Christopher Ashkar

Annotated Bibliography
Ottoman Empire (journal article) 1) Olson, Robert W. "The Ottoman Empire in the Middle of the Eighteenth Century and the Fragmentation of Tradition." Die Welt Des Islams. 1/4 ed. Vol. 17. BRILL. 72-77. New Ser. 23 Feb. 2009. Web. 3 Apr. 2012.
Robert W. Olson is a professor of Middle History and Politics at the University of Kentucky. He is the author of some 70 research articles and 80 essays and around 180 book reviews. Olsons vast experience makes him more than qualified to evaluate the Otooman Empire. The section, The Ottoman Empire in the Middle of the Eighteenth Century and the Fragmentation of Tradition is one part in the Die Welt des Islams anthology which is a series of writings which focues on the history and culture of the Islamic world from the eighteenth century to the presence. The journal, along with this article gives emphasis to literature and descriptive essays that relate to modern Islam. This article focuses on the relations of the nationalities of the Millets, Guilds, and Sultans in the 18 th century. It dives into the capitalistic developments of European expansion into other lands and how the Ottoman Empire stuck to its roots and land.

Buddhism (book review) 2) White, William. "The Lotus and the Lion: Buddhism and the British

Empire." Oxford Journals. Oxford University Press, 2010. Web. 03 Apr. 2012. <http://ehr.oxfordjournals.org/content/CXXV/512/223.full>.
William White is a correspondent with Oxford University. The Lotus and the Lion, is an analysis of the impact of Buddhism on nineteenth-century English literature. Indeed, the book reflects careful scholarship and some very interesting close reading of texts. This is a book that maintains the value of the Buddhist path between extremes. For the historian much of the book is also highly problematic. It shows less concern for the ideas with which Buddhism was engaging and more

sensitive to the complexities and subtleties of Buddhist thought. The reader is introduced to a variety of ideas from the roles of Buddhism to interpretations of other Buddhist works. The book is viewed not only in relationship to the institutions of Christianity but also in relationship to the more powerful institutions of corporate-state capitalism. The writer of the review states the book is more about contemporary America than it is about England in the 1800s.

Mughal Empire (book) 3) Richards, John F. The Mughal Empire. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1993. Print.
John F. Richards was a historian who studied the Mughal Empire and a Professor of History at Duke University. He passed away in 2007 but his legacy from his Berkley history degree to his teaching career. The Mughals were a threatening force that dominated the Indian subcontinent and the John Richards book traces the history of this magnificent empire from its creation to its deterioration. He expresses the quality of their territorial expansion, their innovations, military, and the relationships between its emperors and Islam. In exploiting its links with the early modern world Richards shows the affiliation with present day countries have with the Empire. The book dives deep into its expansion under different emperors, their insurgency and conquests, their early rural society, and their eminent decline in the 1700s. This book is more of a historical guide to the Mughals and Richards has several other works attributed to the Mughals.

Nathaniel Hawthorne (book) 4) Reynolds, Larry J. A Historical Guide to Nathaniel Hawthorne. Oxford, [England: Oxford UP, 2001. Print.
Larry Reynolds takes a number of essays on Nathaniel Hawthorne in a historical context. He is reliable source because I have seen his other works online and he is credible. It includes an introduction, a biography, a bibliography essay, and an illustrated chronology of the authors life. The historical guide addresses topics related to Hawthornes life including his relationship to slavery, children, mesmerism and the visual arts. The work is different than others I have cited because it is a book that combines cultural criticism with historical scholarship.

East India Company & India Trade (historical review) 5) Landow, George P. "The British East India Company." The British East India Company - the Company That Owned a Nation. The Victorian Web, 6 Apr. 2010. Web. 03 Apr. 2012. <http://www.victorianweb.org/history/empire/india/eic.html>.
George P. Landow is a professor of English and the History of Art at Brown University. He is one of the leading authorities of Victorian literature, art, and culture as well as a pioneer in criticism and theory of Electronic literature, hypertext and hypermedia. This historical review is found on his website, The Victorian Web making him more than a credible source to cite. I In this historical review, Landow goes into depth about the literature, history, and culture in the age of Victorian England. He describes the British East India Company as part of one of the strangest parts of the history of the British Empire, which includes these commercial ventures. This is very similar to the other historical reviews I have cited in that it goes in depth of a certain specific aspect of a topic by a well established historian or professor.