Lecturer
Professor Richard Devetak
Course overview
- Study period
- Semester 1, 2025 (24/02/2025 - 21/06/2025)
- Study level
- Undergraduate
- Location
- St Lucia
- Attendance mode
- In Person
- Units
- 2
- Administrative campus
- St Lucia
- Coordinating unit
- Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences
This course involves reading texts that grow out of Europe's encounters with the non-European world and Indigenous peoples. These encounters have been a persistent concern of both European and particularly non-European writers. The course will involve texts that reflect on Europe's impact on the world, examine the legacy of colonial powers, show forms of cultural and political resistance to colonial governments, address issues of violent confrontation and exploitation, and explore processes of reconciliation. Through engagement with different literary genres and mediums in the texts of both European and non-European writers, students will explore conflicting representations of the West and its contested legacy outside Europe.
Empires have shaped the world for thousands of years. The world may be politically divided into sovereign states, but the legacies of empire survive. This course will explore the literature of, about, and against empire from early modern times to the present. Divided into four parts, the course starts by analysing the relationship between liberalism and empire before returning to early modern European accounts of the non-European world in both fictional and non-fictional writing. The course then turns to forms of anti-colonial resistance and the critique of European representations of the non-European ‘other’. The final part of the course considers the way modern fiction and film have treated ethical and political issues of cultural encounters on the imperial frontier.
Part 1: Liberalism and Empire
Mill,ﾠ‘Civilisation’ (1836) and ‘A Few Words on Non-Intervention’ (1859)
Part 2: Early Modern Europe and the Other
Las Casas, A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies (1552)
Montaigne, ‘On Cannibals’ (1580)
Behn, Oroonoko (1688)ﾠ
Defoe, Robinson Crusoe (1719)
Part 3: Anti-Colonial Resistance
Fanon, Wretched of the Earth (1961)ﾠ
Said, Orientalism (1978)ﾠ
Part 4: Frontier Imaginaries
Conrad, Heart of Darkness (1902)ﾠ
Coppola, Apocalypse Now (1979)ﾠ
Scott, That Deadman Dance (2010)ﾠ
Course requirements
Prerequisites
You'll need to complete the following courses before enrolling in this one:
WCIV1000 or 4 units of HUMN courses.
Restrictions
BAdvHum(Hons) and BHum/LLB(Hons) students only. BAdvHum(Hons) students taking this course as an elective please email westernciv@uq.edu.au. The maximum enrolment quota is 40.
Course contact
Tutor
Professor Richard Devetak
Timetable
The timetable for this course is available on the UQ Public Timetable.
Aims and outcomes
The course aims to:
- Introduce students to visions of empire and their critical evaluation.
- Reflect on the articulation of western visions of empire in different historical and geographical contexts.
- Explore the consequences of empire and colonialism and the extent to which the imperial imagination continues to influenceﾠwestern thought.
Learning outcomes
After successfully completing this course you should be able to:
LO1.
Understand some of the central themes and concepts in Western thought on empire.
LO2.
Appreciate the intellectual challenge of recovering what past authors meant by the things they wrote.
LO3.
Recognise and understand the importance of conflict and struggle in the development of ideas.
LO4.
Be aware of the historical reception and re-interpretation of imperial and colonial ideas.
LO5.
Be able to position key ideas and texts in relation to diverse contexts and interests.
LO6.
Understand the challenges and opportunities in studying contemporary colonial legacies.
LO7.
Demonstrate an ability to communicate understanding of empire through modes of written and oral expression appropriate to the humanities disciplines.
Assessment
Assessment summary
| Category | Assessment task | Weight | Due date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essay/ Critique | Research Essay | 40% |
23/05/2025 2:00 pm
Week 12 |
| Participation/ Student contribution | Seminar participation | 10% |
24/02/2025 - 30/05/2025
Semester 1 |
| Presentation | Video Presentation | 25% |
11/04/2025 2:00 pm
Week 7 |
| Performance, Practical/ Demonstration |
Oral Assessment
|
25% |
Week 13 (TBC) |
Assessment details
Research Essay
- Mode
- Written
- Category
- Essay/ Critique
- Weight
- 40%
- Due date
23/05/2025 2:00 pm
Week 12
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L02, L03, L04, L06, L07
Task description
A 2,000-word essay that will require students to reflect on their chosen texts with consideration given both to matters of context and intellectual or artistic content.
A list of essay questions will be circulated to students during semester.
*This assessment task evaluates students' abilities, skills, and knowledge without the aid of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Students are advised that the use of AI technologies to develop responses is strictly prohibited and may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.
**Students are encouraged to use secondary sources in preparing and writing their essay but these MUST be selected from the WCIV2100 Further Reading List. If a student wishes to use secondary sources outside this list permission must be sought from the lecturer in advance (at least 48 hours before the due date) with a justification for each source. Penalties will be applied for using secondary sources not on the WCIV2100 Further Reading List.
Submission guidelines
Deferral or extension
You may be able to apply for an extension.
Seminar participation
- Mode
- Activity/ Performance
- Category
- Participation/ Student contribution
- Weight
- 10%
- Due date
24/02/2025 - 30/05/2025
Semester 1
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L02, L03, L04, L05, L06, L07
Task description
Students will be evaluated on contributions they make in seminars.
Your participation will be assessed according to the following criteria:
1. Evidence of participation in discussions.
2. Evidence of preparation for class, most notably through completing the set readings
3. Quality of contributions to discussions.
4. Fostering of group discussions.
5. Attendance is necessary to fulfill the above criteria, as per the course requirements.
Submission guidelines
Deferral or extension
You cannot defer or apply for an extension for this assessment.
Video Presentation
- Mode
- Product/ Artefact/ Multimedia
- Category
- Presentation
- Weight
- 25%
- Due date
11/04/2025 2:00 pm
Week 7
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L02, L04, L05, L06, L07
Task description
Each student is required to make a video presentation (of 5 minutes) on the relevance of a chosen text for understanding early European conceptions of empire. The presentation must focus on one of the following authors/texts: Mill's essays on 'Civilisation' and 'A Few Words on Non-intervention', Las Casas's A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies, Montaigne's 'On Cannibals', and Behn's Oroonoko.
The Library has prepared a useful guide on creating video presentations:
This assessment task evaluates students’ abilities, skills and knowledge without the aid of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Students are advised that the use of AI technologies to develop responses is strictly prohibited and may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.
Submission guidelines
Deferral or extension
You may be able to apply for an extension.
Oral Assessment
- Identity Verified
- In-person
- Mode
- Oral
- Category
- Performance, Practical/ Demonstration
- Weight
- 25%
- Due date
Week 13 (TBC)
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L04, L05, L06, L07
Task description
10 minute oral assessment.
Students will be allocated a time to meet with the coordinator. At the beginning of the oral assessment, the student will nominate two texts studied during the course (excluding the subject of their research essay) and will then be asked an open-ended question in relation to the nominated text. Follow-up questions will be asked with the intention of giving the student an opportunity to amplify/clarify their answer and demonstrate their mastery of the text. None of the questions will be intended to trick or intimidate.
The oral assessment will be recorded (audio only).
This assessment task evaluates students’ abilities, skills and knowledge without the aid of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Students are advised that the use of AI technologies to develop responses is strictly prohibited and may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.
Submission guidelines
Deferral or extension
You cannot defer or apply for an extension for this assessment.
Course grading
Full criteria for each grade is available in the Assessment Procedure.
| Grade | Cut off Percent | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 (Low Fail) | 0 - 24.99 |
Absence of evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: Grade 1, Serious Fail (0-24.99%), is generally awarded in cases where some work has been submitted, but of wholly unsatisfactory standard or quantity.ﾠIn work submitted, however, there is no demonstrated evidence of understanding of the concepts of the field of study or basic requirements of the course. |
| 2 (Fail) | 25 - 44.99 |
Minimal evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: Grade 2, Fail (25-44.99%),ﾠis generally awarded to work that exhibits deficiencies in understanding and applying the fundamental concepts of the course and field of study, and as such, does not satisfy the basic requirements of the course. Often, one or more major items of assessment will not have been completed.< |
| 3 (Marginal Fail) | 45 - 49.99 |
Demonstrated evidence of developing achievement of course learning outcomes Course grade description: Grade 3, Marginal Fail (45-49.99%),ﾠis generally awarded if a student has submitted work that attempts to meet the knowledge and skill requirements of the course, but is only able to demonstrate a superficial understanding of the fundamental concepts of the course. Students will usually have attempted all major pieces of assessment and show that they have an identifiable, emerging ability to apply basic knowledge and skills. |
| 4 (Pass) | 50 - 64.99 |
Demonstrated evidence of functional achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: Grade 4, Pass (50-64.99%),ﾠis generally awarded where all major items of assessment have been submitted. An adequate knowledge of the fundamental concepts of the course and field of study should be demonstrated and a functional skill level achieved. |
| 5 (Credit) | 65 - 74.99 |
Demonstrated evidence of proficient achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: Grade 5, Credit (65-74.99%),ﾠis generally awarded where all items of assessment have been completed and a substantial understanding of the fundamental concepts of the course and field of study have been demonstrated.ﾠ |
| 6 (Distinction) | 75 - 84.99 |
Demonstrated evidence of advanced achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: Grade 6, Distinction (75-84.99%),ﾠis generally awarded where all items of assessment have been completed and substantial knowledge of the deeper and more complex aspects of the course and field of study have been demonstrated.ﾠ |
| 7 (High Distinction) | 85 - 100 |
Demonstrated evidence of exceptional achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: Grade 7, High Distinction (85-100%),ﾠis generally awarded where all items of assessment have been completed and there is evidence that the deeper and more complex aspects of the course and field of study have been mastered. |
Supplementary assessment
Supplementary assessment is available for this course.
Additional assessment information
Proof of Assessment Submission
Assignments for this course will be submitted electronically via Blackboard and using TurnItIn. Advice for using TurnItIn can be found here - how to submit a TurnItIn assignment.
When assessments are successfully submitted a notice will display, before the Assignment Dashboard will appear.
Students must download a digital receipt from the Assignment Dashboard as evidence of submitting a piece of assessment. The digital receipt must include ‘Submission date’ and ‘Submission ID’ as evidence of assignment submission. Other documentation provided as evidence will not be accepted.
Marks Cannot be Changed After Being Released
Marks are not open to negotiation with course staff. If you wish to discuss the feedback you have received, you should make an appointment to speak with the Course Coordinator.
Assessment Re-mark
Information on requesting an assessment re-mark can be accessed via my.UQ ﾖ https://my.uq.edu.au/information-and-services/manage-my-program/academic-progress-and-final-results/querying-result.
Deferred Examinations (if applicable)
The University recognises that on occasion a medical condition or other exceptional circumstances may impair a studentﾒs ability to attend an examination at the scheduled date and time. Depending on the circumstances, a deferred examination may be approved, and the student permitted to sit the in-semester or end of semester examination at a later scheduled time. Information on eligibility and application instructions can be accessed via my.UQ ﾖ https://my.uq.edu.au/information-and-services/manage-my-program/exams-and-assessment/deferring-exam.
Integrity Pledge
Assignments for this course will be submitted electronically via Blackboard and using Turnitin. Before submitting any assignments, students must ensure to have completed UQ's compulsory online Academic Integrity Tutorial ﾖ https://www.uq.edu.au/integrity/Login.aspx?ReturnUrl=%252fintegrity.
In uploading an assignment via Turnitin you are certifying that it is your original work, that it has not been copied in whole or part from another person or source except where this is properly acknowledged, and that it has not in whole or part been previously submitted for assessment in any other course at this or any other university.
Withholding marks prior to finalisation of grades
In accordance with the Assessment Judgements section of the Assessment Procedures, results for all summative assessment items are made available to individual students through the eLearning Management System on completion of marking, with the exception of the final assessment item which is to be released only after the final grade for the course has been released.
Learning resources
You'll need the following resources to successfully complete the course. We've indicated below if you need a personal copy of the reading materials or your own item.
Library resources
Find the required and recommended resources for this course on the UQ Library website.
Learning activities
The learning activities for this course are outlined below. Learn more about the learning outcomes that apply to this course.
Filter activity type by
Please select
| Learning period | Activity type | Topic |
|---|---|---|
Week 1 (24 Feb - 02 Mar) |
Lecture |
Week 1: Introduction to Empire and its Critics This introductory lecture will reflect on why it's important to study empire today and provide an overview of the course. Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L05, L06 |
Seminar |
No Seminar this week |
|
Week 2 (03 Mar - 09 Mar) |
Lecture |
Week 2: Liberalism & Empire (Mill) This lecture focuses on two essays by the great political theorist of Victorian Britain, John Stuart Mill: ﾑA Few Words on Non-Interventionﾒ (1859) and ﾑCivilisationﾒ (1836). The lecture will reflect on how a political theorist best known for his robust defence of liberty could also defend imperial governance. Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L05, L06 |
Seminar |
Introduction to Empire and its Critics This seminar introduces students to the course and some of its defining themes and questions. |
|
Week 3 (10 Mar - 16 Mar) |
Lecture |
Week 3: Cancelled lecture Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L05, L06 |
Seminar |
Introduction to Empire and its Critics As an adjustment caused by the cyclone's disruption, this week's seminar will now be an Introduction to the course for students in the Wednesday seminar. Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L05, L06, L07 |
|
Week 4 (17 Mar - 23 Mar) |
Lecture |
Week 4: Early Modern Europe & the Other (Las Casas) This lecture focuses on Bartolome de Las Casas's Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies (1552), a withering critique of Spain's imperial conquests in the Americas. Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L05, L06 |
Seminar |
Liberalism and Empire (Mill) What does Mill mean by 'civilization'? How does he distinguish the 'civilized' from the 'savage' or 'barbarian'? What do Victorian debates about intervention tell us about the imperial use of violence? Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L05, L06, L07 |
|
Week 5 (24 Mar - 30 Mar) |
Lecture |
Week 5: Early Modern Europe & the Other (Montaigne) This lecture focuses on Michel de Montaigne's essay On Cannibals (1580-92), an early modern attempt to hold an ethnographic mirror up to Europe during a period of violent confessional conflict. Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L05, L06 |
Seminar |
Early Modern Europe & the Other (Las Casas) What were the main elements in Las Casas's damning critique of the Spanish conquest of the Americas? How did he represent the native peoples and the Spanish conquistadores? Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L05, L06, L07 |
|
Week 6 (31 Mar - 06 Apr) |
Lecture |
Week 6: Early Modern Europe & the Other (Behn) This lecture focuses on Aphra Behn's short work of prose fiction, Oroonoko, or the Royal Slave. A True History (1688). The lecture contextualises the novella in the tumultuous political context of 17th-century Britain and the Atlantic slave trade. Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L05, L06 |
Seminar |
Early Modern Europe & the Other (Montaigne) How does Montaigne handle the dichotomy between nature and culture? What does Montaigne really think of Europeans and so-called 'barbarians'? Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L05, L06, L07 |
|
Week 7 (07 Apr - 13 Apr) |
Lecture |
Week 7: Anticolonial Resistance (Fanon) This lecture focuses on Frantz Fanon's searing critique of colonialism in The Wretched of the Earth (1961). The lecture contextualises the book in the Cold War politics of decolonisation and the philosophy of existentialism. Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L05, L06 |
Seminar |
Early Modern Europe & the Other (Behn) What does Oroonoko reveal about Behn's views on empire, race, and slavery? Is Oroonoko an allegory for the drama of British politics? Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L05, L06, L07 |
|
Week 8 (14 Apr - 20 Apr) |
Lecture |
Week 8: Anticolonial Resistance (Said) This lecture focuses on Edward Said's Orientalism (1978), one of the foundational texts of postcolonial theory. The lecture explains Said's theoretical arguments about the relationship between knowledge and power in the West's construction of the 'Other'. Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L05, L06 |
Seminar |
Anticolonial resistance (Fanon) How does Fanon present the relationship between settler and native? What is the role of violence in colonialism? Can violence be a redemptive force for the colonised? Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L05, L06, L07 |
|
Mid-sem break (21 Apr - 27 Apr) |
No student involvement (Breaks, information) |
Mid-Semester Break No lectures or seminars this week. |
Week 9 (28 Apr - 04 May) |
Lecture |
Week 9: Frontier Imaginaries (Conrad) This lecture focuses on Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness (1899). The lecture contextualises the novella in Conrad's personal experiences as a mariner and the colonial violence of the 19th century 'scramble for Africa'. Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L05, L06 |
Seminar |
Anticolonial Resistance (Said) What does Said mean by 'orientalism'? What does it tell us about the western imagination and Europe's intellectual culture? What is the relationship between orientalism and colonialism? Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L05, L06, L07 |
|
Week 10 (05 May - 11 May) |
Lecture |
Week 10: Frontier Imaginaries (Coppola) This lecture focuses on Francis Ford Coppola's film about America's experience in the Vietnam War, Apocalypse Now (1979). The lecture contextualises the film in the Cold War, decolonisation, and America's imperial intervention in Southeast Asia. Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L05, L06 |
Seminar |
Frontier Imaginaries (Conrad) How does Conrad represent Africa and Africans? How does he represent Europe and Europeans? Where does the heart of darkness reside? What does Conrad's story reveal about European claims to civilization? Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L05, L06, L07 |
|
Week 11 (12 May - 18 May) |
Lecture |
Week 11: Frontier Imaginaries (Scott) This lecture focuses on Indigenous author, Kim Scott's historical novel, That Deadman Dance (2010). The story of contact on the 'friendly frontier' at King George Sound in the early 19th century raises questions about settler colonialism's devastating impact on the people, language, history, and culture of the Noongar people. Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L05, L06 |
Seminar |
Frontier Imaginaries (Coppola) Is Apocalypse Now a good adaptation of Conrad's Heart of Darkness? Is the film a critique of war (the Vietnam War in particular), colonialism, or America? How does the film treat the nature/culture and civilized/savage dichotomies? How do the music and visuals enhance the film? Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L05, L06, L07 |
|
Week 12 (19 May - 25 May) |
Lecture |
Week 12: Revision Revision lecture and preparation for Oral Assessment. Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L05, L06, L07 |
Seminar |
Frontier Imaginaries (Scott) How does Scott characterise the frontier contact between Indigenous and settler communities? How does he represent the two communities? How does the encounter on the colonial frontier transform the communities? Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L05, L06, L07 |
|
Week 13 (26 May - 01 Jun) |
Lecture |
Week 13: No Lecture |
No student involvement (Breaks, information) |
No Seminar |
Policies and procedures
University policies and procedures apply to all aspects of student life. As a UQ student, you must comply with University-wide and program-specific requirements, including the:
- Student Code of Conduct Policy
- Student Integrity and Misconduct Policy and Procedure
- Assessment Procedure
- Examinations Procedure
- Reasonable Adjustments - Students Policy and Procedure
Learn more about UQ policies on my.UQ and the Policy and Procedure Library.