Textile Orientalisms: Paisley Shawls in Literature

Textile Orientalisms: Paisley Shawls in Literature

South Asian Heritage Month
Date: Friday 06 September 2024
Time: 19:00 - 20:30
Venue: The Georgian House, 7 Charlotte Square, Edinburgh, EH2 4DR
Category: Academic events
Speaker: Dr Suchitra Choudhury
Website: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/textile-orientalisms-paisley-shawls-in-literature-tickets-883282711367

During the late eighteenth century, Cashmere shawls from the Indian subcontinent began arriving in Britain. At first, these luxury goods were tokens of wealth and prestige. Subsequently, affordable copies known as “Paisley” shawls were mass-produced in British factories, most notably in the Scottish town of the same name. Textile Orientalisms is the first full length study of these shawls in British literature of the extended nineteenth century.

Join the National Trust for Scotland at the Georgian House to welcome the author, Suchitra Choudhury, for a presentation of her work and wider discussion.

Refreshments will be served on arrival.

About the author

Suchitra Choudhury is a Research Affiliate at the University of Glasgow, specializing in English Literature associated with India. Suchitra’s new book Textile Orientalisms considers popular literary images of Cashmere and Paisley shawls as markers of fashion, class, and race during the nineteenth century.

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