Mediterranean Encounters: Travel Images and French Expansionism, 1780-1850

FAIN: FA-53055-07

Elisabeth Ann Fraser
University of South Florida (Tampa, FL 33620-9951)

I am applying for NEH support to complete a crucial portion of a book on French travel images and expansionist politics in the Mediterranean basin from 1780 to 1850. In addition to disseminating knowledge about Mediterranean societies, travel literature and images played a major role in defining the French sense of itself as heir to the ancient civilizations of the Mediterranean and as an expansionist presence in the regions of the Ottoman Empire. I argue that visual images became an essential part of European travel history in this period, although they are neglected by most studies.