This seminar explores the significance of the documentary survey in Europe and the Middle East. Writing the history of the world can only be undertaken from a particular ideological point of view; for example, although medieval illustrated manuscripts, such as the Compendium of History of Rashid al-Din (1304) and the Travels of Sir John Mandeville (ca. 1371), were concerned with situating the reader within the context of religious and political authority, during the eighteenth century the attempt was made to document the world through scientific explorations of race, religion, and geography, as exemplified by the magnum opus Ceremonies and Customs of the World Religions, by Bernard and Picart (1727–31). This seminar studies original and facsimile copies of manuscripts at Yale libraries.
Taught by Kishwar Rizvi Fall 2018