Module Identifier HY12820  
Module Title MANNERS & MISDEMEANOURS:POLITE SOCIETY IN 18TH CENTURY ENGLA  
Academic Year 2002/2003  
Co-ordinator Dr Martyn J Powell  
Semester Semester 1  
Course delivery Lecture   18 Hours  
  Seminars / Tutorials   5 Hours Seminar.  
Assessment Semester Exam   2 Hours   60%  
  Semester Assessment   Essay: 2 x 2,500 word essays   40%  

Learning outcomes

On completion of this module, students should be able to:
a) Identify and explain the key historiographical debates concerning polite society and culture in eighteenth-century England.
b) Demonstrate their knowledge of polite society in eighteenth-century England.
c) Reflect critically on the social and cultural shifts that occurred in England during the eighteenth century.
d) Analyse and evaluate a range of primary sources related to eighteenth-century art and literature.
e) Gather and sift appropriate items of historical evidence.
f) Develop and sustain historical arguments – in both oral (not assessed) and written work.
g) Work both independently and collaboratively whilst being able to participate in group discussions (not assessed).

Brief description

This module will introduce the world of the eighteenth-century English aristocratic elite and middle classes. Though superficially a society characterised by elegance and refinement, in reality the English aristocracy was equally renowned for its vices: for gambling, drinking and debauchery, and it is the contrasts within this world of fashion and politeness that dominate this course. This option will also allow students to look at the intellectual climate of the age, the development of the urban world and the culture of commerce, the changing status of men and women, and how polite culture was reflected in art and literature. Students will be encouraged to think critically about the secondary literature: to appreciate different historians' points of view and examine their strengths and weaknesses. By the end of the course students will be expected to have developed their own views on the nature of polite society in eighteenth century England.