Mark Lachniet

English Imperialism Web Page

When I first started this project, it began as a final paper for a class on Imperialism given at Michigan State University by A. C. Goodson. During the class, I began to get the sense that I was on to something big - something that would help me to define myself within a global social context. There is something very potent in the not-so-distant European past that lingers to this day within our American subconscious. For a student such as myself, who has rarely picked up a history book, this feeling is difficult to define, and even harder to put into perspective. For this reason, I took it upon myself to begin an exploration into the history, literature, and criticism of the Imperialist period (if indeed it has ended) of England, and it's child, the United States of America.

Investigating this field has necessarily lead me on a variety of different paths. There is certainly far too much to consider, and too many corollaries that deserve attention. For this reason, I have attempted to present this project not in terms of a linear term paper, but rather in terms of a few non-linear web page. As I add my written work to the project, it becomes a portfolio. It is also true to the modern (or post-modern?) form of writing in that it is a living document, integrally linked via. the World Wide Web to other sources. It is not a document in static isolation, but rather a living and changing document that evolves as it's links and content evolve.

Unfortunately, I sorely underestimated the amount of time necessary to do this project. I had originally intended to encompass *most* of what I had learned through my readings. Being employed, in love, and generally having a life, I found myself unable to fulfill my original aspirations. Instead, I have narrowed the project down to a skeletal outline of my intention, with only a couple of sections filled in. In particular is my piece on Conrad and Orwell as historical chroniclers. Included on the web page are some correlaries that I had intended to use as support, but which (I fear) must stand alone. These are mainly links to other sites, pictures, and journal entries from my Spring Semester, 1996 English 460 class with A.C. Goodson.

Because this presentation style is rather new, it requires a modern reader. It requires a reader who is familiar with the World Wide Web, and it's logistical workings. It further requires a critical reader, who can separate what I have written from the primary and secondary texts which accompany it. To this end, I have decided on certain standards to help clarify which work is of my own, and which is the work of others. In particular, all works which have a white background are mine. Anything else may be considered the works of others. Also, when following a quotation to it's source, the quoted text should be found in BOLD. Lastly, interpreting this work requires a non-linear reading approach. It is made difficult, by the branching paths of exploration that are possible, to read this work in a 5 paragraph style. In the space between my opening comments and my closing thoughts, there are numerous ways to read what I have present. It is up to the reader to critically choose the path that makes the most sense for them, and to interpret what I put forth based upon their exploration. I have made an attempt to make the page as linear as possible by dealing with topics in the order I encountered them.