John Stevens

We are delighted to welcome John Stevens to our Day of Special Interest.  He is a Research Associate at SOAS, University of London, and a member of academic staff at the SOAS South Asia Institute. His PhD in History is from University College London. He teaches British Imperial history, Indian history and Bengali language, and is a regular visitor to India and Bangladesh. He publishes widely in the fields of British and Indian history.

How did the British view themselves and their subjects in the era of imperialism? How did imperial subjects view the British? This study day considers these questions by exploring a range of images, buildings, objects and art forms from across the British Empire. Beginning with a broad view of the empire and imperial art in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, we will go on to focus more closely on imperial India. We will consider the arts and architecture of the vibrant capital city of Calcutta, the ‘second city’ of the British Empire throughout the nineteenth century. We will then take a detailed look at the life and art of one of India’s cultural giants, Rabindranath Tagore.   

The three lectures are entitled;

1.    Imperial Calcutta: Arts and Architecture

2.    The Art of Rabindranath Tagore.

The first lecture will start at 10.00am and last about an hour. There will then be a 15 minute break to enable you to make yourselves a cup of coffee. The second lecture will then follow. This will also last about an hour. 
The charge for this will be £10.