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’. This module examines how the sexes, classes, and denominations in the nineteenth century understood and experienced social and cultural change on an unprecedented scale; and why England remained politically stable. It begins with the world of work and the struggles of employers to establish, and of workers to resist, factory discipline. Next, the module explores social identities, and reviews the recent preoccupation with 'language'. Then, it investigates the physical environment and the culture of the town and the country. It concludes with two 'snapshots' of England in this period: in 1851, and at the end of the Boer War.
• A key aim of this module is to study how contemporaries understood their own life and times. To this end, seminars are organized around texts by Engels, Cooke Taylor, Carlyle, Mill, and Ruskin, as well as by less exalted figures.

Learning Outcomes

• an understanding of the forces shaping the physical environment of nineteenth-century Britain, and of how the sexes, classes and denominations of nineteenth-century Britain understood and experienced social and cultural change on an unprecedented scale;
• 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:

A written assignment of 1500-2000 words to be submitted in Michaelmas

■ 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