New Courses 2016-2017

HY327: The Anglo-American Special Relationship, 1939-89

Professor Nigel Ashton

This course will analyse the changing nature of the Anglo-American "special" relationship from its creation against the backdrop of the Second World War through to the end of the 1980s. It will illuminate the foundations of the relationship in terms of culture and ideology, and also the threat posed by common enemies in the Second World War and Cold War. The competitive dimension of the Anglo-American relationship will also be highlighted as a means of explaining instances of discord such as the Suez Crisis of 1956. Topics addressed include: the creation of the Anglo-American alliance, 1939-41; competitive co-operation in war strategy and politics, 1941-45; the American "occupation" of Britain during the Second World War; the emergence of the Cold War in Europe and Asia, 1945-54; the Palestine question; the Suez Crisis; nuclear relations; the Cuban Missile Crisis; European integration; decolonisation; the impact of the Vietnam War; the cultural Cold War; intelligence co-operation; Anglo-American relations in the 1970s; the Falklands War of 1982; and the revival of the special relationship under Thatcher and Reagan in the 1980s.

Read more about HY327 in the LSE Calendar

HY471: European Empires and Global Conflict, 1935-1948

Dr David Motadel

The course examines the history of the European empires in the Second World War. It covers the history of the war fought in the imperial world and its impact on the lives of millions of colonial civilians; the political, military, and social history of colonial soldiers who fought in Europe’s multi-ethnic and multi-religious armies; the history of anti-colonial movements during the war, from Ho Chi Minh’s Viet Minh to Gandhi’s Quit India movement; and the history of the war’s impact on decolonisation and the twentieth century world order. Overall, the course explores the non-European experience of the Second World War, examining the ways in which the conflict shaped societies and political orders in Africa, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and beyond. Drawing on key secondary texts, primary sources, and visual material, it provides a broad introduction to the most destructive and cataclysmic conflict in modern global history.

Read more about HY471 in the LSE Calendar

HY472: China and the External World, 1711-1839

Dr Ronald Po

This course provides an overview of the history of Qing China from the early eighteenth to the mid-nineteenth centuries, tracing political, institutional, cultural, and social continuities and changes, particularly in China’s land and maritime frontiers. Beginning in the Qianlong period, the Qing Empire became involved in an ever-growing network of commerce and cultural exchange, extending from Manchuria to Inner Asia, and from the East Sea to the Indian Ocean. Following the bloody suppression of the Lhasa riots in 1750, a series of events further connected China to the external world: the infamous Dzungar genocide, China’s invasion of Burma, European encroachment in Asian seas, the rise of port cities in Southeast Asia that were dominated by Chinese entrepreneurs, and increasing tension between China and Western powers over sea lanes and maritime boundaries. This course will use China’s shifting frontiers as a fulcrum to re-examine Chinese history in the modern era, factoring in the movement of people, commodities, ideas, cultural meanings, and imaginaries, which clearly indicate “China’s outwardness.” This challenges the common perception of China as isolated and inward-looking.

Read more about HY472 in the LSE Calendar