LHIST6224 Victorians and Edwardians: Class, Gender, and Imperialism, 1870-1914 Course Descriptor

Course Overview

This course will examine the way in which British society was transformed between 1870 and 1914. This was partly due to the impact of significant events, such as the depression in the 1880s, increased industrialization and urbanisation, and the effects of the Boer War. But it was also because contemporaries changed the way in which they conceived the nature of society and the state, as new ideas about class, religion, poverty and imperialism all had a major impact. 

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

Knowledge and Understanding

Subject Specific Skills

Transferable and Employability Skills

Teaching and Learning

This course has a dedicated Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) page with a syllabus and range of additional resources (e.g. readings, question prompts, tasks, assignment briefs, discussion boards) to orientate and engage students in their studies..

The scheduled teaching and learning activities for this course are:

Lectures/seminars 

40 scheduled hours – typically including induction, consolidation or revision, and assessment activity hours.

• Version 1:all sessions in the same sized group

OR 

• Version 2: most of the sessions in larger groups; some of the sessions in smaller groups

OR

Directed study 

4-12 scheduled hours, the exact number varying according to the balance of 1:1s, 2:1s, or small groups. The plan will be confirmed by the start of the course, taking into account student numbers and the proposed topics, readings, and specific tasks.

Faculty hold regular ‘office hours’, which are opportunities for students to drop in or sign up to explore ideas, raise questions, or seek targeted guidance or feedback, individually or in small groups. 

Students are to attend and participate in all the scheduled teaching and learning activities for this course and to manage their directed learning and independent study.

Indicative total learning hours for this course: 150

Assessment

Both formative and summative assessment are used as part of this course, with purely formative opportunities typically embedded within interactive teaching sessions, office hours, and/or the VLE. 

Summative Assessments

In the written coursework students will assemble data and analyse it using understanding of the societal and cultural context. In the exam, students will answer questions utilising their understanding of the societal and cultural context. Further information about the assessments can be found in the Course Syllabus

Feedback

Students will receive formative and summative feedback in a variety of ways, written (e.g. marked up on assignments, through email or the VLE) or oral (e.g. as part of interactive teaching sessions or in office hours).

Indicative Reading

Note: Comprehensive and current reading lists are produced annually in the Course Syllabus or other documentation provided to students; the indicative reading list provided below is for a general guide and part of the approval/modification process only.

• Finlayson, G. (1994) Citizen, State, and Social Welfare in Britain, 1830-1990. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 
• Mackenzie, J. M. (ed.) Imperialism and Popular Culture. Manchester.
• McKibbin, R. The Ideologies of Class: Social Relations in Britain, 1880-1914. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 
• Thane, P. (ed.) (1978) The Origins of Social Policy. London: Routledge.
• Journals: Historical Journal, Economic History Review, Social History, Twentieth Century British History, History Workshop Journal, Past and Present, Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History

Indicative Topics

Note: Comprehensive and current topics for courses are produced annually in the Course Syllabus or other documentation provided to students; the indicative topics provided below are used as a general guide and part of the approval/modification process only.

• Investigation of Poverty 
• Prostitution 
• Class 
• Metropolitan Effects of Imperialism 
• Secularisation 
• State Power 
• Conceptualization of Society 
• Arts and Leisure