British Empire Through Film
Introduction:
In 1914, on the eve of the Great War, the British Empire controlled, 400 million
people, nearly a quarter of the world's population, a fifth of its dry surface and was
so geographically dispersed that the sun literally never set on a British possession.
Such massive imperial expansion led to one of the most complex and multifaceted
process of the integration of modern world that could be characterized as imperial
globalization. This course looks at the rise and consolidation of the British empire
through films. Many of the popular images of the British empire today are
generated by films: from Bollywood epics to television mini-series to modern
independent dramas. The British Empire has thus re-emerged as a cultural entity.
This course aims to explore the visual culture of the British Empire, and how it has
been produced through films. Through these movies students will examine
movies as sources of history exploring different historical moments and will also
learn how and in what circumstances films are produced and transform historical
images into part of wider popular culture.
Attendance Policy:
Attendance at lecture is extremely important, and students will be held responsible
not only for the material in the texts, but in the lectures and class discussions as
well. Accordingly, attendance will be taken on a regular basis. More than 3
unexcused absences will result in a 1/2 step reduction in your final grade (instead
of an A-, there will be a step down to a B+). Documented illnesses or
emergencies, as well as religious holidays, are excused absences, and do not count
towards the three. Students are always encouraged to ask questions in the lectures
and during my office hours, and to go beyond the minimum course requirements as
their imagination and intellect lead them.
Assignments and Evaluation
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one “mid-term” exams -40
Final Exam- 150
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Participation
10
Grand Total-------------200
A: 180 and above
A-170 to 179
B+166 to169
B160 to165
C+150 to 159
C 140-149
D- 130-139
F below 130
May 16: Origins of the British Empire and Irish Question
Reading :
Philippa Levine “ Slaves, Merchants and Trade” in The British Empire :
Sunrise to Sunset ( Harlow, England: 2007) pp13-30.
Philippa Levine “Uniting the Kingdom” “ Slaves, Merchants and Trade” in
The British Empire : Sunrise to Sunset ( Harlow, England: 2007) pp1-13.
Documents:
Richard Hakluyt, "Discourse of Western planting" (1584)
Thomas Mun, "England's treasure by foreign trade" (1664)
Movie:
Michael Collins [videorecording] /
A biographical account of the IRA fighter and Irish statesman from the 1916 Easter Rising to his
assassination in 1922. A vivid recreation of the Irish republican movement, the guerrilla
campaign against British forces, and the Irish Civil War. The film is historically accurate, but the
characterization of Collins, Harry Boland, and Eamon De Valera remains controversial.
May 17: Settler Colonies:
.
Philippa Levine “ After America ” in The British Empire : Sunrise to Sunset
( Harlow, England: 2007) pp. 43-61
MARY BRYANT
Director: Peter Andrikidis, 2005
This mini-series tells the story, based on real events, of a young and destitute Cornwall woman
convicted of theft and transported to the penal colony at Botany Bay in 1788. The hardships of the
long sea journey and life in the penal colony are graphically depicted as is the indifference of British
officials to the reckless behavior and desperation of the transported convicts. An interesting portrayal
of 18th-century English criminal justice as well as the earliest European settlement of Australia.
May 18 Tropical Empires: India
Philippa Levine “Britain in India” in The British Empire : Sunrise to Sunset
(Harlow, England: 2007) pp. 61-82.
Documents:
Robert Clive, Letter to William Pitt regarding British policy in Bengal (1759)
East India Company Act of 1767
Robert Clive, Speech in the House of Commons on India (1772)
Warren Hastings, Letter to Court of Directors of the East India Company
(1773)
Edmund Burke, Speech in the House of Commons on India (1783)
J.S. Mill, "On Colonies and Colonization" (1848)
Rebel Manifesto, 1857
Queen Victoria, Proclamation to the Princes, Chiefs, and the People of India (1858)
Lord Roberts, "When Queen Victoria became Empress of India" (1877)
Movie: Chess Player
Director: Satyajit Ray, 1977
In 1856, officials of the East India Company move to consolidate their hold over North
India by annexing the wealthy kingdom of Awadh. The chief minister to the Nawab
attempts to warn his ruler and local landlords of the impending danger but they ignore him
and instead indulge their obsession with playing chess. The game becomes a metaphor for
the larger game of politics played by the British as they maneuver to capture Awadh's king.
Based on a short story by Premchand.
May 19 Exam 1
May 20 Tropical Empires : Africa
Philippa Levine “Global Growth” in The British Empire : Sunrise to Sunset (
Harlow, England: 2007) pp. 82-103.
Chief Moshweshewe, Letter to Sir George Grey (on the establishment of
Basutoland) (1858)
Henry Stanley, "How I found Dr. Livingstone" (1871)
Anthony Trollope, "The diamond fields of South Africa" (1870)
Earl of Cromer, "Why Britain acquired Egypt in 1882" (1908)
Alfred Egmont Hake, "The death of General Gordon at Khartoum" (1885)
Winston Churchill, "The Battle of Omdurman" (1893)
Capt. F.D. Lugard, "The rise of our East African empire" (1893)
Movie: Zulu
Director: Cy Enfield, 1964
In 1879 the British Army suffered one of its worst defeats when Zulu forces massacred 1,200 of
its troops at Isandhlwana in South Africa. A short time after the main battle a Zulu force
numbering in excess of 4,000 warriors advanced on a British supply post at "Rorke's Drift"
guarded by 139 Welsh infantrymen. This film was made in the 1960s at a time when Britain's
colonial control over Africa was rapidly disintegrating.
May 22 Empire and the British Identity
Philippa Levine “ Ruling an Empire ” in The British Empire : Sunrise to Sunset
(Harlow, England: 2007) pp103-122.
Documents:
Benjamin Disraeli, "The Maintenance of Empire" (1872)
Joseph Chamberlain, "The True Conception of Empire" (1897)
Rudyard Kipling, "Gunga Din" (1891) and "The White Man's Burden" (1898)
Thomas Hardy, "Drummer Hodge" (1899)
George Orwell, "Shooting an Elephant" (1936)
Film: Lawrence of Arabia / Khartoum
This is a classic film about T.E. Lawrence, a young officer assigned to the British Foreign Office in Cairo
during the First World War. Lawrence is given the task of riding into the Arabian Desert to unite the
various Bedouin tribes against the Turkish forces (which are allied with Germany). The film is a highly
romanticized portrayal of Lawrence's campaign and has been the subject of much controversy among
historians and cultural critics.
May 23: Gender and Sexuality
Philippa Levine “ Gender and Sexuality” in The British Empire : Sunrise to Sunset
(Harlow, England: 2007) pp142-166.
Film : Passage to India
Tensions between Indians and the colonial British residents of the town of Chandrapore boil over when
a visiting Englishwoman, Adela Quested, accuses a young Indian physician, Dr. Aziz, of rape during a tour
of the local caverns. Based on E.M. Forster's 1924 novel, this film can be seen as a study of colonial
relations, perceived differences between East and West, and the nature of memory and friendship.
May 24 Empire in Crisis
Philippa Levine “Decolonization” in The British Empire : Sunrise to Sunset
(Harlow, England: 2007) pp191-.
Movie : Gandhi
Director: Richard Attenborough, 1982
This film portrays the life of Mohandas K. Gandhi from his days as a young lawyer in South
Africa to his death as the spiritual leader of the Indian nation shortly after independence. It also
provides a vivid account of the Indian nationalist movement from its beginnings through the
independence and partition of the Indian subcontinent.
May 25: The end of Empire: Second World War
Philippa Levine “Decolonization” in The British Empire : Sunrise to Sunset
(Harlow, England: 2007) pp191-.
Movie: Bridge on the River Kawai
Director: David Lean, 1957
During the Second World War British POWs are given the task, by their Japanese captors, of
building a railway bridge in the harsh Southeast Asian jungle. Led by Colonel Nicholson, a
stereotypical British officer, the prisoners score a moral victory over the Japanese by not only
building the bridge, but running the whole show. Based on the novel by Pierre Boulle.
May 26: Exam
May 28 Return of exam papers