Unit name | Radicalism and Class in Britain 1760-1850 (Level H Special Subject) |
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Unit code | HIST37004 |
Credit points | 20 |
Level of study | H/6 |
Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
Unit director | Dr. Sheldon |
Open unit status | Not open |
Pre-requisites |
None |
Co-requisites |
None |
School/department | Department of History (Historical Studies) |
Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
Social and political life in Great Britain underwent great transformations between the 1760s and the 1840s. An increasingly urban and literate society came to engage in politics in novel ways and to make new claims; above all radicals pressed for a shift in the base of power away from aristocratic families and towards the people. Whilst reformers of the 1760s sought recognition for those in 'the middle station of life', artisan radicals of the 1790s held that 'every adult person, in possession of his reason should have a vote for a Member of Parliament'. In the 1830s, working class movements built the first national organisation that campaigned by means of mass protest for Parliamentary reform and an extension of the franchise in the form of the Chartist movement. We will make use of source materials ranging from autobiographies to radical publications through to parliamentary documents including the reports of spies.
Aims:
By the end of the unit students should have:
Seminars - 3 hours per week.
1 x 3500 word essay (50%) and 1 x 2 hour exam (50%)