The Second World War and Social Change in Britain, 1939-1951: Went The Day Well
| Code | School | Level | Credits | Semesters |
| HIST2023 | History | 2 | 20 | Autumn UK |
- Code
- HIST2023
- School
- History
- Level
- 2
- Credits
- 20
- Semesters
- Autumn UK
Summary
This module surveys and analyses social change in Britain during and after the Second World War, up to the end of the Attlee’s Labour government in 1951. Key issues include:
- changing gender roles and expectations
- the experience and impact of rationing, bombing, conscription, voluntary service and direction by central government
- historiographical debates about whether Britain was united against a common enemy
- propaganda, mass communication and the management of information
- planning for a post-war world, including the creation of the National Health Service and the reform of the education system
- post-war reconstruction of cities
- reactions to the Holocaust, atomic weaponry, returning service personnel, returning Prisoners of War
- post-war austerity
- representations of the period and the construction of memory.
Target Students
Studentsmust have taken HIST1001orHIST1002. Also available to Liberal Arts students and exchange students hosted by the Department of History.
Classes
- One 1-hour seminar each week for 10 weeks
- One 2-hour lecture each week for 10 weeks
Assessment
- 50% Coursework 1: Individually assessed coursework item (2,500 words)
- 50% Coursework 2: Individually assessed coursework item (2,500 words)
Assessed by end of autumn semester
Educational Aims
To provide students with a framework for understanding the changes and continuities in British society during and after the Second World War, knowledge of the background factors which influenced popular experiences of war on the Home Front as well as post-war austerity and reconstruction, and an understanding of the historiographical debates surrounding the subject, and through this to develop the intellectual and transferable skills outlined below.Learning Outcomes
a. Knowledge and understanding.
By the end of the module students should be able to:
• explain and interpret the major underlying forces that shaped the experience of the Second World War and post-war reconstruction
• evaluate forces of change and continuity at work within the period
b. Intellectual skills.
By the end of the module students should be able to:
• think critically and imaginatively about the subject matter
• identify and address key problems relevant to it
• interpret secondary sources on the subject matter and be aware of differing historical interpretations
• construct coherent and independent historical arguments
c. Professional/practical skills.
The module will develop students ability to:
• select, sift and synthesize information from a range of secondary sources
• identify and compare key arguments in those materials
• plan, research and write up sustained pieces of historical research
• use IT to access historical sources and information
d. Transferable skills.
The module will develop students ability to:
• undertake research projects
• manage a large and disparate body of information
• develop oral and written communication skills
• work and learn actively with others
• manage and take responsibility for their own learning
• respect the reasoned views of others