| Unit name | Humanitarianism and the British People (Level I Special Field) |
|---|---|
| Unit code | HIST20077 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | I/5 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Dr. Baughan |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Co-requisites | |
| School/department | Department of History (Historical Studies) |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
What is humanitarianism? How has it shaped, and been shaped by, Britain’s understanding of its role in the world? Why, in the eyes of both politicians and the public, did British interests, and the interests of ‘humanity’ so often seem to coincide?
In this unit, we address this question by addressing British humanitarian endeavours from Antislavery to the present day. We situate British humanitarianism within the rise, and fall, of the British Empire. We ask if humanitarianism should be considered as a tool for justifying imperial expansion, and confirming images of British moral and cultural superiority. Or we ask, on the other hand, if humanitarianism was an egalitarian project which questioned the basis of British rule overseas? We also discuss how humanitarianism was impacted by wars, peace Britain’s changing relationships with Europe and the U.S. throughput the ninetieth and twentieth centuries. We consider the role of traditionally disenfranchised groups - women, children and the subjects of the British Empire - both as the objects and agents of humanitarian interventions. We explore how far humanitarian causes, and activists, can be considered as ‘political’ both throughout the past and the present day.
On successful completion of this unit students will have developed 1. a broad awareness of the major developments in British humanitarianism in the twentieth century; 2. a deep understanding of how historians can reconstruct and assess the motives, approaches and methods of those involved in humanitarian movements; 3. the ability to set individual issues within their longer term historical context; 4. the ability to analyse and generalise about issues of continuity and change; 5. the ability to select pertinent evidence/data in order to illustrate/demonstrate more general historical points; 6. the ability to derive benefit from and contribute effectively to large group discussion; 7. the ability to identify a particular academic interpretation, evaluate it critically and form an individual viewpoint; 8. the acquisition of key writing, research, and presentation skills.
Weekly 2-hour seminar
2-hour unseen written examination (summative, 100%)
The examination will assess ILOs 1-8 by assessing the students’ understanding of the unit’s key themes, the related historiography as developed during their reading and participation in / learning from small group seminars, and relevant primary sources. Further assessment of their handling of the relevant primary sources will be provided by the co-requisite Special Field Project.
Michael Barnett, Empire of Humanity: A History of Humanitarianism (London 2011)
Grant, Kevin. A Civilised Savagery: Britain and the New Slaveries in Africa, 1884–1926.( New York 2005)
M. Hilton, J. McKay, N. Crowson, and J. Mouhot, The Politics of Expertise How NGOs Shaped Modern Britain, (Oxford 2013)
A. Porter, ‘Trusteeship, Anti-Slavery, and Humanitarianism’, in A. Porter (ed.), The Oxford History of the British Empire, Vol. 3: The Nineteenth Century (Oxford, 1999), pp. 198-221
R. Skinner and A. Lester, (2012) Humanitarianism and empire: new research agendas. The Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History, 40 (5). pp. 730-31
