In this event we explore the rich interaction between east and west with Jerry Brotton, whose forthcoming book This Orient Isle: Elizabethan England and the Islamic World explores Elizabethan England's relations with the Muslim world, and Peter Frankopan, whose recent bookThe Silk Roads: A New History of the World looks at world history from the perspective of this trading route of culture and ideas.
Jerry Brotton is Professor of Renaissance Studies at Queen Mary, University of London and a leading expert in the history of maps and Renaissance cartography. His books include The Sale of the Late King’s Goods (2006) shortlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize, The Renaissance: A Very Short Introduction (2006), Great Maps (2014) and the bestselling A History of the World in Twelve Maps (2012), translated into eleven languages which won book of the year in Austria and was shortlisted for the Hessel Tiltman Prize. He is a regular broadcaster, critic and feature writer, presenting BBC4’s Maps: Power, Plunder and Possession (2010) and BBC Radio 3’s Courting the East (2007). He is Associate Director of the Queen Mary/Warwick University project Global Shakespeare and an Associate of the People’s Palace Projects.
Peter Frankopan (@peterfrankopan) is Senior Research Fellow at Worcester College, Oxford, and Director of the Centre for Byzantine Research at Oxford University. He works on the history of the Mediterranean, the Balkans, the Caucasus, Russia and on relations between Christianity and Islam. He also specializes in medieval Greek literature, and translated The Alexiad for Penguin Classics (2009). Peter often writes for the international press, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian, MoneyWeek and has contributed to many TV and Radio documentaries. His first book The First Crusade: The Call from the East, was published to wide acclaim in 2012.
Gagan Sood is Assistant Professor in the Department of International History at LSE.
This event forms part of the LSE Space for Thought Literary Festival 2016, taking place from Monday 22 - Saturday 27 February 2016, with the theme 'Utopias'.
Suggested hashtag for this event for Twitter users: #LSELitFest
Podcast
A podcast of this event is available to download from Looking Eastwards: cultural exchange with the Islamic world
Podcasts and videos of many LSE events can be found at the LSE Public Lectures and Events: podcasts and videos channel.