HST2514 - Decolonisation: The End of Empire & the Future of the World

HST2514: Decolonisation: The End of Empire & the Future of the World

20 credits (Semester 2)

Module Leader: Dr Simon Stevens (2024-25)

Module Summary

The world was transformed in the twentieth century. A world of empires and colonies became a world of independent states. In this module we analyse this global transformation. Why did it happen – and how? How much really changed? For people around the globe – from imperial rulers in Europe to anti-colonial nationalists in the ‘third world’ – the crumbling of European empires was an opportunity to shape the future of their own communities and of the world. Sometimes negotiated, often violent, these hard-fought struggles over the future created the world we live in today.

Teaching 

The module is taught via 11 weekly lectures, and 11 weekly seminars.

Assessment

Please see this page for assessment details.

Module Aims

This module aims to:

• Provide students with a critical understanding of the history of decolonisation as a global process;

• Provide students with a critical understanding of decolonisation in specific contexts, through selected case studies;

• Enable students to evaluate critically different scholarly interpretations of the causes, nature, and consequences of decolonisation;

• Develop students’ abilities to articulate their own arguments both orally and in writing.

Intended Learning Outcomes

By the end of the unit, a candidate will be able to:

• Demonstrate a critical understanding of the history of decolonisation as a global process

• Demonstrate a critical understanding of decolonisation in the specific contexts explored in the case studies

• Be able to evaluate critically and engage with different scholarly interpretations of the causes, nature, and consequences of decolonisation

• Demonstrate confidence in expressing ideas orally in classroom discussion

• Advance arguments and supporting evidence in clear and persuasive prose