Jack Smith

Thesis Title: Tracing Tropes: A Discourse-Historical Analysis of British Cultural Encounters on the Red Sea Trade Route, 1833-1860.

Postcolonial theory has altered the course of colonial history since the late 1970s. The existential imagining of Eastern cultures by Western academic institutions has undoubtedly left an immeasurable mark on modern political and cultural life across the world today. Additionally, critical discourse analysis, an interdisciplinary approach to studying how language relates to power, hegemony, and society, has developed rapidly since the 1980s. This thesis utilises the India Office Records for Egypt and the Red Sea to examine how British consuls justified the East India Company's involvement in Egypt from 1833-1860. Critical discourse analysis, and specifically Wodak's discourse-historical approach, is used alongside corpus linguistics and corpus-assisted discourse studies to promote an innovative, and more standardised approach to studying the East India Company correspondence. Postcolonial theory, and particularly Edward Said's criticism of Western attitudes toward the 'East' is used in tow with discourse-historical analysis, to ground the project in an understanding of how British colonial officials attempted to justify their involvement in Egypt through the contents of written correspondence.

Biography:

Jack Smith is an ESRC +4 funded student completing a PhD in British Colonialism. His interests include the East India Company and British cultural encounters during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Having previously completed his MA in History at NTU, Jack decided to continue his project through to PhD level. Jack is currently undertaking his second year of study, moving firmly into data collection, data analysis, and a keen focus on publishing a journal article regarding the career of Robert Clive and his activities in India during the late eighteenth century.

Research Methods:

Critical discourse analysis, discourse-historical approach, postcolonial theory, corpus linguistics

Other Research Interests:

East India Company history 1600-1858. British Empire studies.

School of Social Sciences

Nottingham Trent University

2024 Cohort

Email:

Supervisory Team:

Prof Steven King

Dr Sergio Lussana