English Ideas of the Orient in the Eighteenth Century

The Orient is much-loaded term – geographically and historically. Our present picture of those countries usually associated with the Orient is strongly influenced by the depiction of it as it was common in British society in the eighteenth and early nineteenth century.

Aladdin and the genie from his oil lamp is just one typical example of what has been constituting the public imagination of the Orient, leading all the way to legendary figures such as Lawrence of Arabia.

Prof. Christoph Heyl of the University Duisburg-Essen is a scholar of the English language and literature, giving us an intriguing talk about what is typical in traditional English ideas about the Orient – and where legend begins.