General provisions

The course is a self-contained course and a programme course within the Master's Programme in Early modern studies.

Entry requirements

Admission to a Master programme within the faculty of arts or a bachelor’s degree, equivalent to a Swedish degree of at least 180 credits (i.e. three years of full-time studies), in history studies. Proficiency in English.

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

A student who successfully completed the course will be able to:

• Identify and explain the rough geographical extent of a number of early modern empires discussed in the course literature at several time periods
• Describe, compare and use different theoretical approaches in the study of early modern empires
• Describe and evaluate the continuing legacy of all of these empires for an understanding of the modern world
• Use some of the available primary sources for studying early modern imperial projects
• Define a research task, analyse a topic and present the analysis in a concise and understandable way

Content

During the period 1500 to 1800 a number of new empires in Western Europe, the Middle East and South Asia fundamentally altered the social, political, economic, military and cultural landscape over much of the globe. The main early modern Western European empires to be examined are those of Portugal, the Netherlands and England. The course will also look at the Ottoman Empire (straddling Eastern Europe and the Middle East) and the Mughal Empire (which controlled much of South Asia). The course charts both imperial successes and failures, focusing especially on "technologies" of empire (e.g. improvements in mapping, advances in navigation and new uses for gunpowder) and on major players such as monarchs and monopolistic trading companies. It discusses ideological justifications for empire, the relationship between state-building and empire, imperial warfare, international trade, and labour supply (the latter includes a discussion of the expansion of the global slave trade). It also sheds light on the social and cultural impact of empires both for the imperial centres themselves and for the places and peoples they conquered or sought to control.

Instruction

The course will consist of a number of seminars and/or tutorials focusing on specific themes and questions. Seminar discussions will be based on mandatory literature list and primary sources. To achieve the learning outcomes, students are assumed to take active part in the seminar discussions partly by prepared contributions regarding literature and sources, partly by constructive responses to the ongoing discussion.

Assessment

Assessment will be based upon performing seminar assignments and writing and presenting a paper. Grades will be given in accordance with the Swedish grading system. The following grades will be used: Pass with distinction (VG), Pass (G) and Failed (U).