Professor Chester
Hellems 225
Office Hours: Tues 5-6, Wed 1-2, and by appointment
chester@colorado.edu
History 3133: Britain and the Empire
<www.colorado.edu/history/chester/HIST3133.htm>
This seminar explores the development of the British Empire, with attention to its impact on the British metropole. Beginning with an overview of imperial expansion in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the course will focus on nineteenth and twentieth century imperialism. Readings will explore the forces behind the empire’s growth, the experiences of Britons taken captive in the imperial periphery, the dissemination of imperial ideologies through British popular culture, and the impact of empire on British politics. Prior knowledge of imperial history will be helpful but is not required.
Students will write a research paper on a topic of their choosing and present it in a conference-style setting. A preliminary bibliography, primary source analysis, and paper draft will also be required.
required reading (books available at CU bookstore)
Linda Colley,
Captives: Britain, Empire, and
the World, 1600-1850 (New York:
Pantheon Books, 2002)
John M. Mackenzie, Imperialism & Popular Culture (Manchester: Manchester
UP, 1989)
Andrew S. Thompson, Imperial
Britain
(New York: Longman, 2000)
Ronald Hyam, Britain's Imperial
Century, 3rd ed. (New
York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2002)
Assignments
paper proposal (1-2 pages)—Due Feb. 15
Identify a topic in British imperial history that you will address in your final paper. Specify the question or questions you will attempt to answer.
preliminary bibliography (2 pages)—Due Feb 22
Identify a range of primary sources and secondary accounts you plan to consult during the course of your research. Be sure to place ILL requests for material not available at CU. Provide full citations, properly formatted, and separate primary from secondary material.
primary source analysis (2 pages)—Due Mar 8
Analyze one of the primary sources you will use in writing your final paper. This source may be textual, visual (e.g. a map), or even aural (e.g. a national anthem). Provide a full citation, properly formatted, a brief description, and a preliminary discussion of your source’s relevance to the question(s) outlined in your paper proposal.
Paper draft—Due Apr 12
5-10 pages.
Paper Presentation (10 minutes, plus Q&A)—April 19 and 26
Formally present your paper, as if at a professional conference. Be prepared to answer questions from your peers after your presentation.
Final paper (20-25 pages)—Due May 3
This is a research paper and your argument must be based on primary sources. The paper must also include a discussion of relevant secondary accounts. Take note: papers that do not meet these fundamental requirements and lack prior approval from me may be penalized two letter grades (e.g. from an A to a C). If you have questions about this requirement, ask me.
Grading
Grades will be determined on the basis of paper proposal (10%); preliminary bibliography (10%); primary source exercise (10%); paper draft (5%, pass/fail); paper presentation (10%); final paper (35%); and class participation (20%). If you need an extension, discuss it with me in advance. Late work will be penalized.
Religious obligations and class conflicts
If you have a conflict with exams, assignments, or class meetings because of religious obligations, please let me know at least two weeks in advance. We will work together to arrange appropriate accommodations.
CU disability Services
If you qualify for accommodations because of a disability, please submit to me a letter from Disability Services as soon as possible so that your needs can be addressed. You can reach Disability Services at (303) 492-8671, at Willard 322, or through their website <www.colorado.edu/disabilityservices>; they determine accommodations based on documented disabilities.
Classroom Behavior
In this class, we will all treat each other with respect. Civil discussion of differing viewpoints is an essential part of the study of imperial history. Appropriate classroom behavior includes arriving on time and remaining for the entire class; let me know before class if you will need to leave early. Do not eat, sleep, read the newspaper, email, instant message, play games, have private conversations, etc. Turn cell phones off!
Plagiarism
Plagiarism will not be tolerated. As a violation of the CU Honor Code and the university’s policy on Academic Integrity, it is punishable by dismissal from the university. We will discuss proper citation in class, but you are responsible for familiarizing yourself with the meanings of plagiarism; “Sources: Their Use and Acknowledgement,” published by Dartmouth College, is an excellent resource, available online at <www.dartmouth.edu/~sources>.
A key element of the university Honor Code is that CU students will not plagiarize (using the words and thoughts of others as your own). As part of the effort to control plagiarism and to ensure that submitted works from students are fully their own, the University has subscribed to TurnItIn.com. As the Honor Code website notes, “This service allows faculty to submit sentences, paragraphs, or entire term/research papers or other scholarly works to the TurnItIn.com website for review. After the service scans more than 1.5 billion pages on the Internet, the faculty member will receive a report including the percentage of the material that has been identified as drawn from other sources, the degree of similarity in the matching material, and live hyperlinks to the original source material so that each faculty member can determine for themselves whether plagiarism has indeed occurred.” The electronic files submitted will then become part of the TurnItIn “closed database”. According to the Honor Code website, “This procedure not only ensures that multiple submissions of the same material can be detected, regardless of the passage of time or the location of the submission, but protects the integrity of each student's scholarly efforts. No additional access to, use, or publication of the material in this paper bank is made by TurnItIn.com.”
It is my intention to submit all student papers to TurnItIn.com, to give a grade of F in the course to any student in violation of the CU Honor Code, and to refer incidents of plagiarism to the Honor Code Council. Note that you cannot submit the same paper for two different classes without the express permission of both instructors.
If you have any questions about this procedure or about any matter regarding proper citation and the Honor Code, ask me.
Discrimination and sexual harassment
The University of
Colorado
at Boulder policy on Discrimination
and Harassment
(http://www.colorado.edu/policies/discrimination.html), the University of
Colorado policy on Sexual Harassment, and the University of
Colorado
policy on
Amorous Relationships apply to all students, staff and faculty. Any student,
staff or faculty member who believes s/he has been the subject of
discrimination or harassment based upon race, color, national origin, sex, age,
disability, religion, sexual orientation, or veteran status should contact the
Office of Discrimination and Harassment (ODH) at 303-492-2127 or the Office of
Judicial Affairs at 303-492-5550. Information about the ODH and the campus
resources available to assist individuals regarding discrimination or
harassment can be obtained at <http://www.colorado.edu/odh>.
Course outline
Department Guidelines for “Referencing” and “Papers”
Colley 1-98
Week Three (Feb 1): Captivity Narratives
Colley 99-202
Week Four (Feb 8): Defeat in the New World, Victory in South Asia
Colley 202-307
Paper proposal due at the beginning of class.
If you must obtain sources through Interlibrary Loan, order them now!
Colley 308-379
Preliminary bibliography due at the beginning of class.
Hyam 1-73
Hyam 74-133, Thompson 1-37
Primary source analysis due at the beginning of class.
Hyam 134-202, Thompson 38-60, Mackenzie 73-93
Hyam 203-279, Mackenzie 113-139
Hyam 280-337, Thompson 61-79, Mackenzie 140-164
No class (spring break)
Thompson 81-185
No class: work on your paper draft.
Paper draft due at the beginning of class.
Mackenzie 165-191 and 232-256, Thompson 186-195
Week Sixteen (May 3): Legacies of Empire
Final paper due at the beginning of class.
Read the international section of the New York Times <www.nyt.com> or the Washington Post <www.washingtonpost.com>, or read or listen to the BBC <news.bbc.com> this week, considering the continuing impact of the British empire on international affairs in general and Britain in particular.