This course examines the structures of British imperialism as they are reflected in literature, science, and technology. The premise for our examination, however, is that such structures were not necessarily European in origin. Resisting the self-image of the "Enlightenment" as it was developed in 17th- and 18th-century Europe (and as it has been extended in academic and cultural work since), we will investigate how "Enlightenment" values and socio-political norms prized by modernity may also have roots in cultures and geographies other than Europe. Our focus will be on the critical encounters between England and Asia (although we will be considering New World encounters as well), particularly India, with an eye to deconstructing legacies of Eurocentrism.