Module Identifier HYM3930  
Module Title THE BRITISH ISLES IN THE AGE OF REVOLUTIONS  
Academic Year 2007/2008  
Co-ordinator Dr David Ceri Jones  
Semester Semester 1  
Other staff Dr Eryn M White, Dr Martyn J Powell  
Mutually Exclusive HYM2030 , HYM8030 , HYM6030 , HYM4030  
Course delivery Seminars / Tutorials   Introduction and 6 x 2 hour seminars  
Assessment
Assessment TypeAssessment Length/DetailsProportion
Semester Assessment 2 X 3,500 WORD ESSAYS OF EQUAL VALUE  100%
Supplementary Assessment NEW ESSAYS ON DIFFERENT TOPICS TO THOSE FAILED  100%

Learning outcomes

On completion of this module, students should be able to.
1. Demonstrate an understanding of the relevant historiography of the British Isles during the long eighteenth century.

Identify the criteria used by historians for making valid comparisons between the historical experiences of the different countries of the British Isles.

Discuss the interpretative problems and prospects associated with this topic.

Illustrate, analyse and evaluate historical writing concerned with the British Isles in this period in an extended written discussion.

Brief description

The aim of the proposal is to provide students with the opportunity to study the histories of the constituent countries of the British Isles during the long eighteenth century, which is broadly the period from 1660-1800. It adopts the paradigm of revolutions, and argues that the British Isles experienced numerous `revolutions'; political, cultural, religious and intellectual, during the course of the century.

Aims

We will draw on the expertise and research interests of staff in the Department of History and Welsh History to offer an MA that targets those postgraduate students who wish to study the history of eighteenth-century Britain as an integrated whole, whilst at the same time enabling them to specialize in the history of England, Ireland, Scotland or Wales within that context.

Content

Introduction: plus six from the following (depending on staff availability):
1. Democratic revolution
2. Consumer revolution
3. Religious revival(s)
4. Intellectual revolution: from the Enlightenment to Romanticism
5. Family, sex and marriage
6. Culture and politeness
7. Urban and industrial revolutions
8. Imperial contraction and expansion

Module Skills

Problem solving Demonstrating an understanding of the nature of a comparative analytical approach, and how this approach can be applied to the study of the constituent countries and cultures of the British Isles across this particular period.  
Research skills Mainly concerns the location of secondary material. Assessed through the essays.  
Communication Seminar discussion and essay writing. The latter is formally assessed.  
Improving own Learning and Performance Seminar and tutorial discussion; tutors' feedback.  
Team work Seminar work  
Information Technology Locating some journal articles electronically. Surveying the historiography of the subject using various search tools. Essay-writing and presentation  
Personal Development and Career planning Studying the module puts students in direct contact with librarians at the National Library and elsewhere in the course of researching essays and considering research projects undertaken over recent years at NLW and elsewhere in Aberystwyth.  
Subject Specific Skills Develop a knowledge of, and familiarity with, a broad range of historical writing relating to the various themes prominent in eighteenth-century Britain.  

Notes

This module is at CQFW Level 7