Course syllabus

Welcome to History 700: Settlers and Empire

 This brand new course interrogates the idea of settler societies and their relationship to empire. Settler societies are not just a British imperial phenomenon, but this course will focus on the British empire, and its nineteenth and twentieth century settler colonies, especially New Zealand, Australia, and Canada. Settler colonies are a very particular manifestation of both imperialism and colonialism, but one that arguably is still not very well understood. This course will ask what makes settler societies different? How well do existing conceptions of empire and colonialism explain this phenomenon? What are 'settlers', and what is distinct about the development of these societies? What are the impacts of settler societies for indigenous peoples and are these the same, or different, from other forms of empire? Does settler colonialism have an end, and what might that look like? And not least, what are the implications of the term 'settler society'?

We will aim to answer these questions with three approaches. First the course will look at existing ideas about empire, then we will turn to some key thematic content including aspects of gender, race and culture. Finally you will undertake your own primary research project, on a topic which excites you, and which will be presented to the seminar class.

If you are interested in this course, keep visiting, as new information will be added as the course is developed.

Current Schedule for 2017: Wednesdays, 11-1

Find an electronic version of the course guide here:  700 2017rev.docx