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South Asia in Britain (IL030)

Description

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The aim of this module is to look at the ways in which contemporary Britain has been and is actively being shaped by its Empire. This interdisciplinary module focuses upon the way in which historically Britain's relationship with South Asia has shaped its contemporary economic, social and political life. The module begins by looking the history of the Empire and South Asians in Britain through a critical lens. This will be followed by a thematic focus on various aspects of 'South Asia in Britain'- mobilities and migrant flows, cultural and material lives of migrants, encounters with the legal system, gender and race regimes, workers rights and resistance movements. It is expected that on completing the module, the students will be able to demonstrate a critical analysis of the relationship between contemporary Britain and its colonial past and its present with specific reference to South Asians in Britain. Students also must demonstrate an ability engage with multiple loci of the diasporic South Asian identity that includes race, gender and class.

The aim of this module is to develop an understanding of the ways in which contemporary Britain has been and is actively being shaped by its Empire, focussing on South Asia. To achieve this target, the module

  • focuses upon the way in which historically Britain's relationship with South Asia has shaped its contemporary economic, social and political life.
  • highlights the multiple loci of South Asian diasporic identity in contemporary Britain.
  • uses inter-disciplinary perspectives from the fields of History, Sociology, politics law and literature to highlight the various ways in which Britain’s Empire continues to shape its contemporary socio-political and cultural landscape.
  • brings to together South-Asia focussed teaching expertise within the University of Warwick to highlight multiple themes around 'South Asia in Britain'- mobilities and migrant flows, cultural and material lives of migrants, encounters with the legal system, gender and race regimes, workers’ rights, resistance movements and so on.
  • engages students with innovative and active learning to not only broaden their understanding of the British Empire, but also to historcise and problematise taken for granted assumptions about it.
  • embeds a variety of innovative pedagogic practices and engages with a variety of academic and non-academic material to enhance their learning experience

Structure

The module will run in the Autumn term and consists of 10 one hour lectures and 10 one hour seminars every week. The seminars will carry forward and consolidate the learnings from the lecture through a combination of activities such as debates, discussions, reviews, close reading and audio-visual materials. Activities are aimed at stimulating critical thinking and discussion around the ways in which contemporary Britain has been and is actively being shaped by its Empire and the various axes of south Asian diasporic identities. Assessment activities promote further discussion and encourage students to work independently to explore and reimagine the relationship between Britain and its Empire, to understand the multiple intersections of contemporary South Asian diasporic identity.

Indicative weekly topics:
    • Introduction to the module South Asia in Britain
    • Making BrAsian Britain
    • Perspectives on Migration and mobility
    • Empire and literature
    • Constructing the Empire through the narratives of Indophiles
    • Gender relations in the south Asian diaspora
    • Migrant vulnerability
    • Islamic law and South Asian Diaspora in the UK
    • Racism and Gender in Britain.
    • Gender and resistance in the context of South Asia in Britain
    • Perspectives on class, caste, gender
    • Concluding thoughts: Empire and Contemporary Britain

     

    Module Convenors

    Dr Saba Hussain

    S dot Hussain dot 10 at warwick dot ac dot uk


    When

    Term 1 (Autumn) 2018-19
    Thursdays 12.00-14.00
     

    Where

    Humanities Studio (H0.76)
    Humanities Building

    Assessment

    For 15 CATS

    2000 words academic essay (70%)
    Student led Community conference (30%)

    For 12 CATS

    1500 words academic essay (70%)
    Student led Community conference (30%)