Law, Politics and Society across the British Empire, 1750-1960: Context
| Module title | Law, Politics and Society across the British Empire, 1750-1960: Context |
|---|---|
| Module code | HIH3299 |
| Academic year | 2023/4 |
| Credits | 30 |
| Module staff | Professor Nandini Chatterjee (Convenor) |
| Duration: Term | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duration: Weeks | 11 | 11 |
| Number students taking module (anticipated) | 16 |
|---|
Module description
This module is designed to introduce the student to the crucial role of law in governing, justifying and resisting imperial rule across the British empire, from the mid-eighteenth to the mid-twentieth centuries. Drawing on a lively and growing inter-disciplinary field of research, this module will encourage students to think of law not just as a body of rules or a set of institutions, but as related to social contexts, geographical settings, power, ethics, rhetoric and cultural practice. Students considering a future course of study or work in fields related to law may find this module of interest. Some prior knowledge regarding the history of the British empire may be helpful, but can be compensated for by preparatory studies.
You must take this module in conjunction with Law, Politics and Society across the British Empire, 1750-1960: Sources.
Module aims - intentions of the module
This is a module about the historical role of law in the British empire. Students will be encouraged to appreciate the central but complex role of law in the running of the British empire between the mid-18th to the mid-20th centuries, paying attention to the ideological role of law in justifying empire, in re-structuring markets, economies, social systems and private lives, and in affording a language and means of resistance to colonized populations. The module is organized thematically rather than chronologically. Each theme will be studied with reference to a specific location and context within the British empire. As such, students will encounter a vast range of geographical locations, about which they will have to form clear, historically accurate ideas before proceeding to analyse the role of law in that context.
‘Law’ itself is conceived of very broadly for purposes of this module. Students will study the traditional themes of litigation, trials, adjudication and legislation. They will learn about formal processes and politics of law-making by elected or unelected authorities, and adjudication by and in a variety of tribunals, from local executive officers’ courts to the final court of appeal for the British Empire. The module will also introduce students to the imperial phenomenon of ‘legal pluralism’, whereby diverse bodies of non-English law – including civil (Roman) law, Islamic law, Hindu law, customary law, as well as specific colonial laws – were incorporated within the legal systems of the British empire. Students will also look at diplomatic negotiation over treaties and agreements, for example between the British and Native American, Chinese, Indian and Maori authorities, and the claims and practices of extra-territoriality beyond the formal British Empire. Students will be constantly encouraged to think beyond the letter of the law in order to understand the social relevance of laws; the importance of alternative moral codes, and the significance of systematic breaches of the law. Being inter-disciplinary, the module will introduce the student to analytical and methodological approaches from law, history, anthropology, and literary criticism, and being very broad in geographical scope, to contexts from North America, the Caribbean, West and East Africa, Turkey, India, China and Australia.
By using a combination of tutor-led seminars and lectures, student-led seminars and independent study, the module will enable students to reflect independently upon research questions related to law and empire, and judge between the value of different analytical and methodological approaches, while making direct use of a large array of primary sources. In this way students will learn to draw thematic and strongly analytical comparisons between material from different sources, show awareness of contrasting approaches to research, and demonstrate an enhanced understanding of some of the philosophical and ethical questions arising from research into large historical themes of continued relevance in the present day. They will also learn to present some of these complex issues to the rest of the class by leading a seminar in the second half of the course.
Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
ILO: Module-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 1. Evaluate different complex themes in the history of law across the British Empire, from the mid-18th to the mid-20th centuries, with proper attention to the precise context.
- 2. Understand key developments within that context, developed through independent study and seminar work
ILO: Discipline-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 3. Analyse the historical role of law in an imperial context, with attention to its many forms and functions.
- 4. Understand and analyse key developments in complex and unfamiliar political, social, cultural or intellectual environments.
- 5. Deploy relevant historical terminology in a comprehensible manner.
- 6. Analyse legal sources, and write with accuracy about legal institutions, codes and practices.
ILO: Personal and key skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 7. Independent and autonomous study, research and group work, including presentation of material for group discussion, developed through the mode of learning.
- 8. Ability to digest, select and organise material to produce, to a deadline, a coherent and cogent argument, developed through the mode of assessment.
Syllabus plan
Some of the themes that we are likely to address are:
• Legal history – concepts and debates
• Diplomacy and treaties
• Extra-territoriality and concessions
• Land rights and indigenous communities
• Law and the environment
• Piracy
• Slavery
• Indentured labour
• Prostitution
• Wives, children and families
• Sexuality and its regulation
• Armies and martial law
• Crime and punishment
• Constitutions and sovereigns
• Universal and international law
Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 44 | 256 | 0 |
Details of learning activities and teaching methods
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled learning and teaching activities | 44 | Seminars (11 x 2 hour) |
| Guided independent study | 256 | Reading and preparation for seminars, coursework and presentations. |
Summative assessment (% of credit)
| Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | 0 | 0 |
Details of summative assessment
| Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portfolio of two assignments | 70 | Combined total of 4000 words | 1-8 | Oral and Written |
| Written Assignment | 30 | 2500 words | 1-8 | Written |
| 0 | ||||
| 0 | ||||
| 0 | ||||
| 0 |
Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)
| Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portfolio of two assignments (Combined total of 4000 words) | Portfolio of two assignments (Combined total of 4000 words) | 1-8 | Referral/deferral period |
| Written assignment (2500 words) | Written assignment (2500 words) | 1-8 | Referral/deferral period |
Re-assessment notes
Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.
Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be required to submit a further assessment as necessary. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 40%.
Indicative learning resources - Basic reading
- Lauren Benton, A Search for Sovereignty: Law and Geography in European Empires, 1400-1900 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009).
- Nandini Chatterjee, Negotiating Mughal Law: A Family of Landlords across Three Indian Empires (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2020).
- Ronald Dworkin, Law’s Empire (London: Hart, 1986).
- Wael B. Hallaq, Authority, Continuity and Change in Islamic Law (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001).
- Nasser Hussain, The Jurisprudence of Emergency: Colonialism and the Rule of Law (Ann Arbor: Duke University Press, 2003).
- Marilyn Lake, Henry Reynolds, Drawing the Global Colour Line: White Men’s Countries and the International Challenge of Racial Equality (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008).
- Philippa Levine, Prostitution, Race and Politics: Policing Venereal Disease in the British Empire (New York: Routledge, 2003).
- Lydia Liu, The Clash of Empires: the Invention of China in Modern World Making (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2004).
- Lawrence Rosen, Law as Culture (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2006).
- Martin J. Wiener, An Empire on Trial: Race, Murder, and Justice under British Rule, 1870-1935 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009).
Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources
- ELE – https://vle.exeter.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=4574
- House of Commons Parliamentary Papers
- Hansard
- Times Digital Archive
| Credit value | 30 |
|---|---|
| Module ECTS | 15 |
| Module pre-requisites | At least 90 credits of History at Level 1 and/or Level 2. |
| Module co-requisites | HIH3298 Law, Politics and Society across the British Empire, 1750-1960 - Sources |
| NQF level (module) | 6 |
| Available as distance learning? | No |
| Origin date | 27/02/2014 |
| Last revision date | 13/09/2022 |
