| Unit name | Exile and the Imperial State |
|---|---|
| Unit code | HISTM0019 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Dr. Reid |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | Department of History (Historical Studies) |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
This unit examines the role of convict transportation in the British empire. From the sixteenth until the mid-twentieth century, hundreds of thousands of convicts were transported from Britain, Ireland, the West Indian slave colonies, the Cape and the Indian sub-continent among other sites. Through the lens of the transportation system a number of key issues will be examined ranging from shifting conceptions of the body politic to the place of coerced labour within the British colonial system and the meanings of "freedom". The option explores Foucauldian-inspired histories of discipline and raises questions about their relative silence on matters such as empire and 'race'. Theoretical writings about exile from More's Utopia to those of the mid-nineteenth century 'colonial reformers' will be examined. Convict narratives, ballads and similar sources will be studied. Wider perspectives will involve use of secondary literatures on convict transportation in other European colonial systems and comparative study of coerced labour systems such as slavery and indentured servitude.
