Slavery, Caste and Capitalism: Labouring Lives in Global History, 1750-2000
| Code | School | Level | Credits | Semesters |
| HIST3109 | History | 3 | 40 | Full Year UK |
- Code
- HIST3109
- School
- History
- Level
- 3
- Credits
- 40
- Semesters
- Full Year UK
Summary
The modern world inherited and produced various free and unfree labour regimes—slavery, bonded labour, indentured labour, free-wage labour, child labour, ‘unskilled’ women labour. Race, caste, colonialism, and industrial capitalism shaped and continue to shape working lives, their work culture, and struggles. In this module, we will investigate the conditions of workers by exploring topics such as:
1. Enslaved labourers in the cotton plantations of America,
2. Docks workers at the Mombasa (in Africa) port,
3. Indian indentured labourers in Caribbean colonies,
4. Factory workers (male, female, children) in British and Indian factories,
5. Bonded caste labourers (agrarian slavery) in Indian fields.
The module touches upon key themes, such as free and coerced labour, night-time and sleep of workers, the social reproduction of labour, feminization of the workspace, the emergence of industrial time, etc.
Target Students
Students must have taken HIST1001 or HIST1002.
Classes
- One 3-hour seminar each week for 20 weeks
Assessment
- 30% Coursework 1: Piece of individually assessed coursework (3,000 words)
- 30% Coursework 2: Piece of individually assessed coursework (3,000 words)
- 40% Coursework 3: Piece of individually assessed coursework (3,500 words)
Assessed in both autumn & spring semest
Educational Aims
The module aims to provide students with an understanding and critical analysis of how race, caste, colonialism, and capitalism shaped the lives of working people in the last 300 years. Conceptually, it touches on themes such as industrial time, forced and waged labour, child and women labour, sleep and the night-time of workers. In terms of learning resources, the module focusses on archival primary sources, documentaries, and the cutting-edge research on global labour history.Learning Outcomes
Knowledge:
By the end of this module, a successful student will have:
A critical understanding of global processes such as slavery, caste labour, industrialisation, capitalism, work and non-work time, welfare capitalism that define the contemporary world in many ways.
A critical appreciation and analysis of how these processes unfolded in colonial and non-colonial settings.
A comprehensive assessment of the cutting-edge research on the global labour history and labour-capital relationship.
A critical evaluation of how local developments are linked to broader, regional, national, or trans-national trends and how they shape modern society and economy.
Academic/Intellectual skills:
The module will develop the ability of students to:
Critically engage with and interpret primary and secondary sources and video documentaries.
Write powerful and rich historical narratives using the acquired analytical skills and critical knowledge.
Review and contextualise historical/primary/scholarly texts.
Articulate ideas and arguments clearly and read complex historical texts with ease.
Write historical essays based on primary and secondary sources.
Transferable skills (Academic and Professional):
The module will also develop the ability of students to:
Analyse a topic from varied socioeconomic and cultural perspectives.
Use IT tools for research, presentation, and writing.
Process a large body of knowledge and present it in a synthesised form to an audience.
Finish pre-assigned tasks in a timeline period.
Manage and take responsibility for their own learning.
Respect the reasoned views of others.