Tony Ballantyne (historian)
Encyclopedia
Tony Ballantyne is a New Zealand
historian whose works examined the development of imperial
intellectual and cultural life in Ireland
, India
, New Zealand, and Britain
. He graduated BA
at the University of Otago
and obtained a PhD
at the University of Cambridge
under the supervision of Professor C. A. Bayly
. He currently is a faculty member at the University of Otago, but has taught at Washington University in St. Louis
, the University of Illinois, and the National University of Ireland
.
was like a web, with 'vertical' connections developing between Britain and its colonies and 'horizontal' connections linking various colonies directly. He has suggested that the key work of imperial historians is to reconstruct these 'webs of empire' in order to understand how the empire operated and the ways in which it incorporated new lands and peoples.
His work has addressed a range of issues, including colonial knowledge in New Zealand, Ireland and India, the changing structure of the empire, and the place of race and religion
in cross-cultural history. He has published extensively on both India and New Zealand.
Ballantyne has offered an innovative rereading of modern Sikh
history. He has criticised scholarship that focuses narrowly on Sikh texts, arguing that the experiences of colonialism and migration have been crucial in making Sikh identities.
His essays on New Zealand have shown the importance of historical connections to India in shaping colonial culture. He has also highlighted the importance of print culture and literacy in the encounters between Māori and the Pākehā
colonists.
Orientalism and Race: Aryanism in the British Empire (Cambridge Imperial and Post-Colonial Studies Series, Palgrave, 2001).
coeditor, Moving Subjects: Gender,Mobility and Intimacy in an Age of Global Empire (University of Illinois Press, 2007).
editor, Textures of the Sikh Past: New Historical Interpretations (Oxford University Press, 2007).
coeditor, Disputed Histories: Reimagining New Zealand's Pasts (Otago University Press, 2006).
coeditor, Bodies in Contact: Rethinking Colonial Encounters in World History (Duke University Press, 2005).
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
historian whose works examined the development of imperial
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
intellectual and cultural life in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, New Zealand, and Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. He graduated BA
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
at the University of Otago
University of Otago
The University of Otago in Dunedin is New Zealand's oldest university with over 22,000 students enrolled during 2010.The university has New Zealand's highest average research quality and in New Zealand is second only to the University of Auckland in the number of A rated academic researchers it...
and obtained a PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
at the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
under the supervision of Professor C. A. Bayly
Christopher Alan Bayly
Sir Christopher Alan Bayly, FBA, FRSL is a British historian specializing in Indian, British Imperial, and Global History...
. He currently is a faculty member at the University of Otago, but has taught at Washington University in St. Louis
Washington University in St. Louis
Washington University in St. Louis is a private research university located in suburban St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1853, and named for George Washington, the university has students and faculty from all fifty U.S. states and more than 110 nations...
, the University of Illinois, and the National University of Ireland
National University of Ireland
The National University of Ireland , , is a federal university system of constituent universities, previously called constituent colleges, and recognised colleges set up under the Irish Universities Act, 1908, and significantly amended by the Universities Act, 1997.The constituent universities are...
.
Scholarship
His work is an important example of the 'new imperial history', a tradition of scholarship that sees colonialism as a cultural as well as a political and economic project. He is best known for forwarding a new model for analyzing the empire's development in his Orientalism and Race (2002) and Between Colonialism and Diaspora (2006). In both works he suggested that the structure of the British empireBritish Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
was like a web, with 'vertical' connections developing between Britain and its colonies and 'horizontal' connections linking various colonies directly. He has suggested that the key work of imperial historians is to reconstruct these 'webs of empire' in order to understand how the empire operated and the ways in which it incorporated new lands and peoples.
His work has addressed a range of issues, including colonial knowledge in New Zealand, Ireland and India, the changing structure of the empire, and the place of race and religion
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
in cross-cultural history. He has published extensively on both India and New Zealand.
Ballantyne has offered an innovative rereading of modern Sikh
Sikh
A Sikh is a follower of Sikhism. It primarily originated in the 15th century in the Punjab region of South Asia. The term "Sikh" has its origin in Sanskrit term शिष्य , meaning "disciple, student" or शिक्ष , meaning "instruction"...
history. He has criticised scholarship that focuses narrowly on Sikh texts, arguing that the experiences of colonialism and migration have been crucial in making Sikh identities.
His essays on New Zealand have shown the importance of historical connections to India in shaping colonial culture. He has also highlighted the importance of print culture and literacy in the encounters between Māori and the Pākehā
Pakeha
Pākehā is a Māori language word for New Zealanders who are "of European descent". They are mostly descended from British and to a lesser extent Irish settlers of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, although some Pākehā have Dutch, Scandinavian, German, Yugoslav or other ancestry...
colonists.
Works
Between Colonialism and Diaspora: Sikh Cultural Formations in an Imperial World (Duke University Press, 2006).Orientalism and Race: Aryanism in the British Empire (Cambridge Imperial and Post-Colonial Studies Series, Palgrave, 2001).
coeditor, Moving Subjects: Gender,Mobility and Intimacy in an Age of Global Empire (University of Illinois Press, 2007).
editor, Textures of the Sikh Past: New Historical Interpretations (Oxford University Press, 2007).
coeditor, Disputed Histories: Reimagining New Zealand's Pasts (Otago University Press, 2006).
coeditor, Bodies in Contact: Rethinking Colonial Encounters in World History (Duke University Press, 2005).