Bridgewater College associate professor of history Brandon Marsh recently published "Ramparts of Empire: British Imperialism and India’s Afghan Frontier, 1918-1948."
Marsh has focused most of his research on
India and Central Asia. During his undergraduate years at Lewis &
Clark, he spent a semester studying abroad in the Indian subcontinent.
“The history of the British Empire has had a profound impact
on the world we live in today,” Marsh said. “I’m especially interested in how
the process of British imperialism really created the modern world. It brings
up so many fascinating questions: What happens when two radically different
cultures interact? What happened, for instance, when the British came to India
and encountered the caste system that they likened to their own class system at
home?”
His book details the rise of Indian nationalism after World
War I, security-obsessed Britain's unwarranted attempts to defend the
country from Afghan or Russian invasions, and the British belief that the
Pashtuns in India were “inherently violent.”
“We live in a globalized world,” Marsh said, “and it is
important that Bridgewater students gain a clear historical context and
background for crucial regions like India or the Middle East.”
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