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HIS33230

Academic Year 2026/2027

The Health Raj: Medicine and Society in British India, 1750-1900 (HIS33230)

Subject:
History
College:
Arts & Humanities
School:
History
Level:
3 (Degree)
Credits:
10
Module Coordinator:
Manikarnika Dutta
Trimester:
Spring
Mode of Delivery:
On Campus
Internship Module:
No
How will I be graded?
Letter grades

Curricular information is subject to change.

The Health Raj: Medicine and Society in British India, c. 1757-1914

This module explores the relationship between medicine and colonialism in the modern world, with a focus on the British Empire in India, c. 1757-1914. By examining European colonial encounters with a foreign environment, people and diseases, it will develop an understanding of medicine as a ‘tool of empire’. The module introduces students to historical works on the processes underlying how different cultures perceive body, health and disease, and enables them to think critically about health and medical intervention as a political aspect of colonial rule, covering wide-ranging topics including disease, environment, public health, sanitation, medical knowledge, epidemics, mortality, race, gender, and sexuality. Gaining this knowledge of the practice and implications of western medicine in the context of colonial India will deepen the students’ understanding of the role of colonialism in the making of global health, the transnational characteristics of modern medicine, and the origins of health inequalities. Students will be recommended relevant secondary sources and will work with a wide range of primary sources including government records, private writings, press reports, images and maps.

About this Module

Learning Outcomes:

By the end of the module, students should be able to:
• Enhance their knowledge of colonial India.
• Develop their ability to evaluate historical arguments.
• Work critically and reflectively with wide-ranging primary sources.
• Critically analyse how the different cultures have understood body, health, and disease.

Indicative Module Content:

Weekly Lectures:

Week 1: India and the British Empire
Week 2: Disease, Colonialism and Environment
Week 3: Public Health and Sanitation
Week 4: Epidemics and Society I: Cholera
Week 5: Epidemics and Society II: Plague
Week 6: Race, Gender and sexuality
Week 7: ‘Madness’ and Society
Week 8: Indigenous Medicine
Week 9: Tropical Medicine
Week 10: Medical Education
Week 11: Concluding lecture

UNESCO highlights a set of key competencies that support individuals in their development and support society in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). UCD has adapted these competencies and is combining them with others to form a general framework of learning competencies. This module will help you develop the competencies below to the levels specified. 
Learning Competency Additional Information Level

Collaboration

 The ability to learn from others; to understand and respect the needs, perspectives and actions of others (empathy); to understand, relate to and be sensitive to others (empathic leadership); to deal with conflicts in a group; and to facilitate collaborative and participatory problem solving. Competent

Critical Thinking

 The ability to question norms, practices and opinions; to reflect on one’s own values, perceptions and actions. Competent

Systems Thinking

 The ability to recognize and understand relationships; to analyse complex systems; to think of how systems are embedded within different domains and different scales; and to deal with uncertainty. Advanced Beginner

Strategic

 The ability to collectively develop and implement innovative actions that further sustainability at the local level and further afield. Advanced Beginner

Integrated Problem Solving

 The overarching ability to apply different problem-solving frameworks to complex sustainability problems and develop viable, inclusive and equitable solution options that promote sustainable development, integrating the competencies in this list. Advanced Beginner

Self-awareness

 The ability to reflect on one’s own role in the local community and (global) society; to continually evaluate and further motivate one’s actions; and to deal with one’s feelings and desires. Competent

Normative

 The ability to understand and reflect on the norms and values that underlie one’s actions; and to negotiate values, principles, goals, and targets, in a context of conflicts of interest and trade-offs, uncertain knowledge and contradictions. Competent

Anticipatory

 The ability to understand and evaluate multiple scenarios for the future – possible, probable and desirable; to create one’s own visions for the future; to apply the precautionary principle; to assess the consequences of actions; and to deal with risks and changes. Novice

Digital Literacy and Judgement

 The ability to access, evaluate, create and communicate information in digital environments; to engage critically, ethically and responsibly with digital technologies and digital information; to understand their opportunities, limitations, risks and impact on individual’s digital identities; and to exercise informed judgement in digital participation and decision-making. Competent

AI Literacy & Agency

 The ability to understand, critically evaluate and responsibly engage with artificial intelligence; to recognise how AI systems are shaped by human values; to assess their ethical, social and environmental implications; and to exercise human judgement, agency and accountability in AI-related contexts. Competent

Wellbeing

 Wellbeing is having the resources and skills to meet life's challenges, including attributes such as personal development skills, resilience, stress management, strengths, lifestyle skills, nutrition, physical activity, sleep, alcohol/substance use, academic skills, time management, goal setting, interpersonal skills, group work, communication. Competent

The United Nations identified seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as core to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and UCD contributes in general to SDG 4 Quality Education. Further SDGs explored within this module if relevant are listed below. A scale of 1 - 5 indicates the extent to which the SDG is covered.


Goal Name Description Coverage

Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all 1
 

Student Effort Hours:
Student Effort Type Hours
Lectures

11
Seminar (or Webinar)

22
Specified Learning Activities

95
Autonomous Student Learning

95
Total

223

Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
This is a small-group module which is taught through a one-hour weekly lecture and a two-hour seminar. The weekly lecture provides an overview of the weeks topic, examining historical events, trends and debates. The weekly seminar is focused on individual active/task-based learning by means of class discussions and debate. Advanced research, writing and citation skills are developed through a source analysis based on primary sources and written essay. Autonomous learning is advanced through student-led debate and discussion on set primary and secondary sources.

Generative AI is not permitted to be used in this module. Any questions about this should be addressed to the module coordinator.

A proportion of written assignments in each module in the School of History are subject to moderation, meaning they undergo a second layer of review by another grader. This can include oral moderation meetings where the student is invited in for a short meeting with the module coordinator to discuss the assignment. Moderation contributes to better informed marking.

Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Not applicable to this module.
 

Assessment Strategy
Description Timing Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade In Module Component Repeat Offered
Assignment(Including Essay): Each student will analyse a primary source in a structured 1500 word essay. A list of sources will be made available from
Week 2 and discussed in the seminars.		 Week 7 Graded No
40
 No
Assignment(Including Essay): Each student completes a 3000 research word essay including footnotes but excluding bibliography. Week 14 Graded No
40
 No
Participation in Learning Activities: Your participation grade is based on contribution to class discussion, debates and engagement during weekly seminars. Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Week 5, Week 6, Week 7, Week 8, Week 9, Week 10, Week 11 Graded No
20
 No

As part of UCD's student support, under the Additional Consideration policy, extensions may be available for the following assessments in the module: Assignment (including essay/poster), Portfolio, Reflective Assignment, Report(s), and Individual Project.


Carry forward of passed components
No
 

Resit In Terminal Exam
Autumn No
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 

Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Feedback on the written assignments will be given online via Brightspace. Oral feedback on the regular class participation will be provided during seminars. Students are welcome to meet with the Module Coordinator by making an appointment to discuss their grades and progress.

Timetabling information is displayed only for guidance purposes, relates to the current Academic Year only and is subject to change.
Spring Seminar Offering 1 Week(s) - 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 Thurs 09:00 - 10:50
Spring Lecture Offering 1 Week(s) - 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 Wed 15:00 - 15:50
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