«Interweaving Histories» – Claire L. Blaser, Philippe Bornet, Maya Burger and Peter Schreiner explore in their joint book the history of cultural relations between Switzerland and India by looking at the itineraries of specific individual actors going back and forth between the two countries during the first half of twentieth century. Based on six case studies, they analyse the connections, spearheaded by individual actors, companies, mission societies, or social organisations, spanning fields such as religion, health, trade, education and arts.
In her review, Amal Shahid (Lausanne) describes the book as a welcome addition to the «historiography on Swiss historical connections with the rest of the world, in the context of colonialism and since then». The case studies, she writes, «challenge the image of Switzerland as an isolated, landlocked country. Instead, they present Switzerland as significantly involved in (late) colonialism and globalization processes, including the exchange of ideas and cultural interactions.»
The full review of the book is available online on infoclio.ch and HSozKult - the full book on Schwabe online!
Amal Shahid, Rezension zu: Blaser, Claire L.; Bornet, Philippe; Burger, Maya; Schreiner, Peter: Interweaving Histories. Itineraries between Switzerland and India (1900–1950), Basel 2023, in: infoclio.ch, 02.07.2024, https://www.infoclio.ch/de/rez?rid=137541>.
