ESH6067
Writing Empire: the Eighteenth Century
Level 6 (30 credits)
Students on this module read a range of eighteenth-century writing (such as novels, memoirs, essays, travel writing, poetry and philosophy) associated with the history of empire, focusing on the Caribbean and the South Pacific. Students will develop an understanding of literary and philosophical writing in relation to historically-enduring issues and ideas about empire, race and colony. Topics for discussion may include the English encounter with the non-European world; the rise of the novel and colonial expansion; cross-cultural encounters; exploration and discovery; slave narrative and anti-slavery debates; colonialism and trade; the representation of cultural difference; and the theory of the colony and the empire.
Preparing for this Module and Approximate Costs
Primary reading:
Most of the texts are available online, on QMplus, and supplied in Reading Lists Online. You could get ahead by reading some of these longer texts, mostly
novels, over the summer. You need to buy these, or borrow them from the library. They are listed here,
in the order we read them. You can buy any edition or read them on an e-reader
(such as Kindle). You can buy them second-hand. I'll also provide links to electronic versions, that are downloadable
for free, but don't try to read a whole novel online.
- Aphra Behn, Oroonoko (1688) — week 3. Preferred edition: Penguin,
edited by Janet Todd.
-
Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe, (1719) — week 4. Preferred edition: Oxford World's Classics, edited by James Kelly.
-
Olaudah Equiano, The
Interesting Narrative of the Life of Gustavus Vassa, The African, (1789) —
week 6. Preferred edition: Penguin, edited by Vincent Carretta.
-
Jane Austen, Mansfield Park —
week 12. Preferred
edition: Penguin,
edited by Kathryn Sutherland.
The preferred edition is the one I'll be using, which will make it easier to find page numbers. But any edition is fine.
Approximate costs.
If you buy all the suggested novels new, in the suggested editions, the total cost should be less than £30. The field trip would cost about £5 for travel (the museum is free).
Why take Writing Empire: the Eighteenth Century
?
- Understand the British Empire and its history. You've read a lot about the legacies of empire, such as colonialism and racism, and this module allows you to understand where those ideas come from.
- Read the first Black writing in English. We read all of the first writings by people of African descent in English: Equiano, Sancho, Wheatley, Cugoano, and Prince.
- We will discuss ideas about slavery and
race, indigenous people, savagery and cannibalism, early Black writing
in English, travel writing and exoticism, and oriental tales and Orientalism.
| Learning Context |
Long Seminar + Workshop (or equivalent) |
| Semester |
One |
| Assessment |
- Written Assignment (2000 words), 30%
- Participation, 10%
- Written Assignment (3500 words), 60%
|
| Mode of reassessment |
Standard |
| Contact |
|
There is some content covered on the programme that you may find challenging and sensitive. We do not issue content notes for individual texts (written, performance, visual, sonic etc.), but please do contact your module tutor and/or convenor and/or adviser if you have concerns or problems relating any of the content, themes or discussions.
