HR651-6-AU-CO:
Unquiet pasts: controversies of twentieth-century Britain
PLEASE NOTE: This module is inactive. Visit the Module Directory to view modules and variants offered during the current academic year.
2023/24
Philosophical, Historical and Interdisciplinary Studies (School of)
Colchester Campus
Autumn
Undergraduate: Level 6
Inactive
Thursday 05 October 2023
Friday 15 December 2023
15
02 March 2021
Requisites for this module
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)
The history of twentieth-century Britain is far from over. From `appeasement` in the 1930s to the first referendum on Britain in Europe, this is a past that does not lie quietly; people have continued to remember and remake it, to claim ownership, to challenge official accounts and to demand re-examination of the evidence in the name of justice.
Historians, politicians, the media and the public have all been involved in debating not only `what actually happened` but also how particular events should be interpreted, where they fit in longer views of British history and what they mean for present-day British society.
This course looks at moments in the history of twentieth-century Britain that were not only controversial in their own time but have continued to trouble us. In each two-week case study, we will look closely in the first week at the event itself through primary sources. The idea is to involve students actively in researching the material evidence, so that, in the second week, we can bring this understanding to discussing specific moments in which an unquiet past returns.
We will explore longer-run social and political legacies – many of which are still felt today. Public enquiries and tribunals, apologies for historical injustice, anniversaries and commemoration and moments of great political change can all allow the past to intrude on the present.
This module aims:
1. To use wide range of sources, including audio and visual and newly available material, to understand historical events in their contemporary contexts and to gain insights into their longer-term legacies.
2. To analyse the often problematic ways in which historical events can re-emerge as significant in later periods.
3. To develop a critically sharpened ability to present arguments emerging from this analysis for different audiences.
4. To gain an appreciation ofhow historians can contribute towards wider understanding and reinterpretation of these events and why this matters.
On completing the module, students will:
1. Have an awareness of debates in twentieth-century British history, in terms of contemporary significance, later legacies and changing historiographical interpretations.
2. Have developed confidence using and combining a wide range of sources, including visual sources, crowd sourced material, journalism, social media and other very recently-produced material.
3. Be able to explain and debate the longer view on present-day social and political issues in ways that meet the needs of different audiences.
4. Be able formulate a reasoned argument about the value of doing so.
For introductory reading, see:
Carnevali, Francesca & Julie-Marie Strange (eds.), Twentieth-century Britain: economic, cultural and social change (London: Routledge, 2007) 2nd edn.
Hughes, R. Gerald, The postwar legacy of appeasement: British foreign policy since 1945 (London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2014).
Macmillan, Margaret, The uses and abuses of history
Murray, Douglas, Bloody Sunday: truth, lies and the Saville Inquiry (Biteback, 2011).
Solomos, John, Race and Racism in Britain (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003).
One two-hour seminar per week.
This module does not appear to have a published bibliography for this year.
Assessment items, weightings and deadlines
| Coursework / exam |
Description |
Deadline |
Coursework weighting |
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
Dr Alix Green, email: alix.green@essex.ac.uk.
Dr Alix Green
Belinda Waterman, Department of History, 01206 872313
Yes
Yes
No
No external examiner information available for this module.
Available via Moodle
No lecture recording information available for this module.
Disclaimer: The University makes every effort to ensure that this information on its Module Directory is accurate and up-to-date. Exceptionally it can
be necessary to make changes, for example to programmes, modules, facilities or fees. Examples of such reasons might include a change of law or regulatory requirements,
industrial action, lack of demand, departure of key personnel, change in government policy, or withdrawal/reduction of funding. Changes to modules may for example consist
of variations to the content and method of delivery or assessment of modules and other services, to discontinue modules and other services and to merge or combine modules.
The University will endeavour to keep such changes to a minimum, and will also keep students informed appropriately by updating our programme specifications and module directory.
The full Procedures, Rules and Regulations of the University governing how it operates are set out in the Charter, Statutes and Ordinances and in the University Regulations, Policy and Procedures.