Slavery in the British Atlantic World, 1650-1834 (P01252)

? Credit Points : 20 ? SCQF Level : 11 ? Acronym : HCA-P-SlaBAW

This course is organized on the basis of nine 1.5 hour lecture/seminar sessions. It examines the creation, development, survival, and abolition of chattel slavery in the British Atlantic world. It draws on an extensive secondary literature and selected primary sources to consider the reasons for the adoption of black slavery; Britain's role in the Atlantic trade; the economics of slavery; the demography of slave populations; the development of black American culture; the contribution of slavery to the British Industrial Revolution; and explanations for the rejection of slavery in British America where it was a profitable, viable, and flexible institution. Regional differences within an empire with a shared language and cultural tradition highlight the importance of non-institutional factors such as resource endowments and work schedules in shaping slave systems and give the discussion analytical reach beyond the British Atlantic world.

Entry Requirements

none

Subject Areas

Home subject area

Postgraduate (School of History and Classics), (School of History, Classics and Archaeology, Schedule E)

Delivery Information

? Normal year taken : Postgraduate

? Delivery Period : Not being delivered

? Contact Teaching Time : 1 hour(s) 30 minutes per week for 9 weeks

Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes

Students who successfully complete the course will have acquired an in-depth knowledge and understanding of important aspects of the study of slavery in the context of the British Atlantic world in the period between 1650 to 1834. In particular, they will have acquired:
-A critical understanding of key debates in modern slavery studies drawing on both historical and social science traditions;
-An ability to test general theories of 'plantation economy'; and 'slave society' against British American experience;
-An awareness of the primary and secondary sources employed by historians in this field;
-An ability to prepare and present work for seminars and actively participate in group discussion;
-The ability to engage with a specific issue in this subject area, incorporating appropriate literary, data-analytical, and bibliographical skills.