Britain in the Age of Industry and& Empire
History 3000-A02
Tues./Thurs. 11:00-12:20
University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Fall 2005
Dr. Peter Thorsheim
Office: 136 Garinger; tel. 687-4874
Office Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 1-2, and by appointment
E-mail: pthorshe@uncc.edu
History Dept. Webpage:
www.history.uncc.edu
Cross section of the Thames Embankment at Charing Cross Station, London (1867)
For most of the century that spanned the defeat of Napoleon and the outbreak of the First World War, Britain possessed the largest industrial economy and the biggest empire that the world had ever seen. Yet London, which became the imperial capital to a quarter of the world’s people, also nurtured radicals who sought to overturn these very changes. This course explores this dynamic by focusing on three interconnected themes in nineteenth- and early twentieth-century-Britain: technological and environmental change, culture, and imperialism. In addition to reading recent scholarship and watching films, you will work with historical newspapers, magazines, and novels to develop your own interpretations of this fascinating period.
Hobsbawm, Eric. Industry and Empire: The Birth of the Industrial Revolution. New Press, 1999.
Matthew, Colin, ed. The Nineteenth Century: The British Isles, 1815-1901. Oxford University Press, 2000.
Morrison, Arthur. A Child of the Jago (1894). Academy Chicago, 1995.
Schneer, Jonathan. London 1900: The Imperial Metropolis. Yale University Press, 2001.
Recommended Book
Rampolla, Mary Lynn. A Pocket Guide to Writing in History, 4th ed. Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2004.
Internet Resources
Luckin, Bill. “‘The Heart and Home of Horror’: The Great London Fogs of the Late Nineteenth Century.” Social History 28, no. 1 (2003): 31-48.
Otter, Christopher. “Cleansing and Clarifying: Technology and Perception in Nineteenth-Century London.” Journal of British Studies 43, no. 1 (2004): 40-64, 157-60.
Reserve Readings (Marked ® below—available as hard copies and on reserves website)
“A Day at the Westminster Gasworks.” Penny Magazine 11 (1842): 81-88.
Dziewicki, M. H. “In Praise of London Fog.” Nineteenth Century 26 (Dec. 1889): 1047-55.
Hall, Lesley A. Sex, Gender, and Social Change in Britain since 1880. New York: St. Martin's, 2000.
Harrison, Frederic. “A Few Words about the Nineteenth Century.” Fortnightly Review 37 (1882): 411-26.
Ouida [Marie Louise de la Ramée]. “The Streets of London.” Woman’s World 1 (1887-88): 481-84.
Shee, George F. “The Deterioration in the National Physique.” Nineteenth Century 53 (1903): 797-805.
Sweet, Matthew. Inventing the Victorians. New York: Faber and Faber, 2002.
Thorsheim, Peter. “Green Space and Class in Imperial London.” In The Nature of Cities: Culture, Landscape, and Urban Space, edited by Andrew C. Isenberg, 25-37. University of Rochester Press, in press).
Grade Scale: A = 90 to 100%; B = 80 to 89%; C = 70 to 79%; D = 60 to 69%;
F = 0 to 59%.
Professionalism (10%). I expect you to arrive on time and stay for the entire class, and abide by the UNCC Code of Student Academic Integrity: http://www.uncc.edu/policystate/ps-105.html. If you have special needs that need accommodation, it is your responsibility to discuss them with me as soon as possible. Please let me know in advance if you will be absent or must come late or leave early. If you bring food or drink during class, it’s your responsibility to ensure that it doesn’t distract you or the rest of us and that you don’t make a mess.
Attendance and Participation (10%). Your class attendance and active participation in discussion are essential to your success in this course. I expect you to complete each day’s reading before class and be prepared to talk about it. Students with more than 5 unexcused absences will automatically fail this course.
6-8 Page Paper (20%). This assignment will be distributed in mid-September and will be due on November 22. Late papers will lose one full letter grade per day. Plagiarism will result in no credit for the assignment and possible additional penalties. For useful tips on research and writing, see the Student Help section of the UNCC History Department website and A Pocket Guide to Writing in History.
Three Exams (20% each). Exams are designed to test your mastery of both the assigned readings and material covered in class. Exams will be closed book, multiple option, and must be written in blue books (available for purchase in the bookstore). They will consist of relatively short-answer identification questions that ask you to identify a term, event, or person and explain its historical significance, as well as longer essay questions in which you use historical evidence to support a thesis. If you must miss a scheduled exam, contact me in advance to arrange a make-up time. In the unlikely event that you miss an exam because of a last-minute emergency, you must contact me the same day that the exam is given and provide acceptable documentation.
Topics and Reading Assignments
23 Aug Introduction
25 Aug The British Century (Sweet, ix-xxiii [handout], Matthew, 1-38)
Part I: Technological and Environmental Change
30 Aug Industrialization (Matthew, 41-82, Hobsbawm, 1-56)
1 Sept Work (Hobsbawm, 57-111)
6 Sept Globalization (Hobsbawm, 112-72)
8 Sept The Land (Matthew, 255-74; Hobsbawm, 173-84); paper assignment distributed
13 Sept The Networked City (“A Day at the Westminster Gasworks” ®; Otter [internet])
15 Sept Pollution (Dziewicki ®, Luckin [internet])
20 Sept Criticism of Technology (Harrison ®)
22 Sept First Exam
Part II: Victorian Culture
27 Sept Freak Shows—watch “The Elephant Man” (Sweet, 136-54 ®)
29 Sept Religion and Spirituality (Matthew, 195-227)
4 Oct Gender (Matthew, 163-93)
6 Oct Sexuality (Hall, 10-64 ®)
11 Oct Fall Break
13 Oct Politics (Matthew, 85-133)
18 Oct Literature and the Performing Arts (Matthew, 229-53)
20 Oct The Visual Arts (Matthew, 274-91)
Part III: Imperialism
25 Oct Second Exam
27 Oct Imperialism (Matthew, 135-60; Schneer, 3-36)
1 Nov The Imperial Metropolis (Ouida ®; Thorsheim ®)
3 Nov Fears of Degeneration (Shee ®; begin Morrison)
8 Nov Dockland (Schneer, 37-63)
10 Nov The City (Schneer, 64-92)
15 Nov Racism (Schneer, 93-115)
17 Nov Anglo and Irish Anti-Imperialists (Schneer, 162-83)
22 Nov Paper due; Class Divisions—watch “Howard’s End”
24 Nov Thanksgiving Break
29 Nov Indian and African Anti-Imperialists (Schneer, 184-226)
1 Dec The Anglo-Boer War (Schneer, 229-63; finish Morrison if you haven’t yet)
6 Dec Conclusions (Matthew, 293-99, Hobsbawm, 298-324; Sweet, 222-32 ®)
13 Dec Final Exam (12-2 pm)