Geography

Cultures of Colonialism

Module code: F8030A
Level 6
30 credits in autumn semester
Teaching method: Workshop
Assessment modes: Essay, Coursework

In recent years, how we understand the legacies of Empire has become a question of public and political significance.

This module:

• introduces you to colonial practices, discourses and cultures across the 19th-century British Empire and the legacies of these
• examines the British metropole and its colonies within a single analytical framework, considering how these places were made by the exchange of people, ideas and objects along the networks that connected them.

Initially, we will cover the main approaches to the study of British colonialism, including traditional imperial history, postcolonialism and decolonial approaches. In this first part of the module, we will reflect on the conditions that have produced different, and often conflicting, interpretations of British imperialism, and why how we think about the imperial past matters today.

The latter part of the module investigates some of the cultural, social and political impacts of British colonialism at specific sites across the world, including India, Australia, the Caribbean and New Zealand.

Module learning outcomes

• Systematic understanding of a range of processes shaping notions of identity and forms of exclusion
• Systematic understanding of the ways that relations of power are manifested in, and conditioned through, geographical and cultural differentiation
• The ability to work effectively with others in the preparation of sophisticated presentations
• Demonstrate competence in presentation skills, essay writing and learned questioning