MO3309 The Evolution of British Democracy, 1832-1918
   
Lecturer Dr Barbara Gribling   (St Katharine's Lodge, room 1.18)
   
Credits 30
   
Availability 2011-2012 - semester 2
   
Class Hour view timetable
   
Description The nineteenth and early twentieth-centuries saw the growth of the British population, a movement into cities, industrialization, war and empire building. It was also a time of significant shifts in political processes and institutions: the general populace came to see themselves as wielding political influence; and their power was gradually recognised in a series of reforms.  This course will explore how dynamic social shifts played out in parliament as the public vied for a larger political voice.  Inside the Houses of Parliament, we will evaluate the workings of the new party politics, while outside, we will analyse popular reactions to those in power through an examination of Chartists and Radicals. We will consider art, literature, newspapers, popular oratory, political cartoons and speeches to investigate changing attitudes towards authority.
   
Basic Reading
  • Michael Bentley, Politics Without Democracy, 1815-1914 (2nd ed. 1996)
  • Jonathan Parry, The Rise and Fall of Liberal Government in Victorian Britain (1993)
  • Miles Taylor, Ernest Jones, Chartism, and the Romance of Politics 1819-1869 (2003)
  • Peter Mandler, Authority in Victorian Britain (2006)
   

Course Structure

1. Politics in the Age of Pitt and Fox
2.1832: Significant for What?
3.The Political Experience: Whigs/Liberals and Conservatives
4. Popular Politics in the Age of Reform (1)
5. 1867: Origins and Outcomes
6. Party Management and Possibility, 1867-80
7. 1884 Urban Conspiracies and Rural Politics
8. The World of Lord Salisbury
9. Popular Politics in the Age of Reform (2)
10. Labour and New Liberalism
11. 1918: The Impact of the First World War
   
Assessment 60% examination - 3-hour paper
40% coursework – 2 pieces of assessed written work and 1 oral presentation
   

Learning Outcomes
  • Demonstrate an understanding of key events and significant developments in British political history
  • Display an awareness of the views and activities of the various groups who participated in Victorian politics
  • Critically assess a range of primary sources including newspapers, popular oratory and political speeches
  • Evaluate the historiographical debates about the writing of political history
   
Restrictions Anti-requisite: “Ideas and Ideologies in Victorian Britain” (MO3310)