| Unit name | Colonial Radicals (Level C Special Topic) |
|---|---|
| Unit code | HIST10041 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | C/4 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Dr. Lewis |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Co-requisites |
HIST13003 Special Topic Project |
| School/department | Department of History (Historical Studies) |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
As European empires spread across the world in the nineteenth century, anti-colonial voices and movements emerged in European capitals (Amsterdam, Paris, London, and Berlin) as well as in colonies in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. In this unit, we trace the itinerant lives and diverse influences on the thought of key anti-colonial figures, such as the Philippine nationalist Jose Rizal, Ho Chi Minh, M.K. Gandhi, M.N. Roy, and Tan Malaka. We consider the anti-colonial dimensions of international communism, the impact of the Wilsonian rhetoric of self-determination, and the rise of global anarchist and revolutionary movements intent on building a new world order. We debate the causes of popular radicalism in the colonies, focusing in particular on Southeast Asia. We look at the tracts, pamphlets, memoirs, biographies, and novels written by anti-colonial activists, and place them within the global context of a world brought increasingly closer through networks of mobility and communications.
On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:
1. Identify and assess the motivations of a range of anti-colonial figures and movements by studying their lives, ideas, and movements.
2. Identify, analyse, and compare the global dimensions of radical anti-colonial movements from 1860-1940.
3. Analyse and evaluate the benefits and problems with taking a transnational/global approach to the study of anti-colonial movements.
4. Critically analyse primary sources such as tracts, memoirs, biographies, and novels.
5. Demonstrate writing, research, and presentation skills appropriate to level C.
1 x two-hour seminar weekly
One 2-hour exam. [ILOs 1-5]
Max Multatuli, Max Havelaar (1860)
Erez Manela, The Wilsonian Moment: self-determination and the international origins of anti-colonialism (2007)
Maia Ramnath, Haj to Utopia: How the Ghadar Movement Charted Global Radicalism and Attempted to Overthrow the British Empire (2011)
Benedict Anderson, Under Three Flags: Anarchism and the Anti-Colonial Imagination (2005)
Takashi Shiraishi, Age in Motion: Popular Radicalism in Java, 1912-1926 (1990)
Hue-Tam Ho Hai, Radicalism and the origins of the Vietnamese revolution (1996)
