EHIS 226 - Imperialism to the Beatles - Modern Britain, 1714–Present 3 s.h.

This course will study British history from 1714 to the present. It will focus on the world’s first industrial revolution, the emergence of British parliamentary democracy, the rise of Britain as major industrial power with a global empire in the nineteenth century and its decline in the twentieth century. A special theme in this course will be the evolution of the British sense of identity during three centuries of continuous social, political, economic and cultural change. Topics to be discussed will include the rise and decline of the aristocracy; the exploitation of the working classes and its resistance to industrialism; working-class culture; the struggle for parliamentary reform; the family, and men and women’s sex roles; the struggle for women’s rights; the growth of the British empire; the importance of imperialism to British society and culture; the world wars; the rise of mass consumerism; the Great Depression; the impact of the enfranchisement of women; the rise of the Labour Party, decolonization; the post- 1945 consensus; the Thatcher Revolution and New Labour. Pass/Fail Option. Offered irregularly.
LA
Prerequisite(s): SoS or 3 s.h. 100-level HIST course.