Module HIST1721: The State We're In: New Histories of Modern Britain

Department: History

HIST1721: The State We're In: New Histories of Modern Britain

Prerequisites

• A or B grade in A-Level History, or an acceptable equivalent (e.g. in terms of Scottish Highers or IB)

Corequisites

• None

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None

Aims

• To introduce students to the study of modern British history and key research questions presently animating this historical field
• To explore both the content and boundaries of what counts as modern British history, as well as the means of its analysis and narration
• To reflect on archives and sources through which new modern British histories can be produced

Content

• What is the state of modern British history? Should we spin a well-worn tale around the rise of Parliamentary democracy, liberal freedoms, and the welfare state from the Nineteenth to the Twenty-First Century? If so, how does this story fit with the impact on British society of two world wars and the rise and fall of British Empire? Is British history really a “United Kingdom history” of at least four different nations, notwithstanding centralising state power? Conversely, can British history be confined within national frames, even if we bring in more than just England? How should British history address multiculturalism and include people of colour, queer people, people with disabilities, or otherwise marginalised communities? What would happen if we instead centred these perspectives to revise whatever we determined modern British history to be?
• This module will explore how modern British history – a story that students may think they already know – necessarily wrestles with all of these questions and more. In doing so, the module will invite and empower students to challenge the idea that modern British history can be captured within any single story. Indeed, such histories can be designed deliberately to silence and exclude. At the same time, while narratives are always selective, some may be more revealing—and more credible—than others, and the module will offer a range of cutting-edge ways into the topic as a whole. Combining chronological and thematic approaches, it will also introduce students to archives, sources, and methods of analysis, setting them up to write modern British histories of the future.

Learning Outcomes

• A broad knowledge of political, social, economic, and cultural histories of Britain over the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries
• An appreciation of the scale and complexity of what can be considered modern British history, as well as of the varied ways of narrating those histories
• An awareness of the diverse source base of modern British histories and the range of potential methodological approaches

• Identifying, defining, and understanding historical problems
• Ability to explore the ways in which historians use different types of evidence to address historical problems
• Ability to identify and to critique conflicting historical interpretations
• Discussing and explaining ideas in a small-group context
• Practicing introductory writing and research skills

• The ability to employ sophisticated reading skills to gather, sift, process, synthesise and critically evaluate information from a variety of sources (print, digital, material, aural, visual, audio-visual etc.)
• The ability to communicate ideas and information orally and in writing, devise and sustain coherent and cogent arguments
• The ability to write and think under pressure, manage time and work to deadlines
• The ability to make effective use of information and communications technology

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 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. The seminar will also be the primary forum for developing students skills in reading and criticizing primary sources
• Unseen Examinations test students' ability to work under pressure under timed conditions, to prepare for examinations and direct their own programme of revision and learning, and develop key time management skills. The unseen examination gives students the opportunity to develop relevant life skills such as the ability to produce coherent, reasoned and supported arguments under pressure. Students will be examined on subject specific knowledge
• The summative essay remains a central component of assessment in history, due to the integrative high-order skills it develops. It allows 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 words to be submitted in Michaelmas Term.

■ 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