This course provides students with an introduction to some the principal challenges and difficulties faced by European imperial powers during the 20th century. Students will have the opportunity to examine the impact of the First and Second World War as well as the rise of protest/nationalist movements on imperial structures in considering the factors leading to decolonization later in the century. In addition, students will be introduced to some of most significant twentieth-century writers on colonialism, anti-colonialism and postcolonial theory, including the works of Franz Fanon, Edward Said and Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak. Through an engagement with historical and literary texts, students will consider the degree to which many imperial structures survived formal processes of decolonization and continue to shape the world in which we live in today.

CILO-1: Engage with of the history of colonialism and imperialism. CILO-2: Master some of the key concepts, theories, themes and work of scholars in the study of nineteenth-century colonialism and imperialism. CILO-3: Develop an ability to critically analyze the effects of colonialism and imperialism in terms of its ideology, institutional construction and reception throughout the British empire. CILO-4: Evaluate the legacy and ongoing penetration of colonial and imperialistic thoughts and practices in daily lives around the world.