HIS 522 British Empire

At its height, the British Empire encompassed about one third of the habitable globe and governed one quarter of its peoples. The British imperial past thus set the stage for many current global conflicts and the persistent inequities among peoples and nations that constitute one of its lasting legacies. This course traces the historical evolution of the British Empire from its origins in eastern trade networks and trans-Atlantic settlement to its demise in the quarter century following WWII. We will read a number of books and essays that explore: 1) how modern and ever-shifting concepts of race, class, gender, and sexuality were forged through empire's trans-cultural encounters and were used to justify its continued existence and violent expansions; 2) the relationship between modern forms of knowledge, exploration, and expansion; and 3) how these processes shaped the very meanings of 'Britishness/Englishness' itself. These themes will be considered within changing contexts and conceptions of empire from the 18th to the 20th centuries, through the contests and resistances the acquisition, policies, and loss of empire generated both at home and abroad at critical historical junctures.

Credits

3