HR371-6-SP-CO:
Fictions of Empire
PLEASE NOTE: This module is inactive. Visit the Module Directory to view modules and variants offered during the current academic year.
2023/24
Philosophical, Historical and Interdisciplinary Studies (School of)
Colchester Campus
Spring
Undergraduate: Level 6
Inactive
Monday 15 January 2024
Friday 22 March 2024
15
29 March 2021
Requisites for this module
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)
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How many of you know that the racist chanting once prevalent at British football matches draws upon idioms and images produced during the imperial age? And are you aware that even Hollywood blockbusters (for example, 'Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom') owe part of their appeal to their ability to draw liberally from themes and figures in the cultural ragbag of empire?
This module takes as its starting point the fact that our visions of the world, our very sensibilities, have been fashioned to some degree by the imperial experience, and yet we are often unaware of this. By taking five works of fiction - some famous, some less well-known - and considering them in their historical and biographical contexts, the module seeks to explore key aspects of the imperial experience.
The module introduces history students to the interface between history and literature. It seeks to demonstrate the richness of novels and other fictions as ways into history. At the same time, it seeks to show how works of fiction are embedded in particular historical and personal contexts. How does history condition literature? What insights does literature provide that works of history cannot? How does an ahistorical reading of fiction mislead the reader? How can an overly-historical approach distort, or fail to appreciate, key elements of a novel? These are some of the guiding questions of the module.
We use a range of fictions to explore colonial attitudes and policies, and to investigate the experience of colonisers and colonised, mainly in the British Empire. The period covered is from the latter half of the nineteenth century to the mid-twentieth century when popular mobilizations sounded the death knell of empire. Students should leave this module with a sense of the complexity of imperialism and its cultural legacy.
The module aims to introduce students to the interface between history and literature. It seeks to demonstrate the richness of novels and other fictions as ways into history and to show how works of fiction are embedded in particular historical and personal contexts. Likewise, students are expected to develop an understanding of the dangers of reducing creative works to mere illustrations of historical phenomena. The module also aims to deepen students’ understanding of key facets of imperialism, such as racial attitudes or anti-colonial rebellions in diverse regions of empire.
On successful completion of the module, students will be able to:
1. utilize fiction as a historical source and understand the problems and opportunities of approaching novels and short stories in this way;
2. have a deeper understanding of particular imperial phenomena (for example, racial attitudes) and introduce students to important aspects of the history of imperialism or resistance to it in various regions of Africa and in India.
Through a historically-grounded study of fiction, students will gain an expanded sense of how the historian can find evidence in unusual places.
For introductory reading, see:
Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart.
H. Rider Haggard, King Solomon`s Mines.
Rudyard Kipling, Plain Tales From the Hills.
Doris Lessing, This Was The Old Chief`s Country.
Sembene Ousmane, God`s Bits of Wood.
This module does not appear to have a published bibliography for this year.
Assessment items, weightings and deadlines
| Coursework / exam |
Description |
Deadline |
Coursework weighting |
Exam format definitions
- Remote, open book: Your exam will take place remotely via an online learning platform. You may refer to any physical or electronic materials during the exam.
- In-person, open book: Your exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer to any physical materials such as paper study notes or a textbook during the exam. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, open book (restricted): The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer only to specific physical materials such as a named textbook during the exam. Permitted materials will be specified by your department. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, closed book: The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may not refer to any physical materials or electronic devices during the exam. There may be times when a paper dictionary,
for example, may be permitted in an otherwise closed book exam. Any exceptions will be specified by your department.
Your department will provide further guidance before your exams.
Overall assessment
Reassessment
Module supervisor and teaching staff
Prof Jeremy Krikler, email: krikjm@essex.ac.uk.
Dr Jeremy Krikler
Belinda Waterman, Department of History, 01206 872313
Yes
Yes
No
Dr Miriam Dobson
University of Sheffield
Reader
Available via Moodle
Of 20 hours, 20 (100%) hours available to students:
0 hours not recorded due to service coverage or fault;
0 hours not recorded due to opt-out by lecturer(s).
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