Modern Britain: Society, Culture and Politics, 1780-Present
HIST 269
Fall 2012 not offered
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| Certificates: International Relations |
"America: It's like Britain, only with buttons."
-Ringo Starr
Since the 1960s, the study of British history has gone from focusing primarily on the ancient institutions of "little England" to being a much broader program that studies Britain as a crucible of the modern world. In this course we will explore the many facets of Britain from 1714 to today. We will investigate the history of Britain's political institutions and processes, from industrialization, class formation, social reform, urbanization, war, and imperialism to the role of gender and race ideologies in society, the rise of mass culture, and the changing nature of work and leisure, at home and in the empire. Each week, we will analyze large-scale historical processes in conjunction with historical materials (letters, newspapers, political documents, census records, oral histories, legal records, and photographs, etc.) that provide a window on the nature and meaning of experiences of individual men, women, and children whose lives intersected with these developments. The course will introduce students to classic works on the history of modern Britain as well as recent histories and new objects of historical study. This term we will focus especially on the role of film, for example, asking how films represent the past and how they themselves are products of particular historical moments. The course is especially appropriate for prospective history majors, though all students interested in studying British history and its contemporary international legacies are welcome. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
SBS HIST |
| Course Format: Lecture / Discussion | Grading Mode: Graded |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (CEAS-Arcp/Hist) |
Major Readings:
Walter Arnstein, Britain Yesterday and Today, 1830 to the Present
Jose Harris, Private Lives, Public Spirit: Britain, 1870-1914
Nicoletta Gullace, The Blood of Our Sons: Men,Women, and the Renegotiation of British Citizenship during the Great War.
Judy Giles, The Parlour and the Suburb: Domestic Identities, Class, Femininity, and Modernity.
Wendy Webster, Englishness and Empire, 1939-1965.
James Vernon, The Peculiarities of Liberal Modernity in Imperial Britain
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Examinations and Assignments:
There will be two take-home midterm exams, a 5-7 page paper, and a final exam. |
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