Unit name | Rewriting Modern Britain |
---|---|
Unit code | HISTM0079 |
Credit points | 20 |
Level of study | M/7 |
Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
Unit director | Dr. Charnock |
Open unit status | Not open |
Pre-requisites |
N |
Co-requisites |
N |
School/department | Department of History (Historical Studies) |
Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
Many of the narratives previously used to tell the history of modern Britain have been called into question by a decade of political and social turbulence. At the same time, a wave of new approaches, sources, and methodologies has begun to push the field in new directions. The result is that many areas of Modern British history are once again being ‘rewritten’.
In this unit, we will explore two aspects of this move to ‘rewrite’ Britain’s recent past. Firstly, we will consider how intellectual, social, political, economic, and cultural developments have shed new light on classic debates such as the rise of social democracy and the existence or otherwise of a ‘sexual revolution’. How credible do some of the best-known narratives of modern Britain look today, and how might recent work change our understanding of them further?
Secondly, we will investigate how fresh approaches, methods, and sources, including those used to study other periods and disciplines, are enabling us to tell new stories about Modern Britain. We will explore emerging sub-fields, such as histories of emotion, enterprise, rhetoric and activism, and ask what these approaches tell us about what it means to be a historian working in the field today.
The unit therefore aims to:
On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:
Teaching will be delivered through a combination of synchronous and asynchronous sessions, including group seminar-style discussion and self-directed exercises.
One summative essay of 5000 words (100%). [ILOs 1-5]
James Vernon, Modern Britain': 1750 to the present (2017).
David Edgerton, The 'Rise and F'all of the British 'N'ation (2018).
Lesley Hall, Sex, Gender and Social Change in Britain since 1880 (2013).
Florence Sutcliffe-Braithwaite, Class, Politics, and the Decline of D'eference in England, 1968-2000 (2018).
Judith Walkowitz, Nights out': Life in C'osmopolitan London (2012).