Module Information

The module will provide an overview of the range and themes of environmental protest in Britain since the early nineteenth century. It will identify continuities between protests of the nineteenth century and the contemporary environmental movement, which emerged in the 1970s. Public protests in response to industrial pollution, destruction and degradation of the countryside, lack of regulation over house building and waste disposal will be examined. The establishment of significant environmental bodies will be explored, including the National Trust, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England, the National Society for Clean Air, Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace. The emergence of climate change as a dominant issue will be discussed and compared to earlier environmental crises.

This module introduces students to the history of environmental protest in Britain, focusing on nineteenth and twentieth century protest movements. It will explore well-known topics, including industrial revolution, urbanization, the impact of war, and the creation of the welfare state from the innovative perspective of environmental change, examining protests that emerged in response to technological and social transformation. This module takes a social history approach, asking how people expressed their resistance to changes perceived as damaging to the environment and human health, and whether their protests were effective.