- Department: History
- Credit value: 20 credits
- Credit level: I
- Academic year of delivery: 2024-25
Eighteenth-century Britain felt the pressures of profound political developments and crises both at home and abroad. The “Glorious revolution” (1689) saw a Catholic king sent into exile, replaced by a protestant husband and wife team, and heralded a new relationship between crown, parliament and public. Revolutions in America and France challenged Britain’s place in the world. Acts of union made Britain itself a new entity. With these changes came new regional and national identities, political tensions and questions about representation. Newspapers contributed to public debates, caricaturists pilloried those in power and many groups of people clamoured for representation and reform.
This course examines this varied political picture. Taking a thematic approach we will examine big questions, such as the relationship between parliament and monarchy, constitutional developments and the impact of revolutions. However, we will also ask what constitutes politics and political history? Where should we look to find political ideas, ideologies and movements? We will explore a range of primary source materials to address these questions, from criminal court trials to caricatures, to consider the much broader political cultures beyond parliament.
Occurrence | Teaching period |
---|---|
A | Semester 1 2024-25 |
The aims of this module are:
Students who complete this module successfully will:
Students will attend a 1-hour briefing in week 1. Students will then attend a 1-hour plenary/lecture and a 2-hour seminar in weeks 2-4, 6-8 and 10-11 of semester 1. Weeks 5 & 9 are Reading and Writing Weeks (RAW) during which there are no seminars. Students prepare for and participate in eight 1-hour plenaries/lectures and eight 2-hour seminars in all.
Seminar topics are subject to variation, but are likely to include the following:
Task | % of module mark |
---|---|
Essay/coursework | 100 |
None
For formative assessment, students will complete a referenced 1200 to 1500-word essay relating to the themes and issues of the module. This will be submitted in either the Week 5 or Week 9 RAW week (on the day of the weekly seminar).
For summative assessment, students will complete an Assessed Essay (2000 words, footnoted). This will comprise 100% of the overall module mark.
Summative assessments will be due in the assessment period.
Task | % of module mark |
---|---|
Essay/coursework | 100 |
Following their formative assessment task, students will typically receive written feedback that will include comments and a mark within 10 working days of submission.
Work will be returned to students in their seminars and may be supplemented by the tutor giving some oral feedback to the whole group. All students are encouraged, if they wish, to discuss the feedback on their formative work during their tutor’s student hours. For more information, see the Statement on Feedback.
For the summative assessment task, students will receive their provisional mark and written feedback within 25 working days of the submission deadline. The tutor will then be available during student hours for follow-up guidance if required. For more information, see the Statement of Assessment.
For term time reading, please refer to the module VLE site. Before the course starts, we encourage you to look at the following items of preliminary reading: