View Specification DocumentThe British Empire and India, 1757-1947 ESH4088
- Academic Session: 2026-27
- School: School of Social and Political Sciences
- Credits: 20
- Level: Level 4 (SCQF level 10)
- Typically Offered: Semester 2
- Available to Visiting Students: Yes
- Collaborative Online International Learning: No
- Curriculum For Life: No
Short Description
The course will explore the history of Britain's Indian Empire from the formal establishment of East India Company rule in 1757 until India's independence in 1947. A central theoretical focus of the course will be comparative and transnational history perspectives, which will tease out the complexities of the contact between the coloniser and the colonised. The lectures will examine the impact of British colonialism on Indian politics, economy, society and culture in this period, and the consequences of Britain's interactions with India and Indians for British society and social relationships. They will discuss how specific aspects of colonialism such as political ideology, citizenship, state formation, knowledge production, education, law, science and medicine, leisure, and religion shaped Indian and British society. Delivering critical analysis of the changing nature and local variations of the analytics of race, class and gender in the modern world, this course will challenge students to think about various interpretations of modern imperialism as a globalising, exploitative, and generative force.
Timetable
Lecture: one hour per week for ten weeks
Seminar: one hour per week for ten weeks
Requirements of Entry
Enrolment in the BA programme
Assessment
60%: One exam.
20%: An essay, 2000 words ±10%
20%: Oral presentation based on the review of a set reading.
Main Assessment In: April/May
Course Aims
The module aims to:
■ Develop the ability to critically analyse arguments on the British Empire offered by different historiographical schools.
■ Familiarise students with methods of interpreting a wide range of sources including texts, images, and films related to modern India.
■ Develop the skill to articulate arguments based on reading of primary and secondary sources orally and in writing through discussions, presentations, and essays.
Intended Learning Outcomes of Course
By the end of this course students will be able to:
■ Interpret the nature and impact of British colonialism on the making of modern India.
■ Understand and apply different approaches to analysing the history of modern Indian society.
■ Evaluate the wider intellectual and political contexts within which the knowledge of Indian society has been produced in the colonial period.
■ Articulate arguments based on reading of primary and secondary sources orally and in writing through discussions, presentation and written answers.