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Nandini Das bags British Academy Book prize
Her work has been recognized for its significant contribution to understanding global cultural dynamics.
Nandini Das / Image - University of Oxford
Nandini Das' "Courting India: England, Mughal India, and the Origins of Empire" is the winner of the 11th British Academy Book Prize for Global Cultural Understanding. This prize, presented at a ceremony hosted by the British Academy, honors the book for its exceptional contribution to our knowledge of cultural dynamics around the world.
In her debut book, Das offers a fresh perspective on the origins of the empire by delving into the arrival of Sir Thomas Roe, the first English ambassador in India during the early 17th century. As the winner, Das will be awarded a prize of £25,000 (US$ 30286).
Praising Das on behalf of the judging panel, professor Charles Tripp said, “Nandini Das has written the true origin story of Britain and India. By using contemporary sources by Indian and by British political figures, officials and merchants she has given the story an unparalleled immediacy that brings to life these early encounters and the misunderstandings that sometimes threatened to wreck the whole endeavour.”
“ At the same time, she grants us a privileged vantage point from which we can appreciate how a measure of mutual understanding did begin to emerge, even though it was vulnerable to the ups and downs of Mughal politics and to the restless ambitions of the British,” he added.
Das serves as the professor of Early Modern English Literature and Culture at the University of Oxford. She has contributed to numerous publications on Renaissance travel, such as "The Cambridge History of Travel Writing" (2019) co-edited with Tim Youngs, "Keywords of Identity, Race, and Human Mobility in Early Modern England" (2021), and "Lives in Transit" (2022).
Das is also actively involved in several research projects, including 'Travel, Transculturality and Identity in Early Modern England' and 'Teaching Race, Belonging, Empire and Migration' (TRACTION), both of which have received funding from the European Research Council.
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