HIST 255 - The British Empire

Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)

This course is an introduction to British imperialism from the mid-eighteenth century to the present, with particular attention to Britain’s involvement in Ireland, the Caribbean, India, and Africa. We examine British motives for imperialism, the transition from trade empires to more formal political control, and the late nineteenth-century “scramble for Africa.” Other main topics include responses to colonialism, the growth of nationalism, decolonization, and the effects of an increasingly multi-cultural domestic population on Britain. Throughout the course we explore the empire as a cultural exchange: the British influenced the lives of colonial subjects, but the empire also shaped British identity at home and abroad. Ms. Murdoch.

Prerequisite(s): The prerequisite for courses at the 200-level is ordinarily 1 unit in history.