Workshop: Empire, Independence & Decolonization in Global History & Literature

Today, we live in a world of a few hundred nation-states. “Yet,” historians Burbank and Cooper argue, “the world of nation-states we take for granted is scarcely sixty years old”. Throughout most of human history, people lived in empires, states that never claimed to represent a single people or nation. Such imperial systems were durable, ruling over vast territories for long periods of time. The Ottoman Empire and the Roman Empire, for example, each lasted for almost six hundred years, the Mongols and Comanche Empires for about two centuries, while some have argued the Chinese Empire endured for well over 4,000 years. Regardless of their longevity, all empires faced resistance and rebellion in some form and to some degree.

Imperial systems and those who have opposed, resisted, and rebelled against imperial power, politics, and culture have played a long and important role in global history. Given how important empires and independence movements have been, it is not surprising we have a rich historical and literary heritage capturing how empires and freedom from imperial control have affected peoples, communities, and the world.

The World History and Literature Initiative’s (WHaLI) three-day conference for secondary teachers will focus on these issues, using examples drawn from different historical times and areas of the world. In addition to helping teachers develop their understanding of imperial practices, independence movements and decolonization, the conference also illuminates challenges students face learning such content and explores ways teachers might meet those challenges. WHaLI provides participants with resources as well as lunch and refreshments. This year we will meet on December 6 (Friday), December 7 (Saturday) & December 14 (Saturday) in Weiser Hall on the University of Michigan campus in Ann Arbor.

Please register for this event by November 23, 2019.