Module Identifier WH35130  
Module Title LEISURE AND POPULAR CULTURE IN WALES, C1850-1939  
Academic Year 2005/2006  
Co-ordinator Dr Owen G Roberts  
Semester Intended for use in future years  
Next year offered N/A  
Next semester offered N/A  
Mutually Exclusive HC35130 , MW35120  
Course delivery Lecture   Timetabled with MW 35120  
  Seminars / Tutorials    
Assessment
Assessment TypeAssessment Length/DetailsProportion
Semester Exam3 Hours  60%
Semester Assessment 1 x 2,500 word essay 1 x 4,000 word essay40%

Learning outcomes

On completion of this module, students should be able to:
a. critically assess the corpus of historical evidence relating to leisure and popular culture
b. understand the historical issues surrounding the study of leisure and the working class
c. understand various historical approaches to the subject
d. place the experience of Wales within a British and European context
e. read, understand and evaluate primary evidence
f. develop and sustain historical argument
g. find and use historical sources
h. work independently and in collaboration with others, and to take part in group discussions

Brief description

The module will begin by tracing the rise of leisure during the second half of the Victorian period, and will examine the growth of seaside and other holiday resorts. Various forms of working-class recreation will be considered, including pubs, music and sport. The module will also consider the response of the middle class and the authorities to new recreational forms, and attempts to provide more `rational? and moral recreation through public parks and libraries. The course will trace the development of recreation and popular culture into the early twentieth century, examining in particular the rise of the cinema, and the relationship between sport and national identity. The course will place the unique experience of Wales within a British and European context.

Reading Lists

Books
** Recommended Text
Cunningham, H. (1990) `Leisure and culture?, in F. M. L. Thompson, The Cambridge Social History of Britain, 1750-1950
Bailey, P (1997) Leisure and Class in Victorian England Routledge
Croll, Andy (2000) Civilizing the Urban. Popular Culture and Public Space in Merthyr, c. 1870-1914 Cardiff, UWP
Lambert, W (1983) Drink and Sobriety in Victorian Wales Cardiff, UWP
Walton, J. K. and Walvin, J. (eds.) (1983) Leisure in Britain, 1780-1939 Manchester UP
Meller, H. E. (1976) Leisure and the Changing City, 1870-1914 London
Cunningham, H (1980) Leisure in the Industrial Revolution, c. 1780-1880 London, Croom Helm
Holt, R (1990) Sport and the British OUP
Holt, R. (ed.) (1990) Sport and the Working Class in Modern Britain Manchester
Cunningham, H. (1985) `Leisure?, in J. Benson (ed.), The Working-Class in England, 1875-1914 London
Walvin, J (1978) Leisure and Society, 1830-1950
Williams, Gareth W (1998) Valleys of Song. Music and Society in Wales, 1840-1914 Cardiff
Williams, Gareth W (1991) 1905 and all that. Essays on Rugby Football, Sport and Welsh Society Llandysul

Articles
Stead, P (1988) Amateurs and professionals in the cultures of Wales?, in G. H. Jenkins and J. B. Smith (eds.), Politics and Society in Wales, 1840-1922 Cardiff
Reid, Douglas A (2000) `Playing and Praying? in Daunton, Martin (ed.), The Cambridge Urban History of Britain, vol 3. Cambridge

Notes

This module is at CQFW Level 6