Ep. 68 - The Orientalism Show

Why is Leopold Bloom so captivated by the “mysterious East”?

(Image source)

In this episode we discuss the Orientalist motif in Ulysses, with a focus on “Calypso.” Topics include what is Orientalism?, how Orientalism manifests in Irish culture, the blurred continuum between Irish and British culture, Edward Said, why the “Orient” is really a dream, the Whig interpretation of history, what Leopold Bloom has in common with Julia Roberts, Haroun al-Raschid, Turko the Terrible, Molly’s connection to the East, Disney’s Aladdin, hypostasis of Dedalus and Bloom, In the Track of the Sun, Samuel Coleridge Taylor’s “Kubla Khan”, dulcimers, and why Bloom’s heritage makes him “Oriental” in the eyes of some.

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On the Blog:

Leopold Bloom’s Journey Through the Orient

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Media Mentioned in this Episode:

“Kubla Khan”, Samuel Taylor Coleridge

In the Track of the Sun, F. D. Thompson

Further Reading:

• Bannon, B. (2011). Joyce, Coleridge, and the Eastern Aesthetic. James Joyce Quarterly, 48(3), 495-510. Retrieved July 14, 2020, from www.jstor.org/stable/23342956

• Bongiovanni, L. (2007). “Turbaned Faces Go By”: James Joyce and Irish Orientalism. Ariel: A Review of International English Literature, (38) 4 (2007): Retrieved from https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/ariel/article/view/31180 

• Ito, E. (2008). Orienting Orientalism in Ulysses. James Joyce Journal, 41(2), 51-70. Retrieved from http://p-www.iwate-pu.ac.jp/~acro-ito/Joycean_Essays/U_Orientalism.html

• Kershner, R. (1998). "Ulysses" and the Orient. James Joyce Quarterly, 35(2/3), 273-296. Retrieved July 14, 2020, from www.jstor.org/stable/25473906

• Lennon, J. (2008). Irish Orientalism. Syracuse University Press. Retrieved from https://www.google.com/books/edition/Irish_Orientalism/nnbRKOsmyJIC?hl=en&gbpv=0 

• Said, E. (1978). Orientalism. Vintage Books. 

• Shloss, C. (1998). Joyce in the Context of Irish Orientalism. James Joyce Quarterly, 35(2/3), 264-271. Retrieved July 14, 2020, from www.jstor.org/stable/25473905