Enlightenment Modernity in the Context of Globalization:The Eastern Images of 18th Century Europe and the Development of Utopian Novels
The utopian novel,which originated in the 16th century,underwent an important transformation in the 18th century.The transformation was closely related to the image of the Orient constructed in early modern Europe at this time:from the 16th to the 18th centuries,Eastern religious and philosophical ideas were initially introduced to Europe and,in the con-text of broadened Euro-American contact,Westerners had a mixed view of the Orient and constructed a composite image of the Orient.During the Enlightment,European writers often referred to the idea of proto-materialism in Eastern religions,the characteristics of Eastern po-litical systems and other related cultural features when imagining an idealized virtual society,juxtaposing and bringing into dialogue Eastern and Western thought.They used utopian nov-els as a vehicle for exploring the conditions and possibilities for Western culture to achieve modern transformation in dialogue with global cultures.An important case in point is Voyages et avantures de Jaques Massé,published in French in the Hague in 1710,which distinctly em-bodies the development of utopian novels in the 18th century and reveals the role of Eastern thought in the construction of Western modernity.
Eighteenth-Centuryutopian novelVoyages et Aventures de Jaques MasséOri-entalismEnlightenment
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