HIS42740 Colonial Violence

Academic Year 2021/2022

How was violence performed in colonial settings? What is the cultural history of violence and how does violence differ when examined under a colonial lens? And in what ways are collective memory and narratives around episodes of violence further performances for present audiences?

In this module, we will analyse colonial violence across the long twentieth century (1887 to 2021) to unpack case studies of ‘extra-lethal violence’. We will explore colonial violence ranging from European punitive expeditions and colonial rule in Africa to the American wars in Vietnam and Iraq. We will examine racialised and gendered elements of violence. We will seek contrasting and contradictory perspectives in order to complicate narratives and accounts of the past.

Using global microhistory and multidisciplinary methodologies, we will investigate the materiality of violence: from trophy taking and looting, to monuments and memorials. Using visual texts, we will investigate issues of display. For example we will assess the role of photography and through it, its expansion in creating global ‘witnesses’. Similarly, we will use memoirs, films, and novels to analyse the limits of veracity and a restaging in narration to make fiction ‘more real’ than reality.

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Curricular information is subject to change

Learning Outcomes:

On completion of this module, students should have met the following learning outcomes:

1) Ability to synthesise and mobilise source materials and develop original arguments through focused case-studies. Students will also learn to categorise these studies under thematic groupings to build upon in their own research
2) Critically engage with diverse primary and secondary sources and blur boundaries
3) Practice utilising prior coursework and previous historiographical framings to provide new insights and uncover marginalised perspectives
4) Gain experience focusing the skills of historians: such as how to research, synthesise readings, meet deadlines, and present historical findings through written work similar in structure to peer-reviewed journal articles and orally presented in an manner similar to academic conference presentations
5) Hone transferable skills: such as critical engagement with materials, self-reflection, clear communication, an assessment of tone, authorial intent, and the shaping effect of audiences
6) To introduce global case studies of violence and contrasting perspectives, as well as the way violence was performed in colonial settings and (re)preformed in the writing of history. In addressing these topics, students are encouraged to reflect on diversity and inclusion and the continuing role of colonial legacies in contemporary terms

Indicative Module Content:

Week 1- Introduction
Week 2- ‘Playing with Scales’: Global, Micro, Macro, Nano
Week 3- Performance and Thick Analysis: Discipline, Punish, Cat Massacres
Week 4- Extra-Lethal Violence: Carnivals, One-Man Shows, and Spectacles
Week 5- Visual Texts, Photographic Lenses, and the Staging of Violence
Week 6- Trophy Hunting
Week 7- Self-Performance (presentation week)
Week 8- Congo: Hearts and Hands
Week 9- Decolonising the Mau Mau ‘Emergency’
Week 10- My Lai (Mis)remembered
Week 11- More Reel than Real

Student Effort Hours: 
Student Effort Type Hours
Seminar (or Webinar)

22
Specified Learning Activities

100
Autonomous Student Learning

100
Total

222
Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
This is a small-group, seminar-based module. It is taught through a two-hour weekly seminar. The weekly sessions provide an overview of the week’s topic, focusing upon key historical trends, debates and events and is focused upon individual active / task-based learning by means of group debate, discussion and student presentations. Advanced research, writing and citation skills are developed through learning journals, student presentations and the end of semester research paper. Autonomous learning is advanced through student-led debate, discussion of set materials, submission of learning journals and written work. Please see module handbook for further details.
 
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
Essay: A final essay (c. 5000 words) on a topic agreed upon with the module coordinator, using primary and secondary sources Week 12 n/a Graded No

50
Continuous Assessment: Students are graded on their participation in seminars; submission of weekly learning journal and revision of learning journal Throughout the Trimester n/a Graded No

35
Presentation: A 10-minute oral presentation with powerpoint Week 7 n/a Graded No

15

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, on an activity or draft prior to summative assessment
• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Written feedback on learning journals will be given individually to students via e-mail throughout trimester. Learning journals can then be revised with feedback given through arranged individual meetings (in person or via zoom). Students will meet the module coordinator (in person or via zoom) for individual feedback on their planned essay prior to its submission from Weeks 8 to 11. Collective feedback will given to the group over the course of the trimester. Weekly office hours will also be held for the purpose of individual feedback or planning throughout trimester. Written feedback on final essay will be provided with optional individual meetings (in person or via zoom).

Name Role
Dr Jeremiah Garsha Lecturer / Co-Lecturer