HIST20Q1: The early modern western Indian Ocean Seascape of Mobilities?

• A pass mark in at least ONE level one module in History

• None

• None

• To explore the early modern western Indian Oceans political, economic, social, cultural and environmental levels of transregional integration
• Develop the ways in which students cross-read historiographical traditions and primary sources (in translation) from a range of different regions
• Contribute towards the achievement of the Department's generic Aims for study at Level 2

• This course will approach early modern South Asia from a transoceanic perspective and study political, economic, religious, social and cultural connections between the subcontinent and the western Indian Ocean world. A particular focus will be on forms of cosmopolitanism and localism and how these shaped South Asian communities over time. We will look at a variety of primary sources to study how humans forged connections and mobilities over the fifteenth to seventeenth centuries across the western Indian Ocean. We will explore how mobility led to cultural encounters, how these changed over time and how mobility created shared and connected experiences among societies that straddled the world of the Western Indian Ocean.

Subject-specific Knowledge:

• An understanding of approaches to global history by studying different forms of transoceanic integration based on various primary source texts.
• Ability to analyse a variety of sources and to understand how these exemplify human experiences and how they are translated into different fields of historical enquiry.
• An understanding of how the study of connections and mobilities can enable us to go beyond the limitations of area studies approaches.

Subject-specific Skills:

• Building on and developing skills gained at Level 1
• Deepening and extending historical understanding through focused, concentrated modules
• Developing precision, depth of understanding, and conceptual awareness

Key Skills:

• The ability to employ sophisticated reading skills to gather, sift, process, synthesise and critically evaluate information from a variety of sources (print, digital, material, aural, visual, audio-visual etc.)
• The ability to communicate ideas and information orally and in writing, devise and sustain coherent and cogent arguments
• The ability to write and think under pressure, manage time and work to deadlines
• The ability to make effective use of information and communications technology.

• Student learning is facilitated by a combination of the following teaching methods:
• lectures to set the foundations for further study and to provide the basis for the acquisition of subject specific knowledge. Lectures provide a broad framework which defines individual module content, introducing students to themes, debates and interpretations. In this environment, students are given the opportunity to develop skills in listening, selective note-taking and reflection;
• seminars to allow students to present and critically reflect upon the acquired subject-specific knowledge, methodologies and theories, and to identify and debate a range of issues and differing opinions. The seminar is the forum in which students are given the opportunity to communicate ideas, jointly exploring themes and arguments. Seminars are structured to develop understanding and designed to maximise student participation related to prior independent preparation. Seminars give students the opportunity to develop oral communication skills, encourage critical and tolerant approaches to reasoned argument and historical discussion, build the students' ability to marshal historical evidence, and facilitate the development of the ability to summarise historical arguments, think in a rapidly changing environment and communicate in a persuasive and articulate manner, whilst recognising the value of working with others and, occasionally, towards shared goals.
• Assessment:
• Students will be examined on subject specific knowledge;
• Summative essays remain a central component of assessment in history, due to the integrative high-order skills they develop. Essays allow students the opportunity to recognise, represent and critically reflect upon ideas, concepts and problems; students can demonstrate awareness of, and the ability to use and evaluate, a diverse range of resources and identify, represent and debate a range of subject-specific issues and opinions. Through the essay, students can synthesise information, adopt critical appraisals and develop reasoned argument based on individual research; they should be able to communicate ideas in writing, with clarity and coherence; and to show the ability to integrate and critically assess material from a wide range of sources.
• Assessment of Primary Source Handling: Students are assessed on their understanding of original primary sources, usually in print, their character varying according to the nature of the subject, and the students' ability to bring that knowledge to bear on 'cutting edge' research-based monographs and articles. Students are given the opportunity to discuss and articulate an understanding of changing interpretations and approaches to historical problems, drawing evidence from a body of primary source materials. Students are required to demonstrate skills associated with the evaluation of a variety of primary source materials, using documentary analysis for a critical assessment of existing historical interpretations.

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