Module Information
Course Delivery
Delivery Type | Delivery length / details |
---|---|
Lecture | 18 x 50-minute lectures |
Seminars / Tutorials | 5 seminars (50 minutes) individual essay tutorials of 10-15 minutes |
Assessment
Assessment Type | Assessment length / details | Proportion |
---|---|---|
Semester Assessment | 1 X 2,500 WORD ESSAY | 30% |
Semester Assessment | 1 x 2,500 word essay | 30% |
Semester Exam | 2 Hours 2 question closed examination | 70% |
Semester Exam | 2 Hours CLOSED EXAMINATION | 70% |
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this module students should be able to:
Identify the key social and economic changes in contemporary British history.
Demonstrate a sound knowledge of the major historiographical debates of post-1945 British social history.
Demonstrate an ability to use and reflect critically upon a range of relevant primary and secondary material.
Express understanding, in written (assessed) and oral forms (unassessed), within an academic context.
Demonstrate an ability to work independently and collaboratively.
Demonstrate the skills appropriate to the study of contemporary British history and produce work in a professional manner.
Brief description
The start of the twenty-first century has marked an opportunity to reflect on some of the key social and economic developments in the preceding century and to question how they impacted upon the lives of British people. Particular emphasis will be placed upon the effects of the rise in affluence and attitudes upon class, race, age and gender. Students will consider elements of continuity during the post-war world as well as examples of change and development. The module will focus upon the lifetime of the baby boomers and the transformation within society that this generation witnessed up until the millennium. Did the provision of welfare improve? Were educational opportunities and job prospects better by the end of the century? Students will question such issues and whether the rise of consumer society has made class redundant. They will explore whether the British public has become more tolerant in its attitude towards immigrants and ethnic minorities, homosexuality and women. How change could be resisted will also be explored.
Content
1. Introduction
2. The Aftermath of the Second World War
3. From the Cradle to the Grave? The Foundation of the Welfare State
4. Never Had it So Good: The Growth of Prosperity and the Affluent Worker
5. Comprehensives and Polytechnics: New Opportunities for the Working Class?
6. Flower Power! Youth Culture and the Sexual Revolution of the 1960s
7. Welcome to Britain?: From the Windrush to Race Riots
8. From the Fairer Sex to Fair Pay: Changes for Women in the 1970s
9. The Winter of Discontent: The Unions Show Their Power
10. The Final Shout of Industrial Britain: The Miners¿ Strikes, Protests and the End of the Staple Industries.
11. On Your Bike! Thatcherism
12. Yuppies vs the Upper Class: The Wealthy in the 1980s
13. Changes for the Working Class: Factories, Home Ownership and Culture
14. A Tolerant Nation? Attitudes to Britishness and Race in the 1980s and 1990s
15. Prosperity for all? Old Age and Poverty in Contemporary Britain
16. Generation X: The Beginning of the Naughties and the End of Traditional Values?
17. Consumer Britain: The End of Class Barriers?
18. Did `things only get better¿: British Society by the Twenty-First Century
Seminars:
1. Introduction
2. 1940s and 1950s: The rise of affluence and Post-War Welfare
3. 1960s: The Sexual Revolution and Gender
4. 1970s: Trade Unionism
5. 1980s: Race
6. 1990s: Consumerism and Class
Aims
This module will introduce students to contemporary British social and economic history. It will explore the key developments in post-war Britain including the foundation of a welfare state, the move from an industrial to a manufacturing economy, the growth of affluence and mass immigration. The response to such changes through protest, social movements and strikes is examined. The module introduces students to a number of key themes and concepts including class, race and gender. An understanding of these key historical themes will provide students with a solid foundation for future social history modules.
Module Skills
Skills Type | Skills details |
---|---|
Application of Number | |
Communication | Read a wide range of both primary and secondary texts; improve their listening skills during the lectures, and consequently develop skills in note taking; demonstrate and develop the ability to communicate ideas in two essays; skills in oral presentation will be developed in seminars but unassesed. |
Improving own Learning and Performance | Show awareness of own learning styles, personal preferences and needs; devise and apply realistic learning and self-management strategies; devise a personal action plan to include short and long-term goals and to develop personal awareness of how to improve on these. |
Information Technology | Students will be encouraged to locate suitable material on the web and to access information on CD-Roms and to apply it appropriately to their own work. Students will also be encouraged to word-process their work. Students will be encouraged to debate via Blackboard. These skills will not be formally assessed. |
Personal Development and Career planning | Develop awareness of personal skills, beliefs and qualities in relation to course in progression; plan and prepare for future course / career. |
Problem solving | Identify problems and factors which might influence potential solutions; develop creative thinking approaches to problem solving; evaluate advantages and disadvantages of potential solutions. |
Research skills | Understand a range of research methods and plan and carry out research; produce academically appropriate pieces of written work. |
Subject Specific Skills | Develop a knowledge of, and familiarity with, a range of different sources relevant to modern British history; develop the ability to use appropriate historical research tools effectively. |
Team work | Understand the concept of group dynamics; contribute to the setting of group goals; contribute effectively to the planning of group activities; play an active part in group activities (e.g. short group presentations in seminars); exercise negotiation and persuasion skills; evaluate group activities and own contribution. |
Notes
This module is at CQFW Level 4