61 Steam-Powered: Lesbian Steampunk Stories -- A Roundtable Interview, Part 2

Note: This is part 2 of our roundtable interview with several contributors to Steam-Powered.

Read part 1 here.

Steam-Powered: Lesbian Steampunk Stories — A Roundtable Interview, Part 1

Steam-Powered: Lesbian Steampunk Stories is a very unique anthology for a variety of reasons. By unique, I'm not stating that this anthology is tailor-made for only a specific target audience (though it may scream "niche" to the average reader.) Still, upon first impression, a reader might wonder: would someone who isn't queer or female or a romance lover still… Continue

Added by Ay-leen the Peacemaker on January 29, 2011 at 10:59pm — No Comments