Academic Program

The academic program is the heart of the London Institute, but exploring and learning London is its soul. In addition to the British Colonial History curriculum, students will participate in regular, weekly excursions, and cultural outings designed to enrich their perspectives and enhance their London experience.

Course Offerings

HIST 391/ANTH 391: Colonialisms and Their Metropolitan Effects
This course will explore the variations of colonialism as expressed in the colonies themselves, and the consequences of colonial projects for the European societies that pursued colonial projects. The “exterior” aspect of the course will by driven by readings and lectures. It will address the distinct forms of colonialism practiced by different European powers (e.g., the British in Egypt, the French in Algeria, and the Dutch in Indonesia) and the multiple colonial postures exhibited by individual European powers (e.g., different British presences in India, Afghanistan, and the Caribbean). The “interior” aspect of the course will be predicated on class excursions and consider the domestic consequences of colonialism for English society. Class trips in and around metropolitan London will provide direct exposure to the cultural, economic, and political legacies of colonialism for contemporary British society.

HIST 341: Imperial Representations of Afghanistan
This research-oriented practicum will explore the kinds of records left in the wake of the British engagement of Afghanistan during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The readings and lectures will situate Afghanistan in British colonial history and examine the country’s unique status as a para-colonial state. Students will be exposed to and actively engage three fields of data about Afghanistan collected and still maintained by British officials, public and private institutions, and individual citizens. These fields of data are textual/written records, material culture/artifacts, and images. The British Museum and The British Library (specifically The India Office Records) will be actively engaged as primary research sites. Class excursions in and around metropolitan London will target lesser-known venues and forums for understanding how Afghanistan came to be known to, engaged by, and represented in the British Empire, particularly at home in England.

Note: Both courses will be available for Honors credit.