Department of History
Historical Fields Taught
British History
Stirling modules in British History offer great variety in terms of a wide coverage of the last three centuries and a range of approaches to history, allowing students to investigate many of the roots of contemporary Britain. In the first year, students have an opportunity to survey the period from 1780 till 1990, concentrating on the themes of war and society, national identity, the economy, social conditions and social policy, political development, the Irish question, the empire, and relations with Europe. Honours courses in British history explore gender, ethnic minorities, welfare provision, religion and the Victorian political scene; the politics and protests of ordinary people, the history of political thought; how information technology can be exploited by historians to provide us with a better understanding of how people lived in Victorian Britain; and Britain’s perceptions of and its place in the wider world, from its reactions to the eighteenth-century revolutions in America and France, to its shaky relationship with Europe in the twentieth century.
MODULE HIS921: People, Politics and Empire: Britain 1780-1914
This module is an alternative to HIS9S1: Kingship and Nationhood: Scotland, c.1100-1513
Module Content: The module includes the following topics: war and society, national identity, the economy and society, social conditions and social policy, political development, the Irish question, empire, and relations with Europe.
Learning Outcomes: The module aims to provide students with a knowledge and understanding of continuity and change in British history in the period 1780-1914, as well as of a variety of approaches to the past and the interconnections between them. It seeks to deepen history-specific intellectual skills already acquired or to assist those studying history as a discipline for the first time in acquiring such skills. It also helps to foster a range of transferable skills. A full description of the learning outcomes of the module is provided in the module handout.
Module Literature:
The following books are recommended for purchase:
- L. Colley, Britons: Forging the Nation, 1707-1837 (Vintage, 1996).
- M. Pugh, Britain Since 1789: A Concise History (Macmillan, 1999). [This text will also be used in module HIS922]
- B. Porter, The Lion’s Share: A Short History of British Imperialism, 1850-1983 (Longman, 1996). [This text will also be used in module HIS922]
- P. Mathias, The First Industrial Nation: An Economic History of Britain, 1700-1914 (Routledge, 1990).
- C. Matthew, The Nineteenth Century (Oxford University Press, 2000).
- E. Royle, Modern Britain: A Social History, 1750-1997 (Oxford University Press, 2001).
| HIS921 | People, Politics and Empire: Britain 1780-1914 |
|---|---|
| Module Structure: | The module is taught through two lectures and a one-hour tutorial per week. Attendance at tutorials is compulsory. All tutorials are prescribed classes since students are assessed for their oral performance at them. Preparation is essential in order to facilitate discussion of the topics covered in the lecture at a deeper level and to allow the development of historical skills. |
| Pre-requisite: | None. |
| Assessment: | The grade is based on a one-source essay of 1000 words (30%), an essay of 2000 words (60%) and oral work (10%). |
MODULE HIS922: Empire to Europe: Britain 1914-1990
This module is an alternative to HIS9S2: Renaissance to Revolution: Scotland, 1513-1689.
Module Content: This module includes the following topics: economy and society, social conditions and social policy, women and society, war and society, political development, national identity, the Irish question, empire and relations with Europe.
Learning Outcomes: The module aims to provide students with a knowledge and understanding of continuity and change in British history in the period 1914-1990, as well as of a variety of approaches to the past and the interconnections between them. It seeks to deepen history-specific intellectual skills already acquired or to assist those studying history as a discipline for the first time in acquiring such skills. It also helps extend further a range of transferable skills. A full description of the learning outcomes of the module is provided in the module handout.
Module Literature:
All students should purchase:
- M. Pugh, Britain Since 1789: A Concise History (Macmillan, 1999).
- P. Johnson (ed.), 20th-Century Britain (Longman, 1994).
The following are also recommended:
- B. Porter, The Lion’s Share: A Short History of British Imperialism, 1850-1983 (Longman, 1996).
- D. Reynolds, Britannia Overruled: British Policy and World Power in the Twentieth Century (Longman, 2000).
- P.F. Clarke & D. Cannadine, Hope and Glory: Britain 1900-1990 (Penguin, 1997).
| HIS922 | Empire to Europe: Britain 1914-1990 |
|---|---|
| Module Structure: | The module is taught through two lectures and a one-hour tutorial per week. Attendance at tutorials is compulsory. All tutorials are prescribed classes since students are assessed for their oral performance at them. Preparation is essential in order to facilitate discussion of the topics covered in the lecture at a deeper level and to allow the development of historical skills. Performance is not assessed on ‘correctness’ but on a willingness to present and develop an argument. |
| Pre-requisite: | None. |
| Assessment: | The grade is based on an essay of 2000 words (40%), a two hour examination (50%) and oral work (10%). |
MODULE HIS9F5: Gender in Britain, 1750-1930
Module Content: The module is likely to include the following topics: the ideology of separate spheres, Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792), nineteenth-century feminism, politics, John Stuart Mill’s The Subjection of Women (1869), marriage and families, education and philanthropy, work: the middle classes, work: the working classes, and war.
Learning Outcomes: The module aims to provide students with an understanding of the changing perceptions of masculinity and femininity, the roles of men and women, and the views of male and female contemporaries on ‘the woman question’ in the period 1750-1930. It seeks to deepen history-specific skills already acquired and to help extend further a range of transferable skills. A full description of the learning outcomes of the module is provided in the module handout.
Module Literature:
All students should purchase the following books, which are set texts:
- Mary Wollstonecraft, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (Everyman edition, 1995).
- John Stuart Mill, The Subjection of Women (Wordsworth Classics edition, 1996).
Other useful introductory texts are:
- L. Davidoff & C. Hall, Family Fortunes: men and women of the English middle classes, 1750-1850 (1987).
- R.B. Shoemaker, Gender in English Society, 1650-1850 (1998).
- A. Clark, The Struggle for the Breeches: gender and the making of the British working class (1995).
- J. Tosh, A Man’s Place: Masculinity and the Middle-Class Home in Victorian England (1999).
- J. Purvis, Women’s History: Britain 1850-1945: an introduction (1995)
| HIS9F5 | Gender in Britain, 1750-1930 |
|---|---|
| Module Structure: | There are no lectures. The module is taught through a series of two-hour weekly seminars. Attendance at seminars is compulsory and preparation essential. All seminars are prescribed classes since students are assessed for their oral performance at them. Seminar discussions will be based on both secondary and primary source material, and the topics are likely to include the development of the idea of separate spheres; the origins and progress of the feminist movement; changing understandings of masculinity; marriage and singleness; parenthood; work; education; political activities; and war. |
| Pre-requisite: | One History module at level 9. |
| Assessment: | The grade is based on two essays of 2500 words (each 45%) and oral work (10%). |
MODULE HIS9G5: Black People in Britain, 1750-1950: Racism, Riot and Reaction
Module Content: Topics covered by the module include: slavery in Britain; the writings of eighteenth and nineteenth century black Britons; racism in the eighteenth to the twentieth centuries; black British political activity; black people in two world wars; inter-war riots; coming of mass immigration.
Learning Outcomes: The module aims to aid the understanding of 'race relations' issues. It seeks to deepen history-specific skills already acquired and to help extend further a range of transferable skills. A full description of the learning outcomes of the module is provided in the module handout.
Module Literature:
It is advisable to purchase some or all of the following books which will serve as an introduction to the subject matter and as text books for the module:
- P. Edwards and D. Dabydeen ed., Black Writers in Britain 1760-1890 (Edinburgh University Press, 1993).
- O. Equiano, The Interesting Narrative and Other Writings (Penguin, 1995).
- P. Fryer, Staying Power: The History of Black People in Britain (Pluto Press, 1984).
- M. Seacole, The Wonderful Adventures of Mrs Seacole in Many Lands (The X Press, 1999).
- J. Walvin, Black Ivory: A History of British Slavery (Fontana Press, 1993).
| HIS9G5 | Black People in Britain, 1750-1950: Racism, Riot and Reaction |
|---|---|
| Module Structure: | There are no lectures. The module is taught through a series of two-hour weekly seminars (preparing occasional class papers) on topics covering the chronological and thematic range of the module: from late 18th century slavery down to the beginning of mass immigration after the Second World War. Attendance at seminars is compulsory and preparation essential. All seminars are prescribed classes since students are assessed for their oral performance at them. |
| Pre-requisite: | One History module at level 9. |
| Assessment: | The grade is based on two essays of 2500 words (each 45%) and oral work (10%). |
MODULE HIS9L5: Religion, Politics and Society in Nineteenth-Century Britain
Module Content: The module examines the place of religion in nineteenth-century Scotland, England and Wales. It considers the role of the Established Churches and of religious Dissenters, the impact of popular Evangelicalism on society at large, the distinctive features of the Presbyterian experience in Scotland, the growth of Roman Catholicism and the significance of hostility to Catholicism, the nature of Methodism and its attitude to radicalism, the geographical distribution of religious groups, the relation of churchgoing to social class and the place of women in religion.
Learning Outcomes: The module aims to provide students with an understanding of the role of the churches in British society and politics during the nineteenth century. It seeks to deepen history-specific skills already acquired and to help extend further a range of transferable skills. A full description of the learning outcomes of the module is provided in the module handout.
Module Literature:
Useful introductory works:
- D. W. Bebbington, Evangelicalism in Modern Britain: a history from the 1730s to the 1980s, Unwin Hyman, 1989. A paperback exploring the main religious tradition examined in the module.
- H. McLeod, Religion and Society in England, 1850-1914, Macmillan, 1996. Excellent survey.
- C. G. Brown, The People in the Pews: religion and society in Scotland since 1780, Economic and Social History Society of Scotland, 1993. A succinct and up-to-date overview.
- B. I. Coleman, The Church of England in the Mid-Nineteenth Century, Historical Association, 1980. A concise study concentrating on social geography, but out of print.
- E. R. Norman, The English Catholic Church in the Nineteenth Century, Oxford University Press, 1984. A valuable overview, but out of print.
- D. Rosman, The Evolution of the English Churches, 1500-2000, Cambridge, 2003). A clear and intelligible account.
| HIS9L5 | Religion, Politics and Society in Nineteenth-Century Britain |
|---|---|
| Module Structure: | The module is taught by weekly seminars lasting two hours each. Attendance at seminars is compulsory and preparation essential. All seminars are prescribed classes since students are assessed for their oral performance at them. Topics covered in successive weeks are: The Established Churches and Religious Dissent, Evangelicalism, Presbyterianism in Scotland, Catholics and Anti-Catholicism, Methodism and Radicalism, Geographical Distribution, Social Composition and Women in Religion. |
| Pre-requisite: | One History module at level 9. (This requirement may be waived for Honours Religious Studies students.) |
| Assessment: | The grade is based on two essays of 2500 words (each 45%) and oral work (10%). |
MODULE HIS9A6: The Evolution of the British Welfare State, c. 1890-1990
Module Content: The module examines the development of social services from the late nineteenth century to the establishment of the welfare state after the Second World War; before studying the health services, housing and income support thematically, to see what difference the welfare state made in practice. Finally, ‘New Right’ ideas of the 1970s and 1980s are considered critically in the light of historical experience.
Learning Outcomes: The module aims to promote knowledge and understanding of the development of the welfare state from the 1890s. It seeks to deepen history-specific skills already acquired and to help extend further a range of transferable skills. A full description of the learning outcomes of the module is provided in the module handout.
Module Literature:
Students are encouraged to read widely and, in some topics, to make use of contemporary sources. However, it is useful to buy some of the following text books that will serve as a guide to literature:
- Derek Fraser, The Evolution of the British Welfare State (2001).
- Rodney Lowe, The Welfare State in Britain since 1945 (1998).
- Pat Thane, The Foundations of the Welfare State (1996).
| HIS9A6 | The Evolution of the British Welfare State, c. 1890-1990 |
|---|---|
| Module Structure: | There are no lectures. The module is taught through a series of two-hour weekly seminars. Attendance at seminars is compulsory and preparation essential. All seminars are prescribed classes since students are assessed for their oral performance at them. Students are expected to contribute to discussions of each seminar topic and to make short presentations on two topics. |
| Pre-requisite: | One History module at level 9 or 10 or three Politics modules at level 8. Not available to students who have taken HIS99A. |
| Assessment: | The grade is based on an essay of 3000 words (45%), a two-hour examination (45%) and oral work (10%). |
MODULE HIS9D6: The British Atlantic World, c. 1580-c. 1770
Module Content: This module explores the origins and evolution of Britain’s diverse Atlantic empire between the late sixteenth and late eighteenth centuries. It begins by examining the English creation of model plantations in Ireland before turning to colonial projects further afield, in America and the Caribbean. The range of migrant societies, their characteristics, and their interaction with one another will be discussed in the context of huge environmental upheaval and the cultural disparities between ‘Old World’ and ‘New’. The module will include analysis of the growth of slavery, relations with Native Americans, witchcraft, and warfare in the colonial setting.
Learning Outcomes: The module aims to provide students with a thorough understanding of the diverse origins, influences, and linkages between metropolitan Britain and her Atlantic provinces in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. It seeks to deepen history-specific skills already acquired and to help extend further a range of transferable skills. A full description of the learning outcomes of the module is provided in the module handout.
Module Literature:
There are no set textbooks, but the following books will be used frequently and provide a useful preparatory backdrop (worth purchasing or reading during the vacation):
- Taylor, Alan. American Colonies: The Settlement of North America (2001)
- Tindall, George B. & David E. Shi. America: A Narrative History (latest edition 2004)
- Armitage, David, ed. The British Atlantic World, 1500-1800 (2002)
- Bailyn, Bernard & Philip D. Morgan, eds., Strangers Within the Realm: Cultural Margins of the First British Empire (1991)
- Greene, Jack P. & Jack R. Pole, Colonial British America (1984)
- Canny, Nicholas, ed. Oxford History of the British Empire: 17th Century (vol. 1, 1999)
- Marshall, Peter J., ed. Oxford History of the British Empire: 18th Century (vol. 2, 2001)
- Berlin, Ira, Many Thousands Gone: The First Two Centuries of Slavery in North America (1998)
- Hoffer, Peter C., The Brave New World: A History of Early America (2000)
| HIS9D6 | The British Atlantic World, c. 1580-c. 1770 |
|---|---|
| Module Structure: | There are no lectures. The module is taught through a series of two-hour weekly seminars, for which individual reading will be allocated. Attendance at seminars is compulsory and preparation essential. All seminars are prescribed classes since students are assessed for their oral performance at them. Typically each seminar will include a mini-lecture of around twenty minutes outlining the principal themes and historiographical debates pertinent to the topic. Students will be required to make one formal presentation of roughly 10 to 15 minutes on a question of their choice from the outlined seminar topics. |
| Pre-requisite: | One History module at level 9 or 10. |
| Assessment: | The grade is based on an essay of 3000 words (45%), a two-hour examination (45%) and oral work (10%). |
MODULE HIS9F6: Popular Politics in Eighteenth-Century Britain
Module Content: The module examines the politics of the middling and lower orders in Britain between the Glorious Revolution of 1688-89 and the French Revolutionary Wars, up to the Peace of Amiens in 1802. It is likely to cover the Glorious Revolution, early eighteenth-century political causes, later eighteenth-century political causes, the press, local politics, religion and popular politics, women in politics, and riots, culminating in an assessment of the political stability of eighteenth-century Britain.
Learning Outcomes: The aim of the module is to analyse the nature, causes, aims, extent and results of popular involvement in the eighteenth-century British political system and in the political issues of the period. It sees to deepen history-specific skills already acquired and to help extend further a range of transferable skills. A full description of the learning outcomes of the module is provided in the module handout.
Module Literature:
The following books will serve as a useful introduction to the ground covered by the module, and the issues to be examined:
- H.T. Dickinson, The Politics of the People in Eighteenth-Century Britain (1995).
- Bob Harris, Politics and the Nation: Britain in the Mid-Eighteenth Century (2002).
- D. Hay & N. Rogers, Eighteenth-Century English Society (1997).
- Paul Langford, A Polite and Commercial People: England 1727-1783 (1989).
- Frank O’Gorman, The Long Eighteenth Century (1997).
- Mark Philp, The French Revolution and British Popular Politics(1991).
- E.P. Thompson, The Making of the English Working Class (1963).
- Roger Wells, Insurrection: The British Experience, 1795-1803 (1983).
- C.A. Whatley, Scottish Society 1707-1830 (2000).
- Kathleen Wilson, The Sense of the People: Politics, Culture and Imperialism in England, 1715-1785 (1995).
Note: This module is not available in Spring 2009.
| HIS9F6 | Popular Politics in Eighteenth-Century Britain |
|---|---|
| Module Structure: | The module is taught through a series of two-hour seminars per week. Attendance at seminars is compulsory and preparation essential. All seminars are prescribed classes since students are assessed for their oral performance at them. |
| Pre-requisite: | One History module at level 9 or 10. Not available to students who have completed HIS9F4. |
| Assessment: | The grade is based on an essay of 3000 words (45%), a two-hour examination (45%) and oral work (10%). |
MODULE HIS9U6: Radicalism to Labourism: Popular Politics, 1800-1914
Module Content: This module provides an analysis of the development of radical and working class politics from the early nineteenth century through to the outbreak of World War One. Topics covered include radicalism; trade unions and the law; Robert Owen; the Queen Caroline affair; campaigns for reform; Chartism; popular liberalism; socialism; the formation of the Labour Party; women's suffrage.
Learning Outcomes: The module aims to provide students with an understanding of working class, or popular, efforts both to challenge and secure representation within the political system. Particular concern is paid to political issues and events and how these impacted upon and were influenced by radicals, chartists, socialists, trade unions, suffragists, the Labour Party and other organisations. A full description of the learning outcomes of the module is provided in the module handout.
Module Literature:
Recommended texts are:
- Adelman, P., The Rise of the Labour Party 1880-1945.
- Belchem, J., Popular Radicalism in Nineteenth Century Britain.
- Belchem, J., Industrialisation and the Working Class, the English Experience 1750-1900.
- Dinwiddy, J.R., From Luddism to the First Reform Bill, 1810-1832.
- Joyce, P., Visions of the People: Industrial Reform and the Question of Class, 1840-1914.
- Kirk. N., Change, Continuity and Class: Labour in British Society 1850-1920.
- Pelling, H., A History of British Trade Unionism.
- Pelling, H., A Short History of the Labour Party.
- Powell, D., British Politics and the Labour Question, 1868-1990.
- Rule, J., The Labouring Classes in Early Industrial England, 1750-1850.
- Thompson, E.P., The Making of the English Working Class.
- Thorpe, A., A History of the British Labour Party.
Note: This module is not available in Spring 2009.
| HIS9U6 | Radicalism to Labourism: Popular Politics, 1800-1914 |
|---|---|
| Module Structure: | There are no lectures. The module is taught through a series of two-hour weekly seminars. Attendance at seminars is compulsory and preparation essential. All seminars are prescribed classes since students are assessed for their oral performance at them. |
| Pre-requisite: | One History module at level 9 or 10. Not available to students who have completed HIS9H4 or HIS99H. |
| Assessment: | The grade is based on an essay of 3000 words (45%), a two-hour examination (45%) and oral work (10%). |
MODULE HIS9C7: Britain and Europe, 1914-1975
Module Content: The module examines Britain’s experience of two world wars; changes in her position in the world economy; her attempts to maintain her position as a world power, both through diplomacy and armed preparedness; and finally her decision to apply for membership of the European Community.
Learning Outcomes: The module aims to provide students with an understanding in depth of the evolution of Britain from the status of an imperial world power to that of a member of the European Community, paying particular attention to diplomatic, economic, financial, and military factors, and to enable them to assume personal intellectual responsibility in the definition of problems, the formulation of arguments, and the identification of sources. A full description of the learning outcomes of the module is provided in the module handout.
Module Literature:
- B.W.E. Alford, Britain and the World Economy since 1880 (1996).
- P.M.H. Bell, France and Britain 1900-1940. Entente and Estrangement (1996): France and Britain 1940-1994. The Long Separation (1997).
- P.J. Cain and A.G. Hopkins, British Imperialism: Crisis and Deconstruction, 1914-1990 (1993).
- D. Gowland and A. Turner (eds.), Britain and European Integration 1945-1998: A Documentary History (2000).
- D. Reynolds, Britannia Overruled: British Policy and World Power in the 20th Century (2000).
- J.W. Young, Britain and the World in the Twentieth Century (1997).
Note: This module is not available in Autumn 2008/Spring 2009.
| HIS9C7 | Britain and Europe, 1914-1975 |
|---|---|
| Module Structure: | There are no lectures. The module will be taught through weekly seminars, each lasting three hours. Attendance is compulsory and preparation essential. All seminars are prescribed classes since students are assessed for their oral performance at them. |
| Pre-requisite: | The module is restricted to 4th-year Honours students. |
| Assessment: | The grade is based on three essays of up to 4000 words (together 50%), two two-hour examinations (together 40%) and oral work (10%). |
MODULE HIS9F7: Britain in the Age of the American and French Revolutions
Module Content: The module is likely to include the following topics: British politics in the mid-eighteenth century, the British government and the American Revolution, the Opposition and the Friends of America, public opinion and extra-parliamentary politics, Britain and the war for America, the 1780s: peace and the consequences of war, Edmund Burke, Thomas Paine, radicals and revolutionaries, the Pitt administration and its successors, popular conservatism and militant loyalism, the Opposition Whigs, public opinion and popular protest, religious responses, Ireland, George III, and Britain in the Age of Revolutions.
Learning Outcomes: The module aims to provide an understanding of the development of British parliamentary and popular politics c.1760-1815, through the consideration of British responses to the revolutions in, and wars against, America and France; and to enable students to assume personal intellectual responsibility in the definition of problems, the formulation of arguments and the identification of sources. A full description of the learning outcomes of the module is provided in the module handout.
Module Literature:
The following will provide a useful introduction to the module:
- H.T. Dickinson (ed.), Britain and the American Revolution (1998).
- Colin Bonwick, English Radicals and the American Revolution (1977).
- Ian R. Christie, Wars and Revolutions: Britain 1760-1815 (1982).
- Paul Langford, A Polite and Commercial People: England 1727-1783 (1989).
- H.T. Dickinson (ed.), Britain and the French Revolution 1789-1815 (1989).
- Clive Emsley, British Society and the French Wars 1793-1815 (1979).
- Linda Colley, Britons: Forging the Nation 1707-1837 (1992).
- Stephen Conway, The British Isles and the War of American Independence (2000).
Note: This module is not available in Autumn 2008/Spring 2009.
| HIS9F7 | Britain in the Age of the American and French Revolutions |
|---|---|
| Module Structure: | There are no lectures. The module is studied through eighteen weekly seminars, each lasting three hours. Seminar discussions will be based on both secondary and primary source material. Attendance is compulsory and preparation essential. All seminars are prescribed classes since students are assessed for their oral performance at them. |
| Pre-requisite: | The module is restricted to 4th-year Honours students. |
| Assessment: | The grade is based on three essays of up to 4000 words (together 50%), two two-hour examinations (together 40%) and oral work (10%). |
MODULE HIS9G7: Immigration to Britain, c. 1880-1971
Module Content: This module examines the social and political impact of immigration to Britain during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Topics covered include patterns of immigration from the 1880s to 1970s; Government and public responses to immigration; the Aliens Act, 1905; anti-alienism and anti-semitism; experiences of specific immigrant groups (including Irish, Jews, Germans, Poles, Russians, Chinese, Italians and Afro-Caribbeans); responses to immigrants during wartime; post-war immigration from Europe and the New Commonwealth; government restriction of immigration from 1962-1971.
Learning Outcomes: The module aims to provide students with an understanding of the causes, course and consequences, of immigration to Britain in the period, allowing the assessment of the views of immigrants themselves, the response of public, state agencies and government to the new arrivals. The module enables students to assume personal intellectual responsibility in the definition of problems, the formulation of arguments and the identification of sources. A full description of the learning outcomes of the module is provided in the module handout.
Module Literature:
- Colin Holmes, John Bull's Island: Immigration and British Society 1871-1971 (Macmillan, 1988).
- P. Leese et. al., The British Immigrant Experience, 1700-2000: an anthology (2002).
- Panikos Panayi, Immigration, Ethnicity and Racism in Britain 1815-1945 (Manchester University Press, 1994).
- P. Panayi, The Impact of Immigration: a documentary history of the effects and experiences of immigrants in Britain since 1945 (MUP, 1999).
- K. Paul, Whitewashing Britain (1997).
- Ian Spencer, British Immigration Policy Since 1939: the making of multi-cultural Britain (Routledge, 1997).
| HIS9G7 | Immigration to Britain, c. 1880-1971 |
|---|---|
| Module Structure: | There are no lectures. The module will be taught through weekly seminars, each lasting three hours. Students are expected to participate in all seminar discussions and to present formal papers of their own. Primary source materials will be used in all seminars. Attendance is compulsory and preparation essential. All seminars are prescribed classes since students are assessed for their oral performance at them. |
| Pre-requisite: | The module is restricted to 4th-year Honours students. |
| Assessment: | The grade is based on three essays of up to 4000 words (together 50%), two two-hour examinations (together 40%) and oral work (10%). |
MODULE HIS9W7: Gladstone Studies
Module Content: The module explores the personal development and political career of W.E.Gladstone (1809-1898). It interweaves the study of a single individual with an examination of Victorian politics. It evaluates the background of the young man, his early religious ideas, his Tory political activities, the emergence of his commitment to economic retrenchment, his attitude to foreign affairs, the nature of his engagement with parliamentary reform, his scholarly and cultural activities, his family and private life, his first administration as Prime Minister, his international and colonial policies, his mature religious thought and practice, his role as Liberal Party leader, his second administration, his involvement with the Irish question and his campaign for Home Rule. Seminar topics are: Introduction, Family Background and Education, Early Religion, Tory Politics, Retrenchment, Peace and War in Europe, Reform, Scholarship and Taste, Family and Private Life, First Administration, International and Colonial Policy, Religious Activities, Relations with the Liberal Party, Second Administration, Ireland, Home Rule Campaign, Assessment, Revision.
Learning Outcomes: The module aims to provide an understanding of the personal and political activities in their context of W. E. Gladstone (1809-98), four times Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and to enable students to assume personal intellectual responsibility in the definition of problems, the formulation of arguments and the identification of sources. A full description of the learning outcomes of the module is provided in the module handout.
Module Literature:
Useful introductory works that are worth buying:
- D. W. Bebbington, William Ewart Gladstone: faith and politics in Victorian Britain, Eerdmans (U.S.), 1993.
- Roy Jenkins, Gladstone, Macmillan, 1995.
- Philip Magnus, Gladstone: a biography, John Murray, 1954 (out of print, but often available second-hand).
- H. C. G. Matthew, Gladstone, 1809-1898, Clarendon Press, 1998.
- John Morley, The Life of William Ewart Gladstone, Macmillan, 1903 (out of print, but often available second-hand).
| HIS9W7 | Gladstone Studies |
|---|---|
| Module Structure: | There are no lectures. The subject is studied through weekly seminars, each lasting three hours in both the autumn and the spring semester. Course members each report on a weekly reading assignment, which is then discussed by the whole group. At the end of each seminar an original document such as a speech or set of diary entries by Gladstone is carefully examined. There is at one point a video presentation. Attendance is compulsory and preparation essential. All seminars are prescribed classes since students are assessed for their oral performance at them. |
| Pre-requisite: | The module is restricted to 4th-year Honours students. |
| Assessment: | The grade is based on three essays of up to 4000 words (together 50%), two two-hour examinations (together 40%) and oral work (10%). |
