Includes bibliographical references (pages 233-259) and index.
Contents:
"Peuplade estimable" : late-eighteenth-century radical critics of religion and the Ghebres / Erica J. Mannucci. The background : European knowledge of Persia before the Enlightenment / Cyrus Masroori and John Christian Laursen -- Religious tolerance, intolerance, and absolutism in Safavid Persia and their representations in early Enlightenment European travel literature / John Marshall -- Persian theology and the checkmate of Christian theology : Bayle and the problem of evil / Marta García-Alonso -- Oriental patriotism? Eighteenth-century French representations of Nadir Shah / Rolando Minuti -- The tolerant Persia in Montesquieu's Persian letters / Antônio Carlos dos Santos -- George Lyttelton's Letters from a Persian : Persia and politics in eighteenth-century English fiction / Cyrus Masroori -- Voltaire and Persia, or how to use Orient against Occident / Myrtille Méricam-Bourdet -- Persia in Diderot's Encyclopédie / Whitney Mannies -- "Peuplade estimable" : late-eighteenth-century radical critics of religion and the Ghebres / Erica J. Mannucci.
Summary:
"Since the 5th century BCE Persia has played a significant part in representing the "Other" against which European identity has been constructed. What makes the case of Persia unique in this process of identity formation is the ambivalent attitude that Europe has shown in its imaginary about Persia. Persia is arguably the nation of "the Orient" most referred to in Early Modern European writings, frequently mentioned in various discourses of the Enlightenment including theology, literature, and political theory. What was the appeal of Persia to such a diverse intellectual population in Enlightenment Europe? How did intellectuals engage with the 'facts' about Persia? In what ways did utilizing Persia contribute to the development of modern European identities? In this volume, an international group of scholars with diverse academic backgrounds has tackled these and other questions related to the Enlightenment's engagement with Persia. In doing so, Persia and the Enlightenment questions reductionist assessments of Modern Europe's encounter with the Middle East, where a complex engagement is simplified to a confrontation between liberalism and Islam, or an exaggerated Orientalism. By carefully studying Persia in the Enlightenment narratives, this volume throws new light on the complexity of intercultural encounters and their impact on the shaping of collective identities"--Provided by publisher.
Series:
Oxford University studies in the Enlightenment, 2634-8047 ; 2021:09
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.