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2018/19 Undergraduate Module Catalogue
HIST3724 Caribbean Identity, Society and Decolonisation
20 creditsClass Size: 28
Module manager: Bethan Fisk
Email: b.fisk@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) View Timetable
Year running 2018/19
This module is approved as a discovery module
Module summary
The twentieth century brought dramatic changes to the Caribbean. Labour riots in the 1930s occurred within a context of growing nationalist sentiment and Pan-Africanist debate. Decades later, revolutionary politics in Cuba and subsequently in Grenada shaped regional and international alliances. Economically, the influence of the United States over the region increased even as islands sought independence from European imperial powers. In this module, students will explore revolutionary and labour politics, transnational and national identities, and the cultures of decolonisation in the Caribbean.As a 'Power and Conflict' discovery module, this course will provide students with an insight into how the era of colonialism produced profound inequalities in Caribbean societies and the legacies of this history in the twentieth century. We will examine struggles for greater equality in the region through a focus on grassroots social protests (such as workers' activism) and anti-colonial politics. The course will allow students to consider power and conflict from a social perspective but will also explore songs, writing and other cultural products from the Caribbean and the Caribbean diaspora as sites of protest and resistance. Students with an interest in social justice, social activism and global development might be interested to take this module, alongside students with interests in questions of race, identity and diaspora.Objectives
On the successful completion of this module, students should:- Have an understanding of the relationship between transnational political movements and twentieth-century Caribbean politics
- Be able to critically engage with the process of decolonisation in the Caribbean
- Be able to express their ideas and arguments effectively in group discussions
- Have further developed their essay writing skills
- Have gained further experience of working with a range of visual material and written sources
Learning outcomes
On the successful completion of this module, students should be able to:
- Analyse anti-colonial movements in the Caribbean
- Critically discuss processes of decolonisation in the Caribbean
- Compare processes of decolonisation in different Caribbean islands
- Evaluate twentieth-century social dynamics in the Caribbean
Syllabus
Course themes will include:
Challenging colonialism
1) Pan-Africanism
2) Garveyism
3) America in the Caribbean
4) 1930s labour protests and social unrest
Caribbean independence
5) Independence politics
6) Cultures of decolonisation
The revolutionary Caribbean
7) Cuba
8) Grenada
Migration and Caribbean identities
9) Atlantic identities
10) The Windrush generation
11) Caribbean economies and development
Teaching methods
Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
Seminar | 11 | 2.00 | 22.00 |
Private study hours | 178.00 | ||
Total Contact hours | 22.00 | ||
Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 200.00 |
Private study
Students will complete set reading, undertake self-directed study around the topic, and will research and prepare material for the assessed coursework and end of module examination.Opportunities for Formative Feedback
Progress will be monitored via individual contributions to class discussions, a verbal presentation worth 10% of the overall module mark and an assessed essay worth 30% of the overall module mark.Methods of assessment
Coursework
Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
Essay | 1 x 2,000-word essay, due by 12 noon Monday of teaching week 9 | 30.00 |
Presentation | Verbal presentation | 10.00 |
Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 40.00 |
Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated
Exams
Exam type | Exam duration | % of formal assessment |
Standard exam (closed essays, MCQs etc) | 2 hr 00 mins | 60.00 |
Total percentage (Assessment Exams) | 60.00 |
Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated
Reading list
The reading list is available from the Library websiteLast updated: 03/09/2018
Browse Other Catalogues
- Undergraduate module catalogue
- Taught Postgraduate module catalogue
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- Taught Postgraduate programme catalogue
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