Final Year Dissertation: From Exotic to Enemy: British Perception of Afghanistan, 1832-1862

​For my dissertation, I combined my interests in conflict and history with my degree in English literature. I decided to focus on the first time the British invaded Afghanistan (1839) and the subsequent withdrawal from the country (1842). One hundred and seventy years later, and again we see a withdrawal from Afghanistan. The fate of the country is unknown, however, it isn’t looking great. The Taliban have already re-taken many districts and captured a considerable amount of military equipment. It is hugely frustrating to see the West make the same mistakes continuously in regards to Afghanistan. If you are interested in Afghanistan's current affairs, I would recommend reading my dissertation to understand where the relationship between the British and the country/people of Afghanistan began. I am confident that if politicians studied past engagements in a little more detail, conflicts such as the most recent invasion of Afghanistan could and would be avoided. I am proud to announce that I  achieved a first on this dissertation. A massive thank you goes out to my supervisor, who supported me through my study and research, despite the topic not being taught on my course.

Feedback from marker: This is a strong piece of work that shows a real engagement with imperial literature and history (a topic not extensively covered on the course). The argument - on the changing paradigm of British representation of Afghanistan in the mid-nineteenth century - is a fascinating one, well supported by literary, historical and biographical research.

Overall, the work is well ordered and focused throughout, with a clear introduction and a powerful conclusion, drawing links to the Western discourses on Afghanistan in the contemporary period. At times, the shift in paradigm that each chapter explores could have been flagged up more clearly, and the structure of each chapter could have been tightened, reducing the small instances of repetition that occur. At the same time, analysis of some of the longer quotations could have expanded with a wider range of diction and imagery commented upon, and more research into imperial discourse would have improved the theoretical underpinning of the dissertation. Still, the use of Said and Spurr is effective, the historical context is clearly detailed and the biographies of the writers are drawn in usefully, with some excellent commentary on reception, readership and national loyalty. The work is also engagingly written, with expressive prose and proficient referencing and bibliographic layout.

Overall, an intelligent and informed piece of work that clearly communicates your historical interests, as evidenced in the very impressive bibliography.

Feedback from secondary marker: Very good dissertation. The focus on representations and their analysis demonstrating the paradigm shift is very good all through.
Formative comment: It would have been interesting to reflect on the motivations for the British to go to Afghanistan and to compare those then and now.
Overall a well informed and solidly documented piece of work with good contextualisation  and pertinent analysis.
Well done!