Purpose of the lecture series
DEPE lectures introduce novel ways of thinking about the history of political and economic thought. They situate political and economic thought in broader cultural, political and intellectual settings, hence going beyond standard canonical histories that have dominated these fields for too long. In addition, the DEPE lectures explore the possibilities of combining the study of history of political thought and the history of economic thought.
About the lecture
The political novel Usong (1771), written by the Swiss physiologist Albrecht von Haller (1708–1777), is set in the fifteenth century and tells the story of a Mongolian prince who becomes the Emperor of Persia and redesigns the government of his empire to promote the happiness of his subjects. Interestingly, this novel soon appeared in two competing English translations, published in 1772 and 1773. While contemporary reviewers focused on the question whether the language of Haller’s ‘oriental history’ was imaginative enough, the argument of this lecture is that the English translators interpreted Usong in the context of the early modern culture of improvement.
About the lecturer
Laura Tarkka is a postdoctoral researcher in the project 'De-centring political economy in the eighteenth century: rethinking growth, wealth, and welfare in the Swedish Empire' at the Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥. Her role in this project is to examine how eighteenth-century periodicals mediated, disseminated, negotiated, and socialized knowledge about improvement. Previously, she has worked on the topics of translation history, political uses of travel writing, and notions of national character in eighteenth-century Europe.
Funded by the European Union (ERC, DEPE, 101088549). Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Council. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
