HR352-6-FY-CO:
The Common People: British Social History 1830-1950
2023/24
Philosophical, Historical and Interdisciplinary Studies (School of)
Colchester Campus
Full Year
Undergraduate: Level 6
Current
Thursday 05 October 2023
Friday 28 June 2024
30
20 September 2023
Requisites for this module
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)
This module explores how Britain underwent profound transformations between 1830 and 1950, becoming the first modern industrial capitalist society in the World.
The module is divided into seven inter-connected themes beginning with an analysis of the changing experience of work, including patterns of production and social divisions of labour. It then moves on to consider the ways in which new class identities, complicated by gender divisions, were made and unmade across time.
The aims of this module are:
- To familiarise students with the most important themes in British social history from the Industrial Revolution through to World War Two.
- To develop greater understanding of historiographical and theoretical issues that have shaped this vibrant field of historical study.
By the end of this module, students will be expected to have:
- Developed greater knowledge and understanding of the broad themes of British social history during the period.
- A better grasp of how social history emerged, changing debates on key themes, and what sources have been used by historians to open a window onto the lives of the common people.
The urban and rural environment was fundamentally altered and so too were the lives and identities of the British people. This module explores this process in a thematic as well as a chronological manner.
Considerable attention is then paid to the development of the state and increased state intervention into the lives of the majority of the people by such means as the New Police, the Factory Acts and the Contagious Diseases Acts.
Changing forms and practices of democracy are then investigated as new constituencies of women and working-class men laid claim to citizenship. The idea of the nation is explored and particular attention paid to the impact of imperialism on popular mentalities as well as the experience of immigrant communities.
Contests in the sphere of culture provide another major focus and are studied at both a popular and elite level through a comparison of developments in education, recreation and consumption in particular. The module ends by looking at the changing meanings of and responses to poverty from the New Poor Law through to the Welfare State established after World War Two.
Themes are also approached in the seminars through analysis of primary source material, which features centrally on this module.
General Reading List
This module will be delivered via:
The above list is indicative of the essential reading for the course.
The library makes provision for all reading list items, with digital provision where possible, and these resources are shared between students.
Further reading can be obtained from this module's
reading list.
Assessment items, weightings and deadlines
| Coursework / exam |
Description |
Deadline |
Coursework weighting |
| Coursework |
Essay 1 (3000 words) |
|
50% |
| Coursework |
Essay 2 (3000 words) |
|
50% |
Exam format definitions
- Remote, open book: Your exam will take place remotely via an online learning platform. You may refer to any physical or electronic materials during the exam.
- In-person, open book: Your exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer to any physical materials such as paper study notes or a textbook during the exam. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, open book (restricted): The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer only to specific physical materials such as a named textbook during the exam. Permitted materials will be specified by your department. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, closed book: The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may not refer to any physical materials or electronic devices during the exam. There may be times when a paper dictionary,
for example, may be permitted in an otherwise closed book exam. Any exceptions will be specified by your department.
Your department will provide further guidance before your exams.
Overall assessment
Reassessment
Module supervisor and teaching staff
Prof Peter Gurney, email: pjgurney@essex.ac.uk.
Professor Peter Gurney
History UG Administrators: hrugadmin@essex.ac.uk
Yes
Yes
No
Dr Mark Williams
Cardiff University
Senior Lecturer in Early Modern History
Dr Miriam Dobson
University of Sheffield
Reader
Available via Moodle
Of 60 hours, 57 (95%) hours available to students:
3 hours not recorded due to service coverage or fault;
0 hours not recorded due to opt-out by lecturer(s), module, or event type.
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