HTS 3035 R

Britain From 1815 To 1914

 

 

Professor A. W. Giebelhaus                                                                                                                        Worcester College, Oxford University

Georgia Tech Oxford Study Abroad Program                                                                                            Summer 2005

June 27 -August 6                                                                                                                                          M, T, W, Th

 

                This course will investigate major themes in the economic, political, and social history of Great Britain in the new industrial era.  Among the topics covered will be the British model of industrialization, the emergence of a working class consciousness, Parliamentary and political reform, economy and society in Victorian Britain, nineteenth century imperialism, and Edwardian society on the eve of the First World War.  Course evaluation will include a midterm examination, an out-of-class essay on some aspect of Victorian or Edwardian Britain (5-7 typed, double spaced pages), and a final exam, each worth 30% of your final grade.  There will be no formal group field trip, but students will be required to visit three industrial sites or museums in Oxford and London on their own to fulfill course requirements. Each student will have to make three site visits from a list provided.  This list will include the Oxford Science Museum, London's Victoria and Albert Museum, the pedestrian tunnel under the Thames and the Greenwich Observatory, the Oxford canal lock system, Tower Bridge including the machinery and hydraulic exhibit, and the Kensington Science Museum, among others.  Short visitation reports on these trips averaged together will constitute 10% of the final grade. The larger out-of-class essay will be on a topic that is approved by the instructor, and will be due at the end of the sixth week in Oxford.  You will have access to the Oxford Public Library as well as the ability to conduct internet research at the computer center for research on these essays.

 

Georgia Tech Honor Code:

                Even though we will be off campus, students in this class will be expected to abide by the honor code and avoid any instances of academic misconduct including but not limited to: 1) possessing, using, or exchanging improperly acquired written or oral information in the preparation of an exam or paper; 2) substitution of material that is wholly or substantially identical to that created or published by another individual or individuals; 3) false claims of performance or work that has been submitted by the student. 

 

Required Reading:

Asa Briggs, Victorian People: A Reassessment of Persons and Themes, 1851-67 (University of Chicago Press, 1975), ISBN: 0-226-07448-9, paperback.

George Dangerfield, The Strange Death of Liberal England (Stanford Univ. Pre                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

Eric J. Evans, The Forging of the Modern State: Early Industrial Britain, 1783-1870 (Longman, third edition, 2001), ISBN: 0-582-47267-9, paperback.

Jonathan Schneer, London1900: The Imperial Metropolis (Yale University Press, 2001), ISBN: 0-300-08903

 

 

Course Outline:

 

Week 1: June 27-30

I. The British Model of the “Industrial Revolution”

A. Overview of British History and Background to Industrialization

B. Textiles, Iron, Chemicals, and Steam Power

                C. The "Revolution" Consolidated in Victorian Britain

                D. Agriculture, Industry, and the Free Trade Issue

Reading:  Evans, pp. 1-127; Briggs, chs. 1, 2

 

Week 2: July 4-7

II. The Human Results of the Industrialization              

                A. Social and Urban Problems

                B. The 19th Century Standard of Living: An Historiographical Debate

                C. The Emergence of the British Working Class

                D. The Poor Laws: History and Continuing Debate

Reading: Evans, pp. 128-83; Briggs, chs. 4, 5

 

Visitation Report #1 due July 7

 

Week 3: July 11-14

III: The Course of Reform

                A. The Political Context: Tories and Liberals

                B. Parliamentary Response: The Great Reform Bill

                C. Socialism and Trade Unionism

                D. The Chartist Movement

Reading: Evans, pp. 184-284; Briggs, chs.  7, 8

 

Week 4: July 18-21

IV. Victorian Society and Culture

                A. The Triumph of the Middle Class

                B. The Role of Education

                C. Religion and British Life

                D. The Political Realm

Reading: Evans, pp. 285-381; Briggs, chs. 6, 9

 

Visitation Report #2 Due July 21

 

Week 5: July 25-28

V. Industry and Empire

                A. The Imperial Idea

                B. Commercial and Industrial Rivalry

                C. The City of London

                D. The Boer War

Reading: Schneer, pp. 1- 118; Briggs, ch. 3

 

Visitation Report #3 Due July 28

 

Week 6: August 1-4

VI. Britain at Mid-Century and the Coming of War

                A. The Irish Question

                B. The Women's Rebellion

                C. The Emergence of the Labour Party

                D. Edwardian Society

Reading: Schneer, pp. 119-263, Briggs, chs. 10, 11

 

Outside Essays Due August 4

 

August 5-6: Final Exams (Time to be Announced)