Module Convenor: Professor David M Anderson

Please note that this module is convened by Tom Lowman (Tom.Lowman@warwick.ac.uk) for Terms 2 and 3.

 

• Lectures, Seminars, and Readings
• Module Assessment
• Further Reading

Empire casts a long shadow over history-writing today. Designed and taught by a team of lecturers who are experts in the history of India, the Sinophone world, the Middle East, Africa and Britain, this 30 CATS first-year option module introduces students to the study of empire, and to its many scholarly controversies. Although ‘Empire and Aftermath’ unfolds using a loose chronological structure (and, in the main, draws on episodes from the British empire), this is not a 'what happened?' module. Given that we are all writing history in the aftermath of empire, this module aims instead to equip students to grapple with our collective post-colonial predicament.

The module will make you reflect on how we think and write about imperialism and its aftermath. There will be a significant emphasis on the ideas and methodologies of what has become known as post-colonialism. Throughout the module, we'll discuss the extent to which imperialism continues to exert an influence over the ways in which historians and others conceptualise parts of the world that were once colonised as well as former colonial powers.

In summary, the aims of the module are:

• To discuss the theme of imperialism and its centrality to the broader study of history
• To evaluate post-colonialism as a methodological approach to the study of history
• To engage in historical debate across geographical regions and time periods