Rebels Against Empire: Anticolonialism and British Imperialism in the Mid-20th Century

Code	School	Level	Credits	Semesters
HIST3108	History	3	40	Full Year UK

Code: HIST3108
School: History
Level: 3
Credits: 40
Semesters: Full Year UK

Summary

This module will investigate the lives and ideas of early to mid-20th century critics of British imperialism. The emphasis will be on critiques that emerged from outside the British isles, with a focus on four regions in particular: the Caribbean, East Africa, the Middle East and India. However, there will also be some investigation of the connections between anti-colonial activism in the British Isles and beyond.
More specific topics include:

The influence of Marxist ideas on colonial critique, with a particular focus on the Caribbean, including the roles of Eric Williams in Trinidad and Cheddi and Janet Jagan in Guiana.
The contrast between collaborative reformers, such as Eridadi Mulira, and radical revolutionaries, such as Dedan Kimathi, in Anglophone East Africa.
Metropolitan critiques of empire with a particular emphasis on the role of activist women such as Barbara Castle and Doris Lessing.
The significance of culture and cultural critique as an aspect of anti-colonial thinking, as explored in the writings of Mohandas Gandhi and Sarojini Naidu.
The power politics of nationalism after independence, focusing especially on the relationship between Nasser and his critics in the Middle East.
With regard to methodology, particular priority will be accorded to primary source material, including philosophical writings, articles, campaigning pamphlets, letters, diaries and memoirs of anticolonial activists.

Target Students

Only available to Level 3 single- or joint-honours History students and Liberal Arts students.

Classes

One 1-hour seminar each week for 20 weeks
One 2-hour seminar each week for 20 weeks

Assessment

30% Coursework 1: Piece of individually assessed coursework (3,000 words)
30% Coursework 2: Piece of individually assessed coursework (3,000 words)
40% Coursework 3: Piece of individually assessed coursework (3,500 words)

Assessed in both autumn & spring semest

Educational Aims

The aim of this module is to give students a new perspective on the end of the British empire by offering them an opportunity to study the role played by some influential political activists from the Caribbean, East Africa, Britain, India and the Middle East during the early to middle years of the 20th century. It will expose students to a range of primary source material such as autobiographical texts, philosophical critiques, campaigning pamphlets and letters. The ambition is to offer new perspectives on some figures already familiar in Britain, such as Mohandas Gandhi and Gamal abd al-Nasser, while also introducing the work of some less well-known writers and thinkers, including Eridadi Mulira and Cheddi Jagan. The module will illuminate key events that led to independence in particular regions, such as the satyagraha campaigns in India, but will also offer an opportunity to think about broader themes that draw from ideas in political philosophy (eg. the influence of Marx on some notable Caribbean politicians). The broad aim then is to offer a rich sense of the specific context in which decolonisation took place at particular times and in particular locations, while also enabling discussion of the common themes and ideas that underpinned the history of anticolonialism.

Learning Outcomes

(a) Knowledge and understanding.

By the end of the module students should be able to:

· describe the role of key anti-colonial thinkers in contributing to the end of the British empire;

· analyse and interpret the belief systems that underpinned anticolonial thinking in the mid-century British empire.

(b) Intellectual skills.

By the end of the module students should be able to:

· think critically and imaginatively about the subject matter;

· identify and address key questions in the historiography;

· learn to critically assess the value of primary source material;

· compare and contrast the explanations provided by secondary sources;

· construct coherent and independent historical arguments of their own.

The module will develop students’ ability:

· to select, sift and synthesise information from numerous secondary and some primary sources;

· to identify and compare key arguments in those materials;

· Plan, research and write a sustained piece of historical research;

· Enhance digital skills by accessing historical sources and information from various online locations.

(d) Transferable skills.

The module will also develop students’ ability:

· to manage a large and disparate body of information;

· to express themselves clearly, coherently and fluently in writing essays;

· Give an effective oral presentation in support of an argument;

· to work and learn actively with others;

· to manage and take responsibility for their own learning.

Conveners

Dr Spencer Mawby

View in Curriculum Catalogue

Last updated 07/01/2025.