English 7325, Mazella “The British Empire: Literature and the First Two British Empires, 1655-
1815.
This course examines the emergence of what has come to be known as “the first British empire,” the development of an imperial system of war, trade, and governance that expanded enormously between the seventeenth and late eighteenth centuries. It then traces the rise of a yet more powerful “second
British empire” that emerged from the loss of the American colonies, the abolition of slavery, and the transformation of the East India Company. The course will focus on four zones of encounter, conflict, and exchange: the Caribbean, North America, and the Indian subcontinent, as well as the maritime system--“the empire of the deep”--that permitted war, travel, communication, and trade to be conducted across such great distances. Both literary and non-literary authors, sources, and genres will be compared and analyzed throughout, to see how empire in all its dimensions and varieties was represented to British readers.
This course satisfies the MA and PhD British pre-1800 requirement and three hours of the core requirement for the recently approved Empire Studies certificate. For more information, please visit http://empirestudies.net/courses/ .
Course Readings:
[ Readings with (TK) can be found in Thomas Krise, ed. Caribbeana (Chicago, 1999). Selections will be available as online texts or pdfs distributed via course blog.]
Theoretical, historical, and critical readings TBA
I. Caribbean/Africa:
1. Introduction: Ligon (1657), True and Exact History of Barbadoes, sels. (TK); Theoretical readings:
Wilson, Armitage, sels.
2. Behn, Oroonoko (1688)
3. Defoe, Robinson Crusoe (1719): Inkle and Yarico narratives (TK)
4. Aubin, Noble Slaves (1722); Grainger, Sugar Cane (1764) (TK)
5. Equiano, Interesting Narrative (1789)
6. Reflection Day: Post Annotated Bib 1 on course-blog, discuss in class
II. Empire of the Imagination/Ireland:
7. Swift, Gulliver’s Travels (1726) + sels.
III. North America:
8. Rowlandson, A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration (1682)
9. Kimber, Mr Anderson (1754)
10. Winkfield, Female American (1767); Occom, Short Narrative and sels. (1749-92)
11. Smollett, Humphry Clinker (1771); Wheatley, Poems, sels. (1773)
12.
Reflection Day: Post Annotated Bib/Critical Essay 2 on course-blog, discuss in class
India:
13. Hamilton, Memoirs of a Hindoo Rajah (1796)
Course Requirements (all information subject to change):

 one single-author annotated bibliography (4 items, 2 bks or bk chapters; 2 articles) at the end of
Segment I (focused on Behn, Defoe, Aubin or Equiano) and posted online on course-blog.
 one single-author annotated bibliography (same format as above) at the end of Segment II (on
Swift, Rowlandson, Smollett, Kimber, Winkfield, Occom, or Wheatley), along with a critical essay
(ca. 500 words) analyzing your findings, posted online.
 one formal presentation (ca. 5-10 mins.) on a “ keyword
” derived from that week’s featured work and/or geographic region, with some background research into its 18 th
century meanings via contemporaneous dictionaries (e.g., Johnson’s Dictionary), along with a relatively contemporaneous example taken either from a periodical database (via Burney or British
Periodicals Collection) or book or pamphlet database (via ECCO), with some kind of attempt at contextualization, synthesis, and possible questions [for these and other links, cf. the blog Resource page]. The focus of the presentation will be to ask why this keyword is important to the text, but also how the term operated in other contexts and genres in this period. To be developed into a critical-bibliographic essay (ca. 500-800 words) handed in one week later and posted online at the course-blog.

Regular participation in the course-blog (ca. one post/week), posting, responding, or commenting.
Students will collect their blog posts, and other course work at the end of the semester, to hand in, along with a self-assessment essay, as part of a graded course portfolio.
• class participation, including regular attendance, in-class group-work, writing, etc.
• final research project (15-20 pp.), developed in consultation with instructor, preferably out of earlier research and writing assignments.
Course Texts:
Krise, Ed. Caribbeana (Chicago):
0226453928
Behn, Oroonoko, ed. Lipking (Norton): 0393970140
Defoe, Robinson Crusoe (Oxford):
0199553971
Aubin, Royal Slaves [ECCO pdf]
Equiano, Interesting Narrative, ed. Carretta (Penguin): 0142437166
Swift, Gulliver’s Travels, ed. Rivero (Norton): 0393957241
Women’s Captivity Narratives, ed. Stodola, 0140436715
Kimber, Edward, Mr. Anderson, ed. Mason (Broadview): 0226453928
Winkfield, Unca Eliza, Female American, ed. Burnham (Broadview): 1551112485
Occom, sels. [pdf]
Smollett, Humphry Clinker (Penguin): 0141441429
Wheatley, Poems, ed. Carretta (Penguin): 014042430X
Hamilton, Letters of a Hindoo Rajah (Broadview): 1551111756