Module details
- Offered to 1st years
- Tuesdays 16.00-18.00
- 8 weeks (autumn term only)
- Planned delivery: On-campus (South Kensington)
- Non-credit only
From Captain Cook’s voyages of discovery in the 1760s and 1770s, to those of Charles Darwin in the 1820s and 1830s, the expansion of empire and the accumulation and application of scientific knowledge went hand-in-hand.
This module examines the role of science, medicine, and technology in the expansion of empire from the eighteenth to the twentieth centuries. By exploring key themes in the history of empire via a series of objects, we will consider how examining the material culture of empire can cast new light on its history. For example, we will explore the central role of indigenous botanical knowledge in scientific endeavours, and acknowledge how legacies of empire have been shaped by museum collection practices.
Information blocks
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Contact the lecturer
Dr Jennifer Wallis
j.wallis@imperial.ac.uk