HR103-4-SP-CO:
Hidden Histories: class, gender and the rise of British democracy
2017/18
History
Colchester Campus
Spring
Undergraduate: Level 4
Current
Monday 15 January 2018
Friday 23 March 2018
15
-
Requisites for this module
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As Orwell noted, history is written by the winners. He was talking about war between nation states, though the same could be said about the struggle between classes. Approaching the past from the losers' side, this module uncovers some radical ideas and practices that have often been overlooked in accounts of modern British history. It first goes back to the revolutionary years of the mid-seventeenth century to examine how radicals questioned dominant ideas about democratic rights and property ownership, some even advocating 'communism'. This period also witnessed fundamental questioning of the power imbalance between men and women, in the family and the private sphere as well as in the public. The focus then shifts to another period of rapid economic and social change that accompanied the growth of industrial capitalism in the nineteenth century. At this time, Chartists embraced the cause of democracy, while Owenite socialists reinvented 'communism' in a new context. Once again, radicals also spotlighted issues of power within the family and between genders.
The final part of the module examines the ways in which these earlier oppositional ideas and practices informed working-class culture and working-class institutions in the 20th century. The extent to which the modern labour movement continued but also attenuated radical understandings of democracy, property ownership and gender relations is discussed. The module concludes by analysing how what we might call the working-class alternative faced mounting criticism during the second half of the twentieth century, both from those on the socialist and feminist left who sympathised with its broad aims and from hostile groups who desired to consign it to historical oblivion.
No information available.
No information available.
No additional information available.
This module does not appear to have a published bibliography.
Assessment items, weightings and deadlines
| Coursework / exam |
Description |
Deadline |
Coursework weighting |
| Coursework |
Seminar Participation |
|
5% |
| Coursework |
Primary document analysis (1000 words) |
15/03/2018 |
35% |
| Coursework |
Essay (3000 words) |
26/04/2018 |
60% |
| Exam |
Main exam: 120 minutes during Summer (Main Period)
|
Exam format definitions
- Remote, open book: Your exam will take place remotely via an online learning platform. You may refer to any physical or electronic materials during the exam.
- In-person, open book: Your exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer to any physical materials such as paper study notes or a textbook during the exam. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, open book (restricted): The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer only to specific physical materials such as a named textbook during the exam. Permitted materials will be specified by your department. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, closed book: The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may not refer to any physical materials or electronic devices during the exam. There may be times when a paper dictionary,
for example, may be permitted in an otherwise closed book exam. Any exceptions will be specified by your department.
Your department will provide further guidance before your exams.
Overall assessment
Reassessment
Module supervisor and teaching staff
Belinda Waterman, Department of History, 01206 872313
Yes
Yes
No
No external examiner information available for this module.
Available via Moodle
Of 44 hours, 44 (100%) hours available to students:
0 hours not recorded due to service coverage or fault;
0 hours not recorded due to opt-out by lecturer(s).
History
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