Module manager: To be confirmed
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Taught: Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) View Timetable
Year running 2026/27
HIST2308 Life and Death in British India
This module is not approved as a discovery module
India represented a site of both opportunity and peril for late eighteenth and nineteenth century Britons. Large fortunes, military reputations, and political careers could all be made there, but only if one survived the long sea voyage, enervating climate, and deadly tropical diseases of the subcontinent. On this module you will explore the nature, functioning, and impact of British colonial society in India by focusing on the physical experiences of empire, and the spaces in which they played out. By focusing on British domestic and social life alongside official policies and practices, you will consider how they sought to mitigate the physical challenges of life in India, as well as the impacts of these measures on Indian society and culture. You will also explore how racialised attitudes to India and Indians were reflected in spatial ordering of British society and the management of everyday encounters in a colonial setting. Please note this is an optional module and runs subject to enrolments. If a low number of students choose this module, then the module may not run and you may be asked to choose another module.
By exploring the physical experiences and individual and collective encounters that characterised life in late eighteenth and nineteenth-century British India, you will develop a nuanced understanding of nature and functioning of British colonial society. By analysing a range of relevant primary and secondary texts you will consider how attitudes to physical health, the environment and various forms of mortality intersected with wider debates about climate, physical constitution, race and identity. Through a series of thematic overviews followed by in depth case studies (and the related assessments), you will have the opportunity to develop sophisticated arguments in relation to these issues in written and verbal form.
On successful completion of the module students will have demonstrated the following learning outcomes relevant to the subject:
1.Critically consider British attitudes to, and experiences of, the Indian environment, climate, society and culture, especially as they relate to wider issues of race, identity, the nature of colonial society and the functioning of the colonial state.
2. Employ appropriate methodological approaches to the analysis of a range of relevant textual and visual primary sources.
3. Evaluate the relevant historiography, including the most recent developments in the field, and make evidenced choices between arguments and interpretations.
Skills Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the module you will have demonstrated the following skills learning outcomes:
4. Construct nuanced historical arguments supported by an appropriate range of evidence.
5. Conduct targeted, self-directed secondary research into a historical issue or case study.
6. Present complex historical ideas and analysis in engaging, audience-appropriate ways, considering the opportunities and challenges of the presentational medium.
Details of the syllabus will be provided on the Minerva organisation (or equivalent) for the module.
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Supervision | 2 | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Seminar | 10 | 2 | 20 |
| Private study hours | 179.6 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 20.4 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 200 | ||
Students will have the opportunity to deliver a practice group presentation in class, on which they will receive both peer-to-peer feedback in class and written/verbal feedback from the tutor. They will have the opportunity to discuss ideas for their presentation topic, and a plan for their essay before submission.
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Coursework | Presentation | 40 |
| Coursework | Essay | 60 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 100 | |
Resits will be in the same format as the original assignment.
Check the module area in Minerva for your reading list
Last updated: 30/04/2026
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