HS3T83: "Modern Science and the Imperial World, 1750-2000"

Module code: HS3T83

Module provider: History; School of Humanities

Credits: 20

ECTS credits: 10

Level: 6

When you’ll be taught: Semester 2

Module convenor: Dr Rohan Deb Roy, email: r.debroy@reading.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s):

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: No placement specified

Academic year: 2026/7

Available to visiting students: Yes

Talis reading list: Yes

Last updated: 25 March 2026

Overview

Module aims and purpose

What were the relationships between British colonialism and modern science? Was European science misused for the conquest and exploitation of the colonies? Did British colonial rule in different parts of the world lead to the creation of new kinds of scientific knowledge? How did the colonised people respond? This module addresses these questions.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to:

1. acquire a detailed knowledge of the events through extensive reading in specialised literature;
2. locate and assemble information on the subject by independent research;
3. appraise critically the primary sources and historical interpretations of the subject;
4. organise material and articulate arguments effectively in writing, both under timed conditions and in assessed essays.

Module content

This module explores the making of the modern world by tracking the interrelated histories of two major themes - scientific knowledge and empire. It examines practices and texts associated with exploration, cartography, geology, botany, anthropology, natural history, medicine, environment, and technology drawing materials especially from the British imperial world, including the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Ocean regions. This module addresses how scientific and medical knowledge were closely connected to themes of colonial history (such as Orientalism, diffusion and exchange of knowledge, travel, extraction, commodification, race and eugenics, gender, and anti-colonial nationalism). In order to appreciate the complexity of these historical processes, we will read primary sources, including official documents and visual evidence, alongside secondary materials. 

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

Teaching and learning will be by a variety of methods, which may include:

• Lectures;
• Seminars, which rely on structured group discussion and may also include seminar papers by students, discussion of evidence, team-based exercises, and debates;
• Online exercises, including quizzes and worksheets;
• Independent study

Study hours

At least 33 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

Students need to achieve an overall module mark of 40% to pass this module.

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

Assessments with numerical marks

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in your Individual Learning Plan): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each calendar day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of three calendar days;
• where the piece of work is submitted up to three calendar days after the original deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in you Individual Learning Plan), the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three calendar days after the original deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in your Individual Learning Plan), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three calendar days after the original deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in your Individual Learning Plan): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three calendar days of the deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in your Individual Learning Plan): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three calendar days after the original deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in your Individual Learning Plan): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

Where a piece of work is submitted late after a deadline which has been revised owing to an extension granted through the Assessment Adjustments policy and process (self-certified or otherwise), it will be subject to the maximum penalty (i.e., considered to be more than three calendar days late). This will also apply when such an extension is used in conjunction with a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: https://www.reading.ac.uk/cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

2 pages of A4 maximum to include, at the module convenor's discretion, an essay plan, bibliography, book review or other preparatory work towards each of the summative essays.

Reassessment

Additional costs