To what extent did empire/imperialism impact British society and politics in the late 19th and 20th century? Was Britain awash with, or saturated by imperialism?
Essay title: To what extent did empire/imperialism impact British society and politics in the late 19th and 20th century? Was Britain awash with, or saturated by imperialism? Also, connected to the first question – were Britons indifferent to imperialism?
Key methodology/lens of essay: culture (namely popular culture) and society
Key readings:
https://journals.openedition.org/rfcb/1652#ftn1
Thompson, Andrew, The empire strikes back? The impact of imperialism on Britain from the mid-nineteenth century
John, Mackenzie, Propaganda and Empire : The Manipulation of British Public Opinion, 1880-1960 (Manchester: University Press, 1986)
Porter, Bernard, The Absent-Minded Imperialists : Empire, Society, and Culture in Britain (Oxford: University Press, 2005).
Douglas M. Peers, “Britain and Empire”. in Chris Williams, ed., A Companion to Nineteenth-Century Britain (2004): 53–78, quoting p. 55.
Hall, Catherine, ‘Culture and Identity in Imperial Britain’ in Sarah Stockwell (ed.) The British Empire. Themes and Perspectives (2008), pp. 199-218.
Porter vs Mackenzie debate – key debate in the historiography
Porter historians: Andrew Thompson
Mackenzie side historians: Catherine Hall, Jeffrey Richards, Antionette Burton
Overview of assignment
Developing and Managing Your Research Project
Whatever topic you are writing about, there are similarities between everyone’s projects. For instance, the essay you submit will consist of an introduction, a main body, and a conclusion, and requires extensive research, critical analysis of sources, and a clear argument that contextualises your research within the context of existing historiography. Similarly, while we all work differently and develop our own techniques, there are several key stages in a research project that we all need to complete.
Developing your research questions:
By now you should all have decided on a broad topic or research area and are in the process of conducting some preliminary research and consulting with your supervisor in order to develop a clearer idea of the approach you will take with your project. A helpful way to do this is to develop a clear set of research questions, often beginning with one central question and then a set of follow up questions. This will often take the form of an initial broad question (eg Why did the US intervene in Vietnam?) and then a series of more specific and detailed questions (eg how do we define intervention? How important was presidential leadership? etc) that will allow you to both develop a more focused project and to begin thinking about how you will structure the final essay.
You should also be thinking about methodology. One aspect of this is to consider if there are particular methods or perspectives you are interested in exploring – eg are you particularly interested in economic issues? Gender? Media? Popular culture? Military strategy?
It is also important to consider the types of sources you will use. If you are planning an essay with a historiographical focus have you selected a topic with enough written on it to enable you to answer your research questions? If you are planning to use primary sources, what types of sources might allow you answer your research questions? Are they available and accessible? If not, are there other angles from which to approach your topic? These are questions that your supervisor can help you with.
Gathering and processing your sources:
You will spend a substantial amount of time identifying and locating relevant sources, both secondary and primary, that will enable you to answer your research questions. Reading your sources efficiently, taking good notes, and developing your ideas takes a long time and is made easier by effective planning. Consider developing a note- taking grid that enables you to keep track of the key information and arguments provided by different sources (there is an example available on the module blackboard page) and spending some time organising folders and documents to make sure your notes are well organised.
