First-Year Seminar--Non-Western History (103-6-22)
Topic
Laws, Empires, and Global History
Instructors
Helen Louise Tilley
847/467-3014
Harris Hall - Room 335
Helen Tilley studies African colonial and postcolonial history with a particular focus on medical, racial, environmental, and anthropological themes. She is finishing a book on the history of traditional medicine and its relationship to African decolonization, global governance, and ethnoscientific research during the Cold War.
Meeting Info
University Library 3322: Tues, Thurs 3:30PM - 4:50PM
Overview of class
Topic: Laws, Empires, and Global History
How does our understanding of global history change when we foreground law and empire? To what extent have international legal regimes arisen out of imperial dynamics? Why were slavery and settler colonialism so important to so many constitutional histories? This course takes up these and other questions in order to make sense of the interplay between laws and empires around the world over the last four centuries (circa 1600 to 2000). We will examine: 1) the origins and effects of mixed jurisdictions (or legal pluralism) in different regions; 2) the ways empires have shaped key concepts of sovereignty and citizenship; 3) the role of transnational corporations in bolstering imperial rule; 4) the roots of empire in the history of human rights and global governance; 5) tensions between scientific and legal definitions of race, reality, and indigeneity; 6) Catholic canon and Islamic law; and 7) entanglements between cultural and intellectual property.
Learning Objectives
To increase your knowledge of global and transnational history; to deepen your understanding of the historical interplay among law, empire, and global governance; and to refine your expository writing skills.di
Evaluation Method
Short writing assignments 35% Final Essay 35% Peer Review Project 10% Discussions in section 20%
Class Materials (Required)
All the assigned readings will be uploaded on Canvas
Class Notes
History Area(s) of Concentration: GLOBAL
Class Attributes
WCAS First-Year Seminar
Enrollment Requirements
Enrollment Requirements: Reserved for First Year & Sophomore only
Add Consent: Department Consent Required
Drop Consent: Department Consent Required