Over the last decade, the settlement of migrants and refugees in towns and cities across Britain has become a major source of controversy British politics and public life, leading many commentators to characterise Britain’s current ‘migrant crisis’ as a new and novel development in modern British history. As scholars of twentieth century Britain repeatedly point out, however, mass migration has been a defining feature of British society for more than 200 years, and the acrimony characteristic of current debates is by no means exceptional. Since the end of the Second World War in particular, the decline of empire, global conflict, and a changing Europe have all brought successive waves of migrants to the country’s shores, each one helping to shape and define contemporary Britain in complex and contentious ways.
This interdisciplinary module redresses contemporary amnesia concerning the diversity of Britain’s recent migration history via examination of the human histories of a range of migrant communities who have settled in the UK since 1945. Placing migrants’ personal perspectives at the centre of the module, we will explore the experiences of West Indian, Irish/Northern Irish, South Asian, and Eastern European migrants, as well as displaced refugees from across the world, in literature, film, performance, music, journalism, critical writing, and oral histories. Through these texts and sources, we’ll trace common themes of isolation, prejudice, and discrimination, as well as adaption, political activism, and creativity, to evolve a complex account of the dynamism of the migrant encounter for the making of identities, belongings and antagonisms in contemporary Britain. Throughout the module, students will have the opportunity to work with experts in the histories and literatures of migration while crafting a critical essay on a topic of their choice developed through formative assignments and one-to-one consultation.