| Unit name | Slavery and Emancipation in the Atlantic World 1450-1870 |
|---|---|
| Unit code | HISTM0071 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Dr. Livesey |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None. |
| Co-requisites |
None. |
| School/department | Department of History (Historical Studies) |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
In this unit students will develop their understanding of the evolution of European ideas of slavery and race through reflecting on the development and dissolution of various Atlantic slave systems.
In early meetings we will think about the formation of racialised perceptions of identity and nationhood, and how the beginnings of consumer society and other modern processes ensured slavery was expanded and secured. Students will then critically examine the debate over comparative slavery, focusing in particular on the contrasting demographic fate of slaves in different parts of the `New World’, the labour they were expected to perform on and off the plantation, the treatment they received from their owners, and the rich cultural and community lives they developed in the midst of adversity.
There will be the opportunity to compare slavery and emancipations in Mainland North America, South America and the Caribbean through a range of secondary and primary materials. This comparative approach will connect students to the most recent historiographical debates on the stages of Atlantic slavery (a ‘second slavery’ approach); allow them evaluate the complex experiences of enslaved life, and the nuances of political, economic and cultural changes over time.
Unit aims
To explore the rise and fall of Atlantic slavery from a social and economic perspective, and to examine the relationship between different slave societies.
To develop students’ skills in the critical evaluation and historical interpretation of a broad range of primary and secondary sources, including the use of digital humanities.
On successful completion of this unit students will:
1) Be able to locate key concepts of nation, race, and ethnicity within the historical context of the early Atlantic through to the nineteenth century.
2) have improved their ability to argue effectively and at length (including an ability to cope with complexities and to describe and deploy these effectively).
3) display high level skills in selecting, applying, interpreting and organising information, including evidence of a high level of bibliographical control.
4) have the ability to evaluate and/or challenge current scholarly thinking.
5) have the capacity to take a critical stance towards scholarly processes involved in arriving at historical knowledge and/or relevant secondary literature.
6) be able to demonstrate an understanding of concepts and an ability to conceptualise.
7) have developed their capacity for independent research.
1-hour lecture
1-hour seminar weekly
One 5000 word essay (100%) – ILO’s 1-7
S. Beckert, Empire of Cotton: A Global History
