Essay on Exoticism

Victor Segalen (1878–1919) was a French poet, novelist, archaeologist, and cultural analyst. YaËl Rachel Schlick is Adjunct Professor of English at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario.

• Foreword: The Exotics of Nowhere Acknowledgments Introduction Chronology: Victor Segalen (1878–1919) Essay on Exoticism Notes Other Works by Victor Segalen Available in English Selected Critical Works on Victor Segalen in English Index

“At a time when the moral battles for the ‘other’ have been waged, when the constructedness of identities has been demonstrated in extenso, it comes as a refreshing surprise to see Segalen struggle with the terminology of otherness and difference in the context of the term exoticism. His ruminations represent a fascinating and important intervention in present theoretical debates. For too long Segalen has been a secret among the initiate few; the time for broadcasting his ideas more widely is overdue.”-Andreas Michel, Indiana University “It is exciting to see Segalen’s most comprehensive and influential theoretical text translated into English, particularly given its growing impact on colonial/postcolonial studies.”-Chris Bongie, College of William and Mary “Essays on Exoticism is a most peculiar document. It was never finished, and never meant to be. . . . It is almost always interesting, because Segalen is interesting, and because he was trying to come to grips with something that still preoccupies many of us more than ever." - Ian Buruma (New York Review of Books)