A Woman’s Empire

Know about the book -

A Woman’s Empire is written by Katya Hokanson and published by University of Toronto Press. It's available with International Standard Book Number or ISBN identification 1487545614 (ISBN 10) and 9781487545611 (ISBN 13).

A Woman’s Empire explores a new dimension of Russian imperialism: women actively engaged in the process of late imperial expansion. The book investigates how women writers, travellers, and scientists who journeyed to and beyond Central Asia participated in Russia’s "civilizing" and colonizing mission, utilizing newly found educational opportunities while navigating powerful discourses of femininity as well as male-dominated science. Katya Hokanson shows how these Russian women resisted domestic roles in a variety of ways. The women writers include a governor general’s wife, a fiction writer who lived in Turkestan, and a famous Theosophist, among others. They make clear the perspectives of the ruling class and outline the special role of women as describers and recorders of information about local women, and as builders of "civilized" colonial Russian society with its attendant performances and social events. Although the bulk of the women’s writings, drawings, and photography is primarily noteworthy for its cultural and historical value, A Woman’s Empire demonstrates how the works also add dimension and detail to the story of Russian imperial expansion and illuminates how women encountered, imagined, and depicted Russia’s imperial Other during this period.