The idea of empire is at the heart of our debates about the modern world.  The tensions that past and current empires created shape our everyday lives.  Over the last millennium, empires have established the foundations of political and economic life for almost all the inhabitants of our world.  This course will introduce you to some of the key features of imperial systems since around 1500.  The scope of the course is global and will range from Eastern to Western empires, including the Spanish Empire and the Ottoman Empire, the British Empire in India, and European empires in Africa. While these were different in many respects, they also had some broad similarities.

 We will explore the political history of the empires, gender and race, and the impact of empire on culture, religion, demography and the economy. We will examine debates about neocolonialism and whether the USA, once a British colony, can be considered a modern empire. We will look at the forms that opposition to imperialism took and the forces that led to the rise and collapse of empires.  The historical overview you gain from this course will deepen your understanding of other courses in the humanities.

 This course is designed to improve your skills in accuracy of historical infrmation through quizzes and short questions in tests and exams, develop essay writing skills, enhance your ability to critically use information in historical analysis and debates, and critically consider the past and present. You will be required to consider how historical knowledge is created through primary and secondary sources. Reading and reading exercises, tutorials on topic analysis, referencing, and plagiarism are included to help you develop your ability to construct a sound historical narrative. Take these tasks seriously as they will help you to acquire work skills such as analysing information and writing reports.

Key Dates:

22 July: Second-semester Lectures Commence

2 August: Final date for Curriculum change

9 August: National Women’s Day

13 September: Final date for withdrawal from a course

21 September – 29 September: Mid-term Spring break

30 September: Lectures resume

29 October: Lectures end for the second semester

4 - 19 November: Final Exams 

26 Nov. - 3 Dec.: Supplementary exams 

3 December: Second Semester ends