MODULE SPECIFICATION
Code: UPHPHP-30-2
Title: Britain’s Second Empire: The Transformation From Empire to Commonwealth, 1820-1965
Version: 4
Level: 2 UWE credit rating: 30 ECTS credit rating: 15
Module type: Standard
Owning Faculty: Social Sciences and Humanities Field: History
Committee approval: QSC, Chair’s Action Date: 16th July 2009
Approved for Delivery by:
(indicate name of affiliated institution if module will only be delivered by them)
Valid from: September 2009 Discontinued from:
Contributes towards: Awards up to BA (Hons)
Pre-requisites: Any Level 1 History Module
Co-requisites:
Entry requirements:
(if the module is offered as CPD or stand alone, indicate the entry requirements)
Excluded combinations:
Learning outcomes:
On successful completion of this module students will be able to demonstrate:
§ familiarity with the major events and themes in British imperial history since 1820.
§ an appreciation off the content and significance of key issues and debates in historical literature on, for example, the ‘scramble’ for Africa, imperial rivalry as a factor in international conflict, social imperialism, Social Darwinism, race and empire, colonial development, Anglo-dominion relations, colonial nationalism and decolonisation, and the transformation of the British empire to the British Commonwealth.
§ the necessary technical and analytical skills which allow students to assess post-colonial issues and events within an historical framework.
All of the above are assessed through all components and elements of assessment.
Syllabus outline:
The syllabus will cover the following topic area:
Mercantilism versus Free Trade, 1820-70
Nineteenth-century Settler Societies
The New Imperialism, 1870-1914
Darwinism, Social Darwinism and imperialism
The Indian Raj before 1914
South Africa 1870-1914
The Irish question to 1921
The British Empire between the Wars: a survey
The British Empire between the Wars: case studies
Policing the Empire in the inter-war period
Recovery through Empire: Colonial development
The impact of World War II on the British Empire
The partition of India
The Palestine mandate
The Suez crisis and its impact on Anglo-Commonwealth relations
Decolonisation since 1947-1965: a survey
Confrontation and insurgency: decolonisation in Asia
The American factor in British decolonisation
The winds of change: decolonisation in Africa
Britain, South Africa and the Commonwealth
Teaching and learning methods:
This module consists of a series of weekly lectures and seminars. Each student is given a comprehensive course handbook at the beginning of the year which contains the lecture programme, the seminar series including the required reading for each week, essay topics complete with recommended source material, a writing practice guide, maps, tables and chronologies.
Indicative Reading List:
Brown, Judith M |
Modern India: The Origins of an Asian Democracy (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1985). |
*Butler, L. J |
Britain and Empire (London: I.B. Tauris, 2002) |
Cain, P. J. and. Hopkins, A. G |
British Imperialism, 2 vols, Innovation and Expansion 1688-1914 and Crisis and Deconstruction 1914-1990 (London: Longman, 1993). These volumes have been updated and reproduced into one volume with the same first title. Published in 2001. |
*Darwin, John |
Britain and Decolonisation (Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1988). |
Fedorowich, K and Thomas, M (eds) |
International Diplomacy and Colonial Retreat (London: Frank Cass, 2001) |
Fedorowich, K and Bridge, Carl (eds) |
The British World: Diaspora, Culture and Identity (London: Frank Cass, 2003) |
Goldsworthy, David |
Losing the Blanket. Australia and the End of Britain’s Empire (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 2002) |
Hyam, R. and Henshaw, P |
The Lion and the Springbok. Britain and South Africa since the Boer War (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003) |
Louis, William Roger (ed.) |
The Oxford History of the British Empire, vols. 3-4 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999). |
Mansergh, Nicholas |
The Commonwealth Experience (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1969). |
*Porter, Bernard |
The Lion’s Share, 3rd edition (London: Longman, 1996). |
* Recommended texts for purchase.
Assessment
Weighting between components A and B (standard modules only) A: 50% B: 50%
ATTEMPT 1
First Assessment Opportunity
Component A
Description of each element Element weighting
1. Exam (3 Hours) 50%
Component B
Description of each element Element weighting
1. Essay (2500 words) 25%
2. Essay (2500 words) 25%
Second Assessment Opportunity (further attendance at taught classes is not required)
Component A
Description of each element Element weighting
1. Exam (3 Hours) 50%
Component B
Description of each element Element weighting
1. Essay (2500 words) 25%
2. Essay (2500 words) 25%
SECOND (OR SUBSEQUENT) ATTEMPT: Attendance at taught classes is required.
Specification confirmed by …………………………………………………Date ……………………………
(Associate Dean/Programme Director)