BA History

HIH1137: Becoming a Historian: Core

Studying history at university is not only about increasing your knowledge of the past, but mastering particular ways of researching, processing information, and communicating arguments effectively. This module introduces you to the essential skills that will enable you to become a historian, and familiarises you with the innovative ways we teach and assess these skills at Exeter.

Part of the module will facilitate your transition to studying history at university by covering key practical skills, from conducting independent research to reading critically. The other part will introduce the key intellectual tools you will need, surveying the evolution of history writing over time and the important approaches and ideas that historians use to study the past. By the end of the module, you will acquire skills that will be developed further across your degree and in future careers, and that will enhance your development as an open-minded and internationally-engaged individual.

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HIH1421: Understanding Medieval and Early Modern History

This module is designed to introduce you to histories of the world from antiquity, through the Middle Ages, and into what we traditionally the early modern period. Taking a thematic approach, it seeks to develop your understanding of politics, society, economy, and religion across different regions during these years. Key themes include rulership and government, power and resistance, religion, cultures of knowledge, trade and the environment, and encountering the 'other'. This is an introductory module and no prior knowledge is required.

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HIH1422: Understanding Modern History

This is a module that introduces you to the key processes, ideas, and connections in modern history from the eighteenth century to the present. It covers themes such as colonialism and postcolonialism; states, ideologies and nationalism; gender, sexuality and the body; science and technology; race, class, religion, and disability; violence and conflict; and development and humanitarianism. The module traces these themes across multiple countries and regions around the world, highlighting connections and differences between them, and exploring the multiplicity of experiences and ideas that have produced numerous, and at times competing, conceptualisations of 'modernity'. This is an introductory module and no prior knowledge is required.

This module explores some of the most important historical developments from around the world from the eighteenth century to the present. It provides a taster of topics you can explore in greater detail in future years of study. The module is global in its scope, focusing on exploring a range of regions and nations whose histories have been foundational to the formation of the 'modern' world as we know it today. While introducing you to the key features that have led to the development of 'modern' states, societies, and cultures, it simultaneously challenges Eurocentric ideas of 'modernity', accepted historical chronologies, and dominant historical narratives.

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HAS1003: Climate Emergency! An Introduction to Environmental Arts and Humanities

This module is an introduction to cultures, histories, and politics of environmental and climate change. Science has proven beyond doubt the global scale of human-natural engineering leading to the present climate emergency and environmental crisis; so what is the role of the arts and umanities in effecting positive change through understanding, interpreting, and finding meaning?In this module, you will learn about the specific issues facing the Earth today, about the implications of these global challenges facing all of us, and about the ways in which studying this can help us address problems in the present and the future. By placing current debates and dilemmas in cultural and historical contexts, the module allows you to explore how different disciplinary perspectives, and the different kinds of source material they use as evidence, enable us to understand more clearly why the world is facing an environmental and climate crisis, as well as how we might create a more just and equitable world. This module will provoke you to think with and through the relevant literary, historical, socio-cultural, philosophical, and political contexts, providing relevant skills for a wide range of arts, humanities and social sciences courses.

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HIH1423: Sources and Skills: Modern

The module Modern Sources & Skills introduces source genres, themes, and approaches that are important in the study of modern history. The focus of the module is on exploring the possibilities and limitations of our extant sources in a wide variety of genres – from personal letters and diaries, political treatises and state papers, plays, novels, and creative arts, to scientific texts, social surveys, material culture, oral histories and more. Through these, you will learn about forms of knowledge, culture, and politics in modern societies. You will also become acquainted with the ways in which these sources and societies have been understood by scholars.

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HIH1424: Sources and Skills: Early Modern

The module Early Modern Sources & Skills introduces source genres, themes, and approaches that are important in the study of early modern history. The focus of the module is on exploring the possibilities and limitations of our extant sources in a wide variety of genres – from personal letters and diaries, political treatises and travelogues, plays, ballads, and satirical prints to scientific texts, art and material culture. Through these, you will learn about forms of knowledge, culture, and politics in early modern societies. You will also become acquainted with the ways in which these sources and societies have been understood by later scholars. The content of your module will vary depending on which stand you will take within Early Modern Sources & Skills. Strands may vary year by year; examples are ‘Early Modern Venice: Representations and Myths’ and ‘The Body in Eighteenth Century Britain’.

MODULE AIMS – INTENTIONS OF THE MODULE
The primary aim of the module is to:
• Introduce you to a range of source genres available to historians of the early modern period and reflect on their uses
• Help you gain an understanding of key aspects of early modern societies
• Provide you with an insight into the various approaches scholars have brought to the study of early modern sources and societies
• Hone your critical reading skills and prepare you for academic writing, and allow you to practice presenting your ideas orally in a formative setting

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HIH1619: Sources and Skills: Medieval

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HIH2002: Uses of the Past

In this module you will explore how people in the past used history to explain their present, and how people today use history. You will look at the ways in which the past has been constructed, including the roles people have played, the impact of different cultures, and how things have changed over time. You will explore the authority that different cultures have given to the past, what makes a past 'authentic' and 'powerful', how notions of good or bad history have changed over time, and you will assess why people have turned to the past in order to make sense of their worlds. You will compare past and present uses of history across different cultures, and the way in which history is used by different states and rulers, and in education, entertainment, and public commemoration. You will also look at how groups have attempted to make sense of their past using a range of sources: for example, chronicles, paintings, films, genealogies, statues, and memorials.

This module aims to:

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HIH2237: Doing History in the Digital Age

This module will enable you to develop independent learning skills, an understanding of the value and use of primary sources in history, knowledge of historiography, and critical and presentational skills. It is a progression from the Year 1 core modules in History, and from Sources and Skills. It will also help to prepare you for writing a dissertation in your final year.

The module is compulsory for Single Honours History students. It is optional for Combined Honours History students, but a prerequisite for students wishing to undertake a dissertation in History in their final year. The module is also available to students on other programmes as an optional module.

This module builds on work done in Year 1 in the core modules in History, and in Sources and Skills modules. It is a guided independent study module, which aims to develop your independent learning, understanding of the value and use of primary sources in history, knowledge of collections, archives, and databases, and critical and presentational skills. It also serves as part of the preparation for the final element of independent study in history programmes in the final year, in the form of the Dissertation or Research Project Dissertation.

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HAS3999: Study Abroad

The Study Abroad programme enables you to undertake a year-long study placement at a partner university outside of the UK, as part of your degree programme.

This module serves as the administrative mechanism for recording the Study Abroad assessment results of students within the Faculty of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (HASS). Students participating in the Study Abroad programme and based in a HASS department (except for the Law School, the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, Modern Languages, and the School of Education) will be registered on this module during their Study Abroad placement year.

The Study Abroad programme widens the range of modules available to you during Stage 3 of your degree programme; enables you to broaden your academic horizons by studying in a different learning culture and (where relevant and appropriate) in languages other than English; and aims to promote resilience, independence, cultural awareness, and communication skills.

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HAS3998: Employment Experience

This module allows you to undertake and to learn from an extended work placement during the third year of a four year “with Employment Experience” programme. You will use one or more work placements to gain skills that equip you to work in the employment market and to improve your knowledge of the work environment. You are encouraged to think about the intercultural competence and the employability skills that you acquire during your year.

To progress to this module, you will have secured a suitable placement for a minimum of 26 weeks.

Having developed the skills necessary to find relevant roles and apply for roles in the graduate labour market, this is an invaluable opportunity to develop work-related skills and experience that will further enhance your success in the graduate labour market and support your future career choices.

During your placement year you will be supported by the Module Convenor and Placement Team.

The module assessment structure provides opportunity and support for you to evaluate your skills and achievements using personal development techniques.  You will also write an Employer Report to showpiece the culmination of your academic and business skills.

This module aims to:

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HIH3005: General Third-Year Dissertation

The History Dissertation module gives you the opportunity to undertake independent source-based research on a topic of your choice. Over the course of your final year, you will research and write an extended essay based on the analysis of primary sources. Although the onus is on you to identify and research your own chosen area, you are assigned a supervisor from the Department to advise and guide you through the process. The dissertation allows you to put into practice the key skills of source analysis, argumentation and independent study that you have learnt at levels 1 and 2, and represents the culmination of your training as a historian. The dissertation is your chance to pursue original research, to offer a contribution to the field and to add your voice to the debate!

The dissertation is compulsory for all final-year Single Honours History students and may be opted for by final-year Combined Honours History students, provided that they have taken HIH2001 Doing History at level 2, as the dissertation builds on this module.

This module allows you to:

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HIH3330: Truth

Everything is relative! Nothing is real! Perhaps scepticism about truth in science, morality, and religion once belonged to radical fringes—but today’s global politics and culture seem to be overwhelmed with competing and contradictory beliefs about everything from the shape of the earth to whether Chat GPT has a soul. In disciplines such as History, there are still deeper questions lurking. Does the practice of history help us to identify the truth about past events, or does history play a role in encouraging scepticism and uncertainty over the ‘truth-makers’ of our society? In this module, your convenors and seminar leaders will take you through some core readings on knowledge, the history of science, and readings on the production of social truths concerning (potentially) gender, morality, politics, and alternative belief systems and cults: but from there you will be working to develop your own projects, developing case studies on key themes (a few are recommended in the video introduction). There will be scope to delve deeper into the philosophical questions lurking in any historical study of ‘truth’—and if those don’t appeal, there will also be room here to explore the social and cultural practices that make the truth—whatever it might contain!-- so irresistible to those living within a particular culture and time.

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HIH3333: Disease

This module explores the concepts of sickness and health. While these might appear to be universal human conditions, this module invites you to think about how the conceptualisation, management, and experience of sickness and health has varied significantly across time and space. From definitions produced by the World Health Organisation for the entire globe to the individual's subjective experience of bodily, mental, and emotional suffering and wellbeing, what it means to be well and unwell is never detached from historical context. Through case studies drawn from across geographies, chronologies, and scales, you will be encouraged to reflect on how disease categories, treatment regimens, and illness narratives have been historically constructed. This module will also highlight what we can learn about a given political, social, and cultural context by putting sickness and health under the microscope. Both concepts have been central to the definition of the normal and the pathological, whether in relation to disability, sexuality, or race, as well as to the representation of the 'other'.

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HIH3334: War

War is an ancient and contested concept. The Greek philosopher Heraclitus called it 'the father of all' around 500 BCE while the Bible lists 'conquest' and 'war' as two of the four horsemen of the apocalypse. Wars were proclaimed to be 'just' or 'holy', but many people reject it on philosophical or religious grounds. The concept of 'total war' developed in tandem with efforts to codify the laws of war and mitigate its impact. War was praised as antidote to modern materialism, but the 'military-industrial complex' (Dwight D. Eisenhower) creates ever more sophisticated high-tech weapons. War is the subject of countless games but defined by cruelty. It was, for a long time, regarded as the ultimate test of manhood but is now increasingly conducted by drones, robots, or in cyberspace. It was once just waged against enemy armies but is now also fought against drugs, smoking, or obesity. In this module, you will explore and discuss different concepts of war and its impact on thought, society, culture, and people.

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HIH3335: Violence

This module explores the social and cultural histories of collective violence, focusing on the act of violence itself. Engaging with the extensive theorisation of violence offered by different social sciences, the module will examine why violence has taken particular forms and rituals, what it has meant to perpetrators and victims, and the limits placed on violence by formal and informal rules and practices. The module will explore the roles of religion, ethnicity, group dynamics, and gender, phenomena ranging from riots and massacres to the duel, as well as the halting of violence through surrender or negotiation.

This 'Concepts' module requires you to engage with historical ideas and theories relating to violence that are applicable across time and space. You will be encouraged to think beyond the detail of your Special Subjects and Dissertations, using a range of illustrative case studies to examine broader ideas. You will have to consider how ideas and concepts about violence vary, develop, or manifest consistently in different time periods and places, and why they are constructed as they are. What can this tell us about past peoples and societies, and what are the implications for the world in which we now live?

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HIH3336: Revolution

Along with major wars, with which they are often associated, revolutionary struggles have formed some of the most dramatic turning points in the development of human societies and their governments. At times the threat and promise of revolution has been an all-consuming preoccupation, epitomised by 'classic' revolutions such as those in France in 1789 and Russia in 1917, but also encompassing many other examples of both successful and failed attempts at revolutionary change right up to the present day. On this module you will take an inter-disciplinary approach to the global phenomenon of revolutionary change, starting before 1789 when revolution tended to be a word ascribed to significant events after they had occurred before moving to the post-1789 period when the idea of revolution changed and people became consciously involved in attempts to reshape their governments and societies in the hope for a better future, even if the end result was often very different.

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HIH3455: Sexualities

This module explores the conceptual frameworks that shape approaches to the history of sexuality. While sexuality might appear to be a universal human (even biological) element of our personalities and identities, this module introduces you to the claim, central to much recent historians' work, that the thinking about ourselves as having a sexual identity is peculiar to some twentieth century cultures. As a result, the history of sexuality invites us to explore the different ways bodies and desires have been conceptualised in different times and places. What concepts have been deployed to make sense of human sexual experiences? What shifting categories (gender, race, nature, age) have been critical to the ways in which societies organise sexual behaviours, or demarcate the moral from the immoral, the pathological from the unhealthy, the normal from the abnormal, the legal from the illegal or the appropriate from the distasteful? Drawing upon case-studies drawn from across geographies, chronologies and scales you will be encouraged to reflect on how sexual categories and modes of regulation reflect different political, social and cultural contexts shedding light and offering new perspectives on our own worlds.

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HAS3006: The Legend of King Arthur

The deeds of King Arthur and his court are imprinted on the landscape, embedded in (pseudo-)historical texts, and have been repeatedly re-invented in romances, novels, film and television programmes. This interdisciplinary module asks you to investigate the appeal of the 'once and future king' from the Middle Ages to the twenty-first century, including the ways in which his legend has been adapted and extended over time. The Southwest has unique links to the Arthurian myth, and this module allows you to explore the manuscript and archaeological resources that distinguish this region.

No prior knowledge, skills or experience are required: this module is suitable for all students at this level.

NB This module is also listed as an MA option: undergraduate and postgraduate students will be taught together in mixed classes. An undergraduate student who has taken this as a Stage 3 module cannot then take it as a masters module.

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HIH3417: The Yes, Minister Files: Perspectives on British Government since 1914

This module uses the hit BBC comedies Yes, Minister and Yes, Prime Minister as a window on to the world of British government. The programmes were based to a considerable extent on insider information, and the course will explore some of the real life counterparts to things that happened in the series. The module will also show how Yes, Minister relates to other fictional representations of British politics. If you want to understand how Britain has been governed over the last century, this is the course for you.

Possession of a sense of humour is recommended but is not essential.

Sir Humphrey Appleby: Bernard, if the right people don't have power, do you know what happens? The wrong people get it: politicians, councillors, ordinary voters!

Bernard Woolley : But aren't they supposed to, in a democracy?

Sir Humphrey : This is a British democracy, Bernard!

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HIH3418: The Russian Revolution

The Russian Revolution was one of the greatest events of the twentieth century, heralding the emergence of the first communist regime and providing the inspiration for subsequent revolutions across the world. This module examines the revolutionary period from 1914 to 1922, exploring how and why revolution emerged, the progress of events during the crucial year of 1917, and how the Bolsheviks seized and held on to power during a tumultuous civil war. As well as examining political developments, it seeks to explore the fluctuating aspirations of ordinary people and the emergence of a revolutionary culture, while contrasting Bolshevik aspirations to build a pioneering new state and society with the reality of the foundation of the Soviet Union.

This module studies the revolutionary period in Russian history (1914-22) through the wide range of sources available, including memoirs, diaries, letters, political manifestos, official documents and correspondence, newspapers reports, photographs, and film. It encourages you to analyse and evaluate the reliability and value of these sources, place them in the broader context in which they were produced, and relate them to the subsequent arguments of historians.

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HIH3421: Magic in the Middle Ages

This course explores how medieval people thought about magic and the magical practices that they used. It takes a long chronological sweep, from the period of conversion to Christianity in the early Middle Ages to the development of new ideas about witchcraft in the fifteenth century.

The course will examine the key changes which took place during the period, including the Church's efforts to Christianise popular practices; the impact of new magical texts which circulated in Europe from the twelfth century onwards; intellectual debates about what magic was and how it worked; and the rising number of trials of magical practitioners. It will also examine how these factors contributed to the invention of a new crime, witchcraft, and the first witch trials.

This module will bring together a wide range of evidence, including religious treatises, academic theology, magical texts, works of literature and trial records to examine both the reality of medieval magic and perceptions of it. It will place this evidence in its social and cultural context, and analyse the key debates in modern historiography.

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HIH3424: Governing the World: A History of Internationalism from WW1 to the Present

Since the 19th century individuals and states sought to promote national interests in various international fora and to find ways to ‘govern the world’ for the greater good of mankind. This module will introduce students to the rich and complex history of internationalism and the evolution of iconic organisations such as the United Nations from diverse perspectives, engaging with leading as well as lesser known twentieth-century thinkers, policy makers, activists and transnational groupings both within and beyond the Western world. It will examine critically internationalism’s role in the shaping of the modern world, including contemporary critiques and acts of retreat from multilateralism and global cooperation.

The module focuses on internationalism’s dynamic relationship with nationalism and the dialectic between ideals and power politics that had defined visions of global cooperation throughout the 20th century. You will develop skills in researching, interpreting, and analysing both primary and secondary material related to the history of internationalism and international institutions. Drawing on archival, published and translated sources, as well as on a growing number of online digital archives, the module will use official institutional sources, as well as oral histories, letters, post-war memoirs, photographs and video material.

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HIH3426: Health and its Politics in the 20th Century

Who has a right to health, and who is responsible for maintaining it? Who should pay for it and who should provide it? Questions around access to health and medical management have been central to how international order, state formations and political systems have been imagined and organised in the 20th century. We will explore relationships among social and political structures and health in local, national and global contexts, moving in space, time and thematic approach throughout the course. We will focus on intersections of medical technologies and scientific knowledge; social movements and political ideologies, such as empires and the bacteriological revolution; reproductive rights and women's health movements; socialist ideas of health and decolonisation; and the rise of global health and the neoliberal world order.

The module aims to:

• Introduce you to the entangled histories of health, society and politics in the 20 thcentury through analyses on local, national and global registers.
• Drawing on published and translated source collections as well as a growing number of online digital archives,

The module will make use of sources ranging from governmental records, medical literature, news media, oral history interviews, public health campaign materials, advertisements, personal letters, photographs, conference proceedings, memoirs.

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HIH3430: From the Grand Tour to Gladiator: Modern Encounters with the Ancient World

The classical world is all around us. We encounter the classical world in museums, buildings, gardens, films, poems and video games. We find classical references in political, economic, social and cultural debates on topics such as education, democracy, slavery, sexuality or imperialism. In this module, we will examine why the cultures of Greece and Rome still matter to global societies.

Covering roughly the period from 1750 to the present day we will excavate the ways the ancient world has shaped the modern. We will explore the centrality of Greece and Rome to concepts of civilization, national identities, political ideology, race and sexuality. Why is the ancient world so prominent in narratives of Western triumphalism, marshalled in support of white supremacy and imperial politics, harnessed to legitimate dictatorships or wielded to promote liberal democracies? How is ancient history relevant to movements for sexual liberation or deemed illustrative of the dangers of pornography? How and why are ancient cultures appropriated to shore up racialised, classed and gendered structures of oppression?

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HIH3434: The Body in Early Modern England

This module will provide a detailed analysis of both the history of the body in early modern England and historical sources available for the subject. Seminars will focus on exploring key issues and questions in the study of the body and its historiography. Topics covered may include: anatomy; sex and gender; sex, reproduction, and sexuality; medicine and midwifery; life-stages from conception to old age; illness and disease; death and dissection; regulating the body (including morality, size, behaviour); deformed, disabled, foreign, monstrous bodies.

If you have not previously studied the period you will be expected to do some general reading to familiarise yourself with the early modern world.

You will require at least 90 credits of History at level 1 and/or level 2 to complete this module.

• To analyse the history of the body in early modern England
• To analyse the historical sources available for the subject

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HIH3441: Britons Abroad: The Experience of Travel, c. 1650-1900

Travel today is commonplace, familiar to us all, and often routine; but it hasn't always been so. From the early modern period in Britain, domestic and international travel increased markedly, driven by socio-cultural phenomena such as the Grand Tour, commercial expansion and the Atlantic economy, as well as developments in transport and travel infrastructure. By the twentieth century travel had been 'democratised', opening up mass tourism. For the first time in history, large numbers of travellers were beginning to explore the globe, encountering new countries, environments and peoples. But the history of travel isn't just about journeys and destinations...it encompasses a huge range of historical factors including gender, health, sexuality, race, transport, the body, risk and vulnerability. This module enables you to explore the experience of travel over the course of three centuries. Alongside broader narratives of the development of tourism, transport and material culture, and drawing on a wide variety of source materials, including travel literature, personal narratives, advertising, art and literature, it focusses on the profound changes to individuals of encountering 'new' peoples and places, and their experiences of journeys in the past.

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HIH3446: The Celtic Frontier

The events of 1066 brought radical and permanent change not just to England but to Wales, Scotland and Ireland which, over the next century, became targets for Norman ambition. In This module you will examine the processes, voluntary and involuntary, by which these countries were brought into line with continental norms.

You will focus on studying all aspects of the impact of the Normans on the British Isles between 1066 and 1215. A variety of primary sources will be used to examine the processes of conquest and assimilation. Writings of both conquerors and conquered are used and will include correspondence, ethnography, satire, chronicle, poetry, prophecy, and charters. Texts may be from Latin, French, English, Welsh and Irish origin.

We welcome students from other disciplines; however you will require at least 90 credits in History at level 1 and/or level 2.

The events of 1066 brought radical and permanent change not just to England but to Wales, Scotland and Ireland which, over the next century, became targets for Norman ambition. This course examines the processes, voluntary and involuntary, by which these countries were brought into line with continental norms.

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HIH3451: Borders and Mobilities in Postcolonial South Asia

Tracing contested borders and frontiers cleaved by Empire, this module examines histories of war, peace, and resistance in postcolonial South Asia. Drawing on the intertwined histories of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and Sri Lanka, we will study the cartographic anxieties and boundary-making practices that enumerate identity and shape mobilities in the region. We will adopt an intersectional approach that foregrounds caste, gender, race, religion and class and unsettles the nation-state's rigid, exclusionary borders. Spanning a range of topics including ethnic conflict, diplomacy and disputed territories, statelessness and citizenship, this module explores the postcolonial states and societies of South Asia.

The module will enable students to utilise interdisciplinary frameworks in postcolonial studies, diplomatic history, migration and borderland studies to better understand South Asia. You will be introduced to scholarship that challenges methodological nationalism and top-down approaches by putting forward a nuanced, intersectional agenda. Drawing on diverse sources including archival documents, diplomatic memoirs, biographies, fiction, translated works, and cinema, you will also be equipped to work with primary sources effectively and innovatively.

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