Module description
The modules offered in each academic year are subject to change in line with staff availability and student demand: there is no guarantee every module will run. Module descriptions and information may vary between years.
The purpose of this module is to study the process of European expansion and its impact on the definition of ethnic prejudices, hierarchies of peoples and race relations. We will study the European reflection on different peoples of the world resulting from the Oceanic exploration, as well as the practice of colonial societies established in America, Asia and Africa. The tension between ethnic prejudices and civil rights will be at the core of this module. We will include the debates on the freedom of American Indians and African slavery, on the abolition of the slave trade and slavery, as well as on the recognition of citizenship to Native Americans and African freedmen. Pertinent sources will be analysed in each session.
Assessment details
1 x 3,500 words essay (100%)
Educational aims & objectives
To launch a course of study on the history of civil rights and to link the history of civil rights with ethnic and racial issues. To study basic historical texts on these issues, to study specific multi - ethnic societies and to built a comparative historical perspective on these issues, including the Portuguese, Spanish, British, Dutch and French colonial experiences.
Learning outcomes
By the end of the module, students will be able to demonstrate: an advanced knowledge of the history of the concepts of civil rights, nation, citizenship and race; a good level of information about different ethnic models of colonial societies; capacity for analysing different types of sources; capacity for formulating new questions; capacity for engaging in graduate research projects in the field.