Course Catalogue

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This course assesses how Britain's slavery past has been addressed in the modern era by investigating the relationships between history, memory, and memorialisation. First, this course provides a brief historical overview of Britain's involvement with Atlantic slavery and abolitions in 1807 and 1834. Second, this course examines how key events and associated narratives have been prioritised or downplayed in modern Britain. Students will investigate narratives of slavery and abolition in detail and those who shaped them at the time and since, including the role of historians and the state. Questions around Britain's memory of slavery will be assessed in a comparative context, focusing on Bristol, Glasgow, Liverpool and London. Seminars focus on key debates, theories and events, alongside specific 'sites of memory': Abolition Bicentennial 2007, country houses and heritage sites, monuments and statues, universities, museums, and how these processes contribute to the reparations debate. For seminars, students will critically engage with a range of primary sources, secondary literature and official reports relevant to the development of Britain's 'public memory' of slavery and abolition. This course includes a visit to the Kelvingrove Museum in Glasgow, which has recently developed a permanent exhibition around Scotland's slavery past.

■ 10 x1 hour lectures (in-person,10 hours)

■ 9 x 1-hour seminars (in-person, 9 hours)

■ 1 x 1-hour on-site practical session in local heritage resource (Kelvingrove Museum) (in-person,1 hour)

Available to all students fulfilling requirements for Honours entry into History, and by arrangement to visiting students or students of other Honours programmes.

None

None

Examination (2-hour duration) - 60%

Essay (2,000 words) - 30%

Seminar presentation of 8 minutes accompanied by a one-page A4 handout - 5%

Seminar contribution - 5%

Reassessments are normally available for all courses, except those which contribute to the Honours classification. Where, exceptionally, reassessment on Honours courses is required to satisfy professional/accreditation requirements, only the overall course grade achieved at the first attempt will contribute to the Honours classification. For non-Honours courses, students are offered reassessment in all or any of the components of assessment if the satisfactory (threshold) grade for the overall course is not achieved at the first attempt. This is normally grade D3 for undergraduate students and grade C3 for postgraduate students. Exceptionally it may not be possible to offer reassessment of some coursework items, in which case the mark achieved at the first attempt will be counted towards the final course grade. Any such exceptions for this course are described below. 

This course will provide the opportunity for students to:

■ Develop a critical understanding how Britain's historic involvement with Atlantic slavery and abolitions has been forgotten, remembered and memorialised

■ Engage with historiographical and theoretical debates regarding Britain's history and memory of slavery and abolition

■ Develop a methodological understanding in how to interpret a range of primary sources related to Britain's history and memory of slavery

■ Consolidate research skills and develop a reflective understanding of importance in historical research and writing

■ Refine analytical skills by comparing developments around the memorialisation of slavery and abolition in British cities

■ Enhance oral and written communication skills

By the end of this course students will be able to:

■ Identify how narratives around Britain's historic involvement with Atlantic slavery and abolitions influence modern societal debates

■ Critically summarise - through written work, oral presentations, and class discussion - a range of historiographical and theoretical debates around the history and memory of slavery, and how these shape relevant research questions

■ Independently identify a range of relevant primary sources and secondary literature, and how to select and utilise evidence to answer research questions and debates

■ Assess how selective narratives of British slavery and abolition have influenced policy and strategic decisions at national and regional levels, and how this is applied in real-world contexts including in museums and heritage organisations

■ Critically engage - through written work, oral presentations and class discussion - with debates about the continued societal, cultural and political relevance of Britain's historic involvement with slavery and abolition

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.