Document Type
Honors Thesis
Publication Date
Spring 2015
Abstract
The Congo reform campaign in Britain was the largest humanitarian movement in British Imperial politics during the late 1800s and early 1900s. The texts used in this analysis emerged from the conflict and attempted to make sense of the atrocities committed against the people of the Congo Free State.
This analysis examines the impact of imperial ideology on the subjects of empire. It uses the texts of three authors, Arthur Conan Doyle, Joseph Conrad, and E.D. Morel, analyzing the literary underpinnings of imperial culture. It utilizes theoretical frameworks through which this literature can be understood and considers three manifestations of imperial culture: a preoccupation with violence, an inherent sense of national duty, and racist language. These manifestations reveal an inherent sense of superiority, effectively perpetuating imperial culture despite an effort to correct its impact.
Recommended Citation
Hartin, Shelby Lynne, "Ideologies of Empire: Perpetuating Imperial Culture Through Definitive British Literature of the Congo" (2015). Honors College. 220.
https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/honors/220