URCAD Sneak Peek: Meredith Power

Tue, 14 Apr 2020 09:53:18 -0400

Meredith is a History major. She will be presenting her research, "Tracing George Orwell's Anti-Imperialism in Propaganda Broadcasts by the BBC to India and Southeast Asia, 1941-1943", at Virtual URCAD 2020!

Abstract:

From 1941 to 1943, the BBC employed a mild-mannered but fiercely opinionated writer named Eric Blair to produce propaganda for broadcasts to India. How did Blair - better known to the public as leftist firebrand George Orwell - reconcile his personal political view with the messages his position required him to send? Scholars and historians often discuss Orwell's career in relation to his two greatest novels, Animal Farm and 1984. The straightforward prose and the earnest intellectual tone for which his novels became known also served a valuable role in his contribution to Britain's war effort in India and southeast Asia. Drawing on Orwell's early fiction, letters, and essays, as well as selected transcripts of the BBC broadcasts he created, this paper reveals the significant ways in which Orwell's pre-war experiences shaped his wartime writing. Approaching Orwell's wartime BBC broadcasts to India as the work of a conflicted but deeply committed British patriot, rather than framing them as the warnings of a disillusioned oracle, gives both scholars and the public a more complete picture of this fascinating and still mysterious literary giant.

Mentor: Daniel Ritschel

Come see Meredith's presentation and other undergraduate research and creative work, April 22-29th at URCAD.umbc.edu!