Module HIST2211: HARD TIMES: BRITISH SOCIETY c.1815 - 1902

Department: History

HIST2211: HARD TIMES: BRITISH SOCIETY c.1815 - 1902

Prerequisites

• A pass mark in at least ONE level one module in History.

Corequisites

• None.

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None.

Aims

• to promote an understanding of social and cultural life in nineteenth-century England, and the appropriate concepts for its analysis.
• to place a strong emphasis on examining how contemporaries understood their own life and times.

Content

• Under industrial capitalism, said Marx, ‘All that is solid melts into air…’ How and why did the England of 1801 become such a fundamentally different country by 1901? This module examines how the sexes, classes and denominations in the nineteenth century understood and experienced economic and social change on an unprecedented scale. It starts with examining the fundamental role of religion in nineteenth-century social change, then considers the world of work and the struggles of employers to establish, and of workers to resist, factory discipline. Next, the module explores gender identities, considering both femininity and masculinity, and how changing conceptions of citizenship reshaped the roles of both men and women. Finally, we will think about nineteenth-century national identity, and how England positioned itself in relation to both continental Europe and the wider world, particularly its own imperial possessions.
• This module places a strong emphasis on examining how contemporaries understood their own times. Therefore, consideration of texts by key thinkers such as William Thompson and Anna Wheeler, Karl Marx and John Stuart Mill is integrated throughout the module.

Learning Outcomes

• an understanding of how the sexes, classes and denominations of nineteenth-century Britain understood and experienced social and cultural change on an unprecedented scale.
• an understanding of the forces shaping the physical environment of nineteenth century Britain.
• an ability to evaluate both recent and older interpretations of these physical and social changes.
• an ability to construct reasoned arguments about the development of nineteenth-century British society, drawing on work by political and economic, as well as social, historians.

• Subject specific skills for this module can be viewed at: http://www.dur.ac.uk/History/ugrads/ModuleProformaMap/;
• In addition students will acquire:
• an ability to evaluate both recent and older interpretations of these physical and social changes;
• an ability to construct reasoned arguments about the development of nineteenth-century British society, drawing on work by political and economic, as well as social, historians.

• Key skills for this module can be viewed at: http://www.dur.ac.uk/History/ugrads/ModuleProformaMap/

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• Student learning is facilitated by a combination of the following teaching methods:
• lectures to set the foundations for further study and to provide the basis for the acquisition of subject specific knowledge. Lectures provide a broad framework which defines individual module content, introducing students to themes, debates and interpretations. In this environment, students are given the opportunity to develop skills in listening, selective note-taking and reflection;
• seminars to allow students to present and critically reflect upon the acquired subject-specific knowledge, methodologies and theories, and to identify and debate a range of issues and differing opinions. The seminar is the forum in which students are given the opportunity to communicate ideas, jointly exploring themes and arguments. Seminars are structured to develop understanding and designed to maximise student participation related to prior independent preparation. Seminars give students the opportunity to develop oral communication skills, encourage critical and tolerant approaches to reasoned argument and historical discussion, build the students' ability to marshal historical evidence, and facilitate the development of the ability to summarise historical arguments, think in a rapidly changing environment and communicate in a persuasive and articulate manner, whilst recognising the value of working with others and, occasionally, towards shared goals.
• Assessment:
• Summative essays remain a central component of assessment in history, due to the integrative high-order skills they develop. Essays allow students the opportunity to recognise, represent and critically reflect upon ideas, concepts and problems; students can demonstrate awareness of, and the ability to use and evaluate, a diverse range of resources and identify, represent and debate a range of subject-specific issues and opinions. Through the essay, students can synthesise information, adopt critical appraisals and develop reasoned argument based on individual research; they should be able to communicate ideas in writing, with clarity and coherence; and to show the ability to integrate and critically assess material from a wide range of sources.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

One or more short assignments submitted in writing or delivered orally in a group seminar context.

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University