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2016/17 Undergraduate Module Catalogue

HIST2077 Colonial Encounters: France and its Empire, 1830-1945

20 creditsClass Size: 33

Module manager: Dr Claire Eldridge
Email: C.Eldridge@leeds.ac.uk

Taught: Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) View Timetable

Year running 2016/17

This module is approved as a discovery module

Module summary

At its peak, the French empire covered over 4 million square miles of the globe. This impressive territorial reach underpinned France's claim to world power status during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Ranging from North and West Africa to South East Asia via the Caribbean and even including parts of India, the French empire was incredibly diverse. Binding together these disparate regions was France's commitment to what it saw as its imperial mission civilisatrice (civilising mission). While all European colonial powers made claims about their civilising activities overseas, France was unique in the extent to which it sought to mould its colonies and their inhabitants in its own image. The implementation of this ideology profoundly shaped the culture and society of both the colonisers and the colonised. Over the course of this module students will be encouraged to think about the different ways in which France transformed the societies it came into contact with as it built and governed its empire. Underlining the permeability of the borders between metropole and colony, students will also reflect on how ideas, products and people migrated from the empire back to mainland France and the impact this had upon French identity, culture and ways of life, including the legacies of these influences in the contemporary era.

Objectives

The objectives of this module are:
1. To explain and evaluate the ways in which the French empire impacted on the culture and society of both colonisers and colonised.
2. To compare and contrast experiences of empire for both colonisers and colonised, reflecting upon the factors that influenced these experiences.
3. To analyse the historiographical debates in relation to the France and the French empire.
4. To appreciate and reflect upon the relationship between contemporary debates about empire and their historical context.
5. To critically analyse a range of primary sources, both written and visual, relating to these issues.
6. To formulate sophisticated and nuanced arguments in relation to these issues, in written and verbal form.
7. To further develop generic, transferable and subject specific skills.

Learning outcomes
On completion of this module, students will be able to:
1. demonstrate a good awareness of the key events, people and themes relating to the social and cultural history of the French empire
2. demonstrate an ability to think critically about the relationship between contemporary debates about empire and their historical context
3. demonstrate proficiency in assessing and evaluating a range of primary sources in relation to the study of the French empire
4. read critically and engage with secondary sources and historiographical debates using these to develop rigorous historical analysis
5. show analytical and critical skills in oral presentations and written work


Syllabus

Lectures
1. Introduction: A mission to civilise? Ideas and ideologies of French rule
Part I: Exporting France to the colonies
2. Race and racial difference
3. Sex, gender and the family
4. Conquering hearts and minds: religion and education
5. Colonising the body: science and medicine
Part II: Bringing the empire back home
6. Colonial soldiers and labourers in France, 1914-19
7. Selling and consuming the empire in France
8. Exhibiting the empire
9. Dissident voices: from 'negritude' to nationalism
10. The empire at war, 1939-45
11. Conclusion: Remembering and representing the empire

Seminars
1. A mission to civilise? Ideas and ideologies of French rule
2. Race and racial difference
3. Sex, gender and the family
4. Conquering hearts and minds: religion and education
5. Colonising the body: science and medicine
6. Colonial soldiers and labourers in France, 1914-19
7. Exhibiting, selling and consuming the empire
8. Dissident voices: from 'negritude' to nationalism
9. Conclusion: remembering and representing the empire at war

Teaching methods

Delivery typeNumberLength hoursStudent hours
Film Screenings12.002.00
Lecture111.0011.00
Tutorial91.009.00
Private study hours178.00
Total Contact hours22.00
Total hours (100hr per 10 credits)200.00

Private study

Students will prepare for each seminar by reading texts and primary sources supplied by the Module Leader. They will also be expected to undertake further, self-directed reading for each class using the module bibliographies. Students will additionally research and prepare an oral presentation (10% of module assessment), research and write a 2000 word assessed essay (30%) and prepare for the final exam (60%).

Opportunities for Formative Feedback

-Participation in class discussion
-Essay consultations
-Evaluation of written and oral assessments
-Feedback on written work

Methods of assessment


Coursework
Assessment typeNotes% of formal assessment
Essay1 x 2,000-word essay, due by 12 noon Monday of teaching week 830.00
PresentationGroup presentation10.00
Total percentage (Assessment Coursework)40.00

Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated


Exams
Exam typeExam duration% of formal assessment
Standard exam (closed essays, MCQs etc)2 hr 00 mins60.00
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 website

Last updated: 03/05/2016

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