Legacies of EmpireMaster ClassIn-Person

Less than a century ago, the British Empire covered nearly a quarter of the globe. Though that empire has largely vanished from the map, its legacies shape many aspects of the world today, including contested international borders, financial and commercial networks, widespread legal practices and norms, and the use of English as a global lingua franca. Brexit and movements including #BlackLivesMatter have now prompted a sustained reckoning with the empire’s legacies in Britain itself. In this seminar, we will look at the causes and contours of Britain’s imperial history wars as they are being waged around public monuments, school curricula, and reparations. We will use this case as an opportunity to reflect more generally on the place of history in public life during turbulent times.

SOCIAL STUDIES, WORLD HISTORY