HIS21310 French Colonial Empire

Academic Year 2021/2022

This module is a broad survey, examining the political and social history of the French colonial empire in North Africa and Indochina in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. There will be a particular focus on Algeria and Vietnam, but the lectures will also cover Tunisia, Morocco, Cambodia and Laos, as well as the broader history of the French empire where appropriate.

Was there a French imperial project, one and indivisible? Or did France adapt her colonial policies in response to the different traditional societies and cultures she encountered in Africa and Asia? What were the differences and similarities between the experience of French colonial rule for the peoples of North Africa and Indochina? How did colonial elites negotiate their relationship with French culture? How did France establish and police racial hierarchies? Did French rule produce economic benefits, and if so, for whom? What roles did violence play in French colonial domination and why were the wars of liberation in Vietnam and Algeria so protracted and bloody? What factors lead to the military triumph of the Viet Minh and the Front de Libération Nationale?

To answer these questions, the module is divided into three parts. Part one deals with the creation of the empire, colonial war in the nineteenth century, and the motivations and justifications for colonial expansion. Part two examines in detail the relatively peaceful 'golden age' of empire between the turn of the twentieth century and the outbreak of the Second World War. Part three covers the process of decolonisation from the ruptures caused by the Second World War through the First Indochina War (1946-1954) and the Algerian War (1954-1962).

The approach will be comparative throughout. The lectures will provide a chronological framework, a basic political narrative, and an introduction to the topics in social and cultural history which will be discussed in greater detail in the seminars.

In the seminars, students will be asked to engage with important voices on the nature of French colonialism and the relations between the French and the colonial other, both French (Tocqueville, Fromentin, Camus, Sartre, Aron, Bourdieu) and 'indigenous' (Cesaire, Feraoun, Abbas, Memmi, Fanon, Phan Boi Chau, Vu Trong Phung, Tam Lang, Ho Chi Minh).

No prior knowledge of French, North African or South East Asian history will be assumed. All class texts will be in English.

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Curricular information is subject to change

Learning Outcomes:

On completion of the module, students will be able to compare and contrast the manner in which French colonial rule shaped the modern history of Algeria (and to a lesser extent Morocco and Tunisia) and Vietnam (and to a lesser extent Cambodia and Laos). They will have practiced differentiating between colonialist theory and the realities of colonial rule. They will have examined the clash of cultures inherent to colonialism from a variety of viewpoints, dominant and subaltern. They will have practiced reading literary texts, memoirs, film and political tracts as historical sources.

Indicative Module Content:


Week 1. Introduction: France, Europe and Empire from the French Revolution to De Gaulle

Part One: The Era of Colonial Expansion

Week 2. War and Violence in the Acquisition of Empire.

Week 3. Motivations and Justifications for Colonial Expansion.

Part Two: France and Its Colonies in the Golden Age of Empire

Week 4. Structures of Power

Week 5. Racial and Gender Hierarchies.

Week 6. Economy and Society

Week 7. Language, Education and Culture

Week 8. The Emergence of Nationalism

Part Three: The Disintegration of Empire

Week 9. Word War Two, Vichy, and the Unravelling of Empire

Week 10. Decolonisation and War in Indochina

Week 11. Decolonisation and War in Algeria

Student Effort Hours: 
Student Effort Type Hours
Lectures

11
Seminar (or Webinar)

11
Specified Learning Activities

45
Autonomous Student Learning

45
Total

112
Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
There will be weekly lectures and seminars. The seminars will be devoted to the discussion of specific texts identified and made available in advance on Brightspace. Texts and debates will generally be case studies and the seminars may be divided into small groups. There will be no formal student presentations. 
Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Not applicable to this module.
 
Assessment Strategy  
Description Timing Open Book Exam Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade
Assignment: 1000 Word Document Analysis Week 7 n/a Graded No

30
Continuous Assessment: Attendance and Participation at Seminars Throughout the Trimester n/a Graded No

20
Essay: 2000 Word Term Paper Week 12 n/a Graded No

50

Carry forward of passed components
No
 
Resit In Terminal Exam
Spring No
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 
Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment
• Group/class feedback, post-assessment
• Online automated feedback

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Students who are not participating in the seminars may be gently reminded to do so during the semester. Students will receive feedback on their midterm document analysis before preparing their term paper.