| Unit name | Iran, 1901-51: Oil, Racial Capitalism, and Decolonisation |
|---|---|
| Unit code | HIST30139 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | H/6 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Dr. Biglari |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
None |
| School/department | Department of History (Historical Studies) |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
Why is this unit important?
Our Special Subjects give you the opportunity to work at an advanced level alongside a single academic and a specialist area of research. Intensively taught through seminars only, they are designed to provide you with hands-on experience of how knowledge is produced in the discipline of History.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study?
Our Special Subjects involve the application of the full spectrum of core historical competencies within a narrower field of study. In this sense, they are designed to prepare you to undertake independent research for yourself by showing you how practicing historians work with sources, historiographies, methodologies, and concepts within a particular specialism.
An overview of content
How did one of the world’s largest corporations, BP, begin life in southwest Iran? Why was the company expelled in Iran’s nationalisation of oil in 1951, which ushered in a new era when governments across the Global South sought to secure sovereignty over natural resources? This unit addresses these questions by focusing on how the oil company assembled its operations on the local level, in the process transforming humans and Nature. On the one hand, we will see how the company attempted to socially engineer local populations along racialised and gendered lines in the oil city of Abadan – home to the world’s largest oil refinery – connecting the Iranian oil industry to global networks of racial capitalism and colonialism. On the other, we will explore how resistance to the company emerged in various sites, including the refinery, schools, and the street, culminating in a broad anti-colonial movement connected to communism and resource nationalism. Indeed, although Iran was not formally colonised, we will see how Iran’s nationalisation of oil was (and continues to be) framed as an important episode of global decolonisation. In all, the unit shows how global processes, such as the rise of the global oil industry, unfolded and could be altered on the micro-level.
How will you be different as a result of this unit?
Special Subject units will enhance your capacity to build arguments with primary sources, properly located within appropriate theories, concepts, methods, and historiographies.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:
Classes will involve a combination of class discussion, investigative activities, and practical activities. Students will be expected to engage with readings and participate on a weekly basis. This will be further supported with drop-in sessions.
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
Essay, 3500-word essay (50%) [ILOs 1-5]
Timed Assessment (50%) [ILOs 1-5].
When assessment does not go to plan
When required by the Board of Examiners, you will normally complete reassessments in the same formats as those outlined above. However, the Board reserves the right to modify the format or number of reassessments required. Details of reassessments are confirmed by the School/Centre shortly after the notification of your results at the end of the year.
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. HIST30139).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The assessment methods listed in this unit specification are designed to enable students to demonstrate the named learning outcomes (LOs). Where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, schools will make reasonable adjustments to support a student to demonstrate the LO by an alternative method or with additional resources.
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
