Back to selection
77915-01 - Seminar: A Transimperial Empire: Brokers of the British East India Company (3 CP)
| Semester | spring semester 2026 |
| Course frequency | Once only |
| Lecturers | Philippe Bernhard Schmid (philippebernhard.schmid@unibas.ch, Assessor) |
| Content | In the middle of the eighteenth century, the early modern British Empire emerged as a major imperial power in Asia. Yet, British officials never operated in isolation. The British East India Company competed with the French Compagnie des Indes on the Indian subcontinent, while it was deeply indebted to the Mughal Empire and its various successor states. Brokers, agents, go-betweens and other intermediaries thus played an essential role in the hybrid colonial administration of the British East India Company, from its incorporation as a chartered company by Elizabeth I in 1601 to its demise in 1857. Yet, while scholars have championed the role of intermediaries in the “brokered world” of the British Empire, new studies on scribal elites have also highlighted the existence of a class of Indo-Persian administrators who served both Mughal and British officials in India. Can these highly educated scribes still be cast as cultural “brokers”? In this seminar, we will look at a number of intermediares, administrators and scribes who served more than one political power in India during the second half of the eighteenth century. We will discuss cases of diplomacy, administration, military and knowledge production, including Mughal, Hindu, Maratha, British, French and Swiss examples. In addition to readings of recent scholarship, we will read primary sources translated into English by the Mughal administrator Ali Ibrahim Khan from Banares, Ananda Ranga Pillai, the Tamil interpreter (dubash) of the French governor-general in Pondicherry, the Swiss-French military engineer Antoine Louis Henri Polier in Awadh, Tafazzul Husain Kashmiri, a Shi’a scholar in Lucknow, and the Scotsman James Dinwiddie in Bengal. We will also work with the database “East India Company – Adam Matthew Digital” to research new materials on Polier’s military service for the Company in India. |
| Bibliography | Recommended Reading: Simon Schaffer, Lissa Roberts, Kapil Raj and James Delbourgo, eds., "The Brokered World: Go-Betweens and Global Intelligence, 1770–1820" (Sagamore Beach: Science History, 2009). There will be a special exercise with the database “East India Company – Adam Matthew Digital”: https://basel.swisscovery.org/permalink/41SLSP_UBS/mmbbsj/alma9972756152505504 |
| Comments | The seminar will be conducted in English. Basic knowledge of French is helpful in order to read French secondary literature. |
| Admission requirements | Für Masterstudierende sowie fortgeschrittene Bachelorstudierende in Englisch und/oder Geschichte mit abgeschlossener Grundstufe (inkl. Proseminararbeiten). Die Teilnehmer:innenzahl ist auf 20 beschränkt. Bei Überbelegung werden Studierende in Englisch und Geschichte bevorzugt zugelassen. |
| Course application | If you would like to participate in this seminar, in addition to registering on https://services.unibas.ch, please send me an email to express your interest in the topic. The number of participants is limited to 20. |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Use of digital media | Online, mandatory |
| Interval | Weekday | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|---|
| wöchentlich | Tuesday | 16.15-18.00 | Nadelberg 6, Grosser Hörsaal |
Dates
| Date | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|
| Tuesday 24.02.2026 | 16.15-18.00 | Fasnachtsferien |
| Tuesday 03.03.2026 | 16.15-18.00 | Nadelberg 6, Grosser Hörsaal |
| Tuesday 10.03.2026 | 16.15-18.00 | Nadelberg 6, Grosser Hörsaal |
| Tuesday 17.03.2026 | 16.15-18.00 | Nadelberg 6, Grosser Hörsaal |
| Tuesday 24.03.2026 | 16.15-18.00 | Nadelberg 6, Grosser Hörsaal |
| Tuesday 31.03.2026 | 16.15-18.00 | Nadelberg 6, Grosser Hörsaal |
| Tuesday 07.04.2026 | 16.15-18.00 | Nadelberg 6, Grosser Hörsaal |
| Tuesday 14.04.2026 | 16.15-18.00 | Nadelberg 6, Grosser Hörsaal |
| Tuesday 21.04.2026 | 16.15-18.00 | Nadelberg 6, Grosser Hörsaal |
| Tuesday 28.04.2026 | 16.15-18.00 | Nadelberg 6, Grosser Hörsaal |
| Tuesday 05.05.2026 | 16.15-18.00 | Nadelberg 6, Grosser Hörsaal |
| Tuesday 12.05.2026 | 16.15-18.00 | Nadelberg 6, Grosser Hörsaal |
| Tuesday 19.05.2026 | 16.15-18.00 | Nadelberg 6, Grosser Hörsaal |
| Tuesday 26.05.2026 | 16.15-18.00 | Nadelberg 6, Grosser Hörsaal |
| Modules |
Modul: Advanced Anglophone Literary and Cultural Studies (Bachelor's degree subject: English) Modul: Anglophone Literary and Cultural Studies (Master's degree subject: English) Modul: Areas: Europa Global (Master's degree program: European History in Global Perspective) Modul: Aufbau Frühe Neuzeit (Bachelor's degree subject: History) Modul: Epochen der europäischen Geschichte: Frühe Neuzeit (Master's degree program: European History in Global Perspective) Modul: Literaturgeschichte (Master's degree program: Literary Studies) Modul: Mittelalter / Frühe Neuzeit (Master's degree subject: History) |
| Assessment format | continuous assessment |
| Assessment registration/deregistration | Reg.: course registration; dereg.: not required |
| Repeat examination | no repeat examination |
| Scale | Pass / Fail |
| Repeated registration | no repetition |
| Responsible faculty | Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, studadmin-philhist@unibas.ch |
| Offered by | Fachbereich Englische Sprach- und Literaturwissenschaft |