MA/PgDip/PgCert History: Imperialism and Culture
Attendance
Distance learning
Distance learning typically three years
Starts September, January and May
At a glance
About this course
This distance learning course examines the relationship between imperialism and culture from the period of European expansion and colonialism to the post-colonial era.
In recent years academic interest in imperialism has moved beyond the traditional focus on economic and political concerns. There has been more interest in cultures of imperialism and their legacy in the post-colonial era.
You examine
the role of the state in the development, evolution and maintenance (ideologically and politically) of empire
the cultural impact of empire in Europe
the historical roots of Britishness, nationalism and national identity
industry and empire
Western concepts of the Orient, especially India
Soviet imperialism
Nazism, war and genocide, 19391945
The course provides a theoretical and empirical understanding of the nature of imperialism and the relationship between imperialism and culture. It encourages critical interrogation of concepts, theories and current key debates and develops an advanced level of understanding of the political, cultural and social consequences of colonial rule.
You receive booklets for each of the modules taken containing expert analyses, guided exercises, extracts and documents and guides to further reading. You study one module at a time, up to a maximum of three a year. Each module takes 12 weeks to complete.
Contact with teaching staff is via e-mail and phone but you can meet with your tutors during a weekend conference held annually in Sheffield. Our website provides information to aid study and a forum for communication.
The library offers a full support service with dedicated staff for distance learning courses. The course leader is also your personal tutor and acts as your mentor throughout your study.
We have students scattered around the world in North America, Europe and the Far East.
The Finch Prize
The Finch Prize for academic achievement is an annual prize of £200 for a graduate from this course. This was made possible by a generous donation from a former student in recognition of how much he had enjoyed it.
Associated careers
You can go on to academic and teaching posts.
The analytical skills and understanding gained from this course are beneficial for a range of careers.
There may be opportunities for research registration at MPhil/PhD level in the facultys research institute.
Course content
Core modules
theories of imperialism research methods/dissertation
Optional modules
the empire at home: Britain 17701850 Marlowe, Shakespeare and the British empire the power of the powerless: Czech responses to Soviet imperialism Nazism, war and genocide, 19391945 orientalism and postcolonialism industrialisation, imperialism and globalisation nazism, war and genocide, 1939-45 power of the powerless
Module descriptions
Theories of imperialism
You explore the relationship between capitalism and imperialism beginning with the debate between radicals and imperialists in Britain in the 1870s. You move on to consider J. A. Hobson's work on financial imperialism the classical Marxist imperialism theories of Hilferding and Lenin their chief contemporary critic, J. A. Schumpeter.
You then examine some post1945 developments and consider the work of Robinson and Gallagher on free trade imperialism and Cain and Hopkins' concept of gentlemanly capitalism.
Research methods/dissertation
You look at the theoretical and practical issues involved in historical research and writing. This helps you when selecting your topic undertaking preliminary feasibility studies writing a critical historiography preparing a research proposal.
We introduce you to different types of historical writing.
Your dissertation is an independent 15,000-word research project, supervised by a member of staff with expertise in the field.
The empire at home: Britain, 1770-1850
You examine the significance of empire in British culture in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. You look at the popular interest in, and the new ways of interpreting, other cultures in the eighteenth century.
You explore the origins, development and wider culture of the popular antislavery movement, in which black and white men and women of the middle and lower classes took part. You look at changing ideas of race and cultural difference relating to class, gender and ethnicity in British society.
The power of the powerless: Czech responses to Soviet imperialism
You examine the political and cultural history of Czechoslovakia 19451989. You focus on the responses of the communist elite, the intellectuals and other social groupings to Soviet-style socialism.
Key themes include
the nature of Soviet imperialism in Czechoslovakia
national roads to socialism versus Stalinist totalitarianism
the challenge to Soviet rule in 1968
the normalisation process under Husak and the emerging dissident movement
the origins of the collapse of real existing socialism in 1989
Shakespeare, Marlowe and the British empire
You examine how artistic and aesthetic works may encode political issues. You study how Marlowe and Shakespeare were used to perpetuate imperialism.
We introduce you to contemporary debates on the roles of subversion and containment in Renaissance drama.
Orientalism and postcolonialism
You look at how orientalism and postcolonial studies have contributed to imperial history.
You explore the meeting of European and non-European cultures and how it developed from the first colonial contacts of the 16th century. You analyse the relationship between culture and colonialism by examining theoretical perspectives, including the work of Edward Said.
Themes include culture and European expansion in South Asia orientalism and the enlightenment orientalism and post-colonial theory.
Nazism, war and genocide, 19391945
You examine the relationship between Nazi imperialism and war and genocide in German-occupied Europe, 19391945.
You address Holocaust controversies as well as Nazi population policies. You focus on high politics and the history of everyday life on the home front and in the occupied territories
Popular culture, nation and empire, 1780-1945
You examine the complex interrelationship between national identity, imperialism, and popular culture in Britain between the 1870s and the Second World War.
The module is concerned not with the empire 'out there', as a global project, but with its impact at home: its influence on domestic politics and culture, and its role in constructing and reconstructing ideas of Britishness. You address how British identity was defined and redefined in a period of political, social and cultural change, often discussed in terms of class and class relations, but in which changing cultures of nationhood, race and gender have more recently come to be seen as central.
Assessment
Coursework only two essays per module plus a 15,000 word dissertation
We return coursework with comments within three weeks of the work being submitted.
Entry requirements
Normally a 2.1 honours degree or above in history or a field of the arts, humanities or social sciences.
We also consider strongly committed applicants with different qualifications or professional qualifications and relevant experience.
Students from overseas need certified competence in English language in one of the following forms
British Council IELTS test band 6.5
UCLES (Cambridge Exams Board) pass at Certificate of Proficiency in English or Certificate in Advanced English, or an A or B grade pass at First Certificate in English plus a further years English study
TOEFL score of 575 (paper-based). Equivalent to 233 computer-based score / 91 internet-based score.
Fees
Home and EU students
2013/14 academic year
Full-time typically £4,590
Part-time typically £1,530 a stage for PgCert, PgDip and MA stages
International students
2013/14 academic year
Typically £7,200 for the course
2014/15 academic year
Typically £7,380 for the course
How to apply
Complete the application form available at www.shu.ac.uk/study/form