Publication details
Is Byzantine Studies a Colonialist Discipline? Toward a Critical Historiography, B. Anderson, M. Ivanova eds, University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 2023
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| Year of publication | 2024 |
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| Description | This review examines the book Is Byzantine Studies a Colonialist Discipline?, edited by Benjamin Anderson and Mirela Ivanova, which seeks to reframe Byzantine studies through the lenses of colonialism, nationalism, and global medieval studies. The volume highlights the historiographical marginalization of Byzantium, emphasizing its dual role as both colonizer and colonized. Through a compelling selection of case studies and theoretical reflections, contributors explore the political and ideological uses of Byzantium, its representation in museum practices, and its complex entanglements with Eurocentrism and Orientalism. While the book enriches critical debates, it remains largely focused on Anglo-American perspectives, occasionally to the detriment of non-English scholarship. Nevertheless, it offers a timely and necessary reflection on Byzantine studies, presenting the field as deeply intertwined with contemporary socio-political concerns. |
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