Global Eighteenth Century - CES00002M
Module summary
What does it mean to conceive of the eighteenth century as a global century? Informed by postcolonial approaches to this period of ‘Enlightenment’ and the methodologies of Black Studies and Indigenous Studies, this module addresses this question by reading literary texts set in the eighteenth century’s global contact zones. How did authors contemplate questions of globalism and transnationalism across a variety of genres? We will investigate colonial texts set beyond British shores in North America, the Caribbean, Turkey, and India, among other locales, tracing the circulation of people, commodities, and ideas across global trade routes. We will pay close attention to the development of new forms of writing that emerge as a result of travel and cross-cultural influence and exchange, including the ‘Oriental tale’, conversion narratives, and translations. Our approach will be shaped by recent scholarly analyses of the culture of Enlightenment’s imbrication with saltwater slavery, settler violence, and imperialism.
Module will run
| Occurrence | Teaching period |
|---|---|
| A | Semester 2 2025-26 |
Module aims
This module aims to develop your understanding of the colonial and global literary histories of the eighteenth century. It aims to facilitate your familiarity with a diverse range of voices and perspectives in the eighteenth century through the lens of postcolonialism, Orientalism, and Black Studies.
Module learning outcomes
On successful completion of the module, you should be able to:
1. Demonstrate an advanced understanding of and engagement with
the global contours of the eighteenth century, and relevant historical
contexts
2. Demonstrate an advanced understanding of and
engagement with how and why the period’s literature engages with
empire, colonialism, saltwater slavery, cultural exchange, and the
circulation of literary forms
3. Evaluate key debates within the
relevant critical fields, including postcolonial approaches to the
eighteenth century, Black Studies, Atlantic World studies, and
theories of Orientalism
4. Produce independent arguments and
ideas which demonstrate an advanced proficiency in critical thinking,
close reading, contextual analysis, research, and writing skills
Indicative assessment
| Task | % of module mark |
|---|---|
| Essay/coursework | 100.0 |
Special assessment rules
None
Indicative reassessment
| Task | % of module mark |
|---|---|
| Essay/coursework | 100.0 |
Module feedback
You will receive feedback on all assessed work within the University deadline, and will often receive it more quickly. The purpose of feedback is to inform your future work; it is designed to help you to improve your work, and the Department also offers you help in learning from your feedback. If you do not understand your feedback or want to talk about your ideas further you can discuss it with your module tutor, the MA Convenor or your supervisor, during their Feedback and Consultation Hours.
Indicative reading
Wawus, ‘James Printer’, letters and printed books (1670s)
Antoine Galland, from The Arabian Nights Entertainments
(1704)
Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe (1719)
Charles Gildon, A Dialogue betwixt D---- F---e, Robinson
Crusoe,
and his Man Friday (1719)
Edward Kimber,
The History of the Life and Adventures of Mr.
Anderson
(1754)
Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, The Turkish Embassy Letters
(1763)
‘Unca Eliza Winkfield’, The Female American
(1767)
Frances Sheridan, The History of Nourjahad
(1767)
Samson Occom, A Short Narrative of my Life
(1768) and
Selected Letters
Phillis Wheatley Peters,
Selected Poetry (1773)
Nancy Ward/Nanye’hi, Cherokee Speeches to
the US Treaties
Commissioners (1780s)
Quobna Ottobah
Cugoano, Thoughts and Sentiments on the Evil
and Wicked
Traffic of the Slavery and Commerce of the Human
Species
(1787)
Olaudah Equiano, The Interesting Life and Other
Writings (1789)
Phebe Gibbes, Hartly House,
Calcutta (1789)
Elizabeth Hamilton, Translations of the
Letters of a Hindoo
Rajah (1797)
Anna Letitia
Barbauld, Selected Poetry
Anonymous, The Woman of Colour (1808)
Leonora
Sansay, Secret History; or the Horrors of St. Domingo
(1808)
Mary Prince, The History of Mary Prince (1831)