PROFESSOR R. ADELSON
Office: Social Sciences Building, Room 230C
Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 12:00-2:00 p.m., and by appointment
Phone: 965-4594 (with voice mail) or leave message at History Dept.,
965-5778
E-mail: adelsonr@asu.edu
PURPOSE OF THE COURSE
This course surveys the British Isles and the British Empire from the
late 1600s to the present by analyzing four distinct "periods" of British
society:
1. Aristocratic Britain, from the 1680s to the 1780s, when society
was dominated by the aristocracy; the population grew steadily, but still
lived mainly in the countryside; great wealth was mostly derived from agriculture
and overseas trade, both of which expanded enormously during the 1700s;
religion, law, domestic and imperial politics were ruled by the crown and
oligarchy; culture reflected the preferences of the gentry as well as some
urban grandees; most people could be defined, according to the novelist
Henry Fielding, as "nobody."
2. Industrial Britain, from the 1790s to the 1870s, when aristocratic
domination was challenged by unprecedented industrial and urban developments;
entrepeneurial values and new classes appeared amidst explosive population
growth and shifts, with new industrial cities providing the impetus for
religious, legal, political, and imperial reforms as the ruling oligarchy
expanded and adapted itself to new opportunities from British wealth and
world power; the gap between rich and poor widened in some areas and narrowed
in others, as people identified more with their own kin and region than
with the nation or empire.
3. Metropolitan Britain, from the 1880s to the 1940s, when plutocratic
London dominated British finance, trade, empire, government, politics,
trade unions, media, and service industries; living conditions in huge
cities became much more crowded, despite lower birth rates, enormous emigration,
and war casualties; with depressed agricultural and industrial sectors,
finance and trade still flourished; political power remained in the hands
of elites despite a universal franchise and a mass opinion that identified
erratically with the empire; the gap between rich and poor widened, despite
some experimention with welfare programs.
4. Contemporary Britain, since the 1940s, when the British Isles
have been marked by suburban sprawl and new towns, with the populace more
fragmented, racially less homogeneous, and reduced deference towards elders
and "betters"; consumerism has driven a sluggish economy recovering from
costly wars, waves of de-colonization, the mismanagement of business and
industry, foreign take-overs and powerful unions; stable parliamentary
government, a popular monarchy, private schools, and public patronage of
the arts have persisted despite the omnipresent media, Americanization,
and the greater visibility of youth and popular culture.
REQUIRED READINGS
1. The Past Speaks, Sources and Problems in British History, Vol.
II: Since 1688, edited by Walter L. Arnstein, 2nd edition (Lexington,
Mass : D.C. Heath and Co., 1993), with many used copies available at the
campus and local books stores. Arnstein’s excellent anthology provides
students with hands-on experience working with the kinds of materials historians
use to understand the past.
2. William B. Willcox and Walter L. Arnstein, The Age of Aristocracy,
1688 to 1830, 7th edition (Lexington, Mass.: D.C. Heath and
Co., 1996), with some earlier, used editions acceptable, but not recommended.
3. Walter L. Arnstein, Britain Yesterday and Today, 1830 to the
Present, 7th edition (Lexington, Mass.: D.C. Heath and Co., 1996),
with some earlier, used editions acceptable, but not recommended.
LECTURES AND SLIDE PRESENTATIONS ON TUESDAYS
Professor Adelson assumes that students have read the pages in the texts that were assigned for that day on the class schedule. His lectures, abailable in outline form on his course website, provide information and interpretations that cannot be found in Arnstein’s texts, so students should take notes in class. Professor Adelson prefers not to be interrupted while lecturing on Tuesdays so he can get through the material to allow sufficient time at the end of his lecture for slides and other illustrative sources. He makes use of visual and aural material in order to suggest some of the regional variations, cultural styles, and class differences that are typical of Modern Britain and the British Empire. TAPE RECORDERS MAY BE USED BY DISABLED STUDENTS OR WITH PROFESSOR ADELSON’S PERMISSION.
DISCUSSIONS, QUIZZES, EXAMS AND IN-CLASS EXERCISES ON THURSDAYS
Student participation will be emphasized so as to break down some of
the barriers that can exist in large history courses that are dominated
by lectures. After students are invited to ask questions about the previous
class, Professor Adelson will conduct Thursday’s discussion based entirely
on the material assigned from the Arnstein anthology for that day. This
material students must read very carefully, with a dictionary at
hand, in order to make sure they understand the source. (In order to make
sure that students come to class prepared to discuss the readings from
the Arnstein anthology that are assigned for that day, there will be several
unannounced 10-minute quizzes over the pages assigned for Thursdays, based
on the questions posed by Arnstein in the introductions to each chapter.)
NO NOTES MAY BE USED WHILE TAKING EXAMS OR QUIZZES
I
n the last weeks of the course, there will be four in-class exercises
involving student role-playing and their identification with an individual
Briton of the Twentieth Century. Every student will take a part in one
of the following: an Edwardian "soap", a mock House of Commons debate on
Irish Home Rule in 1912, editorial meetings of left-wing and right-wing
partisan weeklies in the 1930s; a review of British popular music since
the Beatles, or an appraisal of the contemporary London press. Students
will be given their first choices when possible. Those who choose not to
participate in the role-playing must do two one-page type-written assessments
of two of the class presentations. Tuesday, April 30th, is the deadline
for turning in the written assessments of two of the five class presentations.
GRADES FOR UNDERGRADUATES
Professsor Adelson does not grade on a curve and is willing to give high marks to those students who do quality work: 90-100=A; 80-89=B; 70-79=C; 60-69=D; below 60=E. The average of the three mid-terms and final examination will comprise two-thirds of the grade. The final is not cumulative.
There will be no make-up examinations. If Professor Adelson excuses a student from taking an exam (before 9:00 a.m., the day of the exam), the scores for the other three exams will be averaged without the missed exam. If not so excused, students who miss that examination will have their lowest exam score doubled and then averaged with the other exams. Obviously, if a student has done well enough on the three mid-terms, s/he may exercise the option of not taking the final.
The last third of the grade is based on class participation, i.e., the quizzes over the Arnstein anthology (there are no make-ups for quizzes, but one missed or the lowest quiz score will be dropped in determining the quiz average); the performance in one of the in-class exercises, with all members of the group receiving the same score, or the one-page assessment of a class presentation; regular attendance is expected (records will be kept, with only two absences excused automatically during the entire semester).
GRADES FOR HONORS AND GRADUATE STUDENTS
Students taking the class for graduate credit must enroll as HIS 590
or 790, Reading and Conference course in Modern Britain. While doing all
the reading assigned to undergraduates, graduate students will prepare
the mid-terms and final as take-home examinations, which must be comprehensive
in content and polished in form (typewritten, double-spaced, with 1-inch
margins, no typographical errors).
Honors students must critique two books and graduate students four
books selected from the Arnstein bibliographies, The Age of Aristocracy,
pp. 333-349, and/or Britain Yesterday and Today, pp. 472-501, their
papers using the following format:
1. Full bibliographical entry--author’s full name; full title of book
(underlined or italicized); place of publication, publisher, date of publication
(in parentheses); nature and extent of bibliography; number of pages, illustrations,
etc.
2. A brief paragraph about the author’s background, education, professional
standing, and other publications.
3. A short summary of the book (not to exceed one page-long paragraph),
which outlines the scholarly treatment of the subject.
4. The main part of the critique consists of evaluating the book: its
strengths and weaknesses, such as documentation, interpretation, and style
of presentation. It is suggested that three or four points be selected
and each one be developed with a half-page-long paragraph. Specific parts
of the book that seem relevant should be cited, giving the page number
in parentheses afterwards, but not simply quoting long passages from the
book. Each critique is to be 3 to 4 pages in length.
The first critique is due on Thursday, March 7th; the other critique(s)
due on Tuesday, April 30th, with late papers penalized 10 points for
every day’s tardiness. Critiques will comprise 1/6 of the grade, with the
other 1/6 based on quiz scores and participation in in-class exercies or
the two written assessments of same; the remaining 2/3 of the grade is
based on the mid-term and final examination average.
Graduate students are expected to supplement the Arnstein texts and
Adelson lectures by familiarizing themselves with The Cambridge Social
History of Britain, 1750-1950, edited by F.M.L. Thompson, Volume
I: Regions and Communities; Volume II: People and their Environment;
Volume III: Social Agencies and Institutions; (Cambridge: The University
Press, 1990); The Oxford History of the British Empire, edited by
Wm. Roger Louis, Vol.I: The Origins of Empire; Vol. II: The Eighteenth
Century; Vol. III: The Ninteenth Century; Vol. IV: The Twentieth
Century; Vol. V: Historiography (Oxford: Oxford University Press,
1998-1999).
CLASS SCHEDULE AND READING ASSIGNMENTS
| Tues., Jan. 15: | Read Arnstein, Aristocracy, Chapters 1, 2, & 3
Lecture: The "Glorious Revolution" and Aristocratic Britain |
| Thurs., Jan. 17: | Read Arnstein, Past Speaks, Chapters 2 & 3
Discussion (Quiz?) |
| Tues., Jan. 22: | Read Arnstein, Aristocracy, Chapters 4, 5, & 6
Lecture: Aristocratic Britain |
| Thurs., Jan. 24: | Read Arnstein, Past Speaks, Chapters 4 & 5
Discussion (Quiz?) |
| Tues., Jan. 29: | Read Arnstein, Aristocracy, Chapters 7, 8, & 9
Lecture: Aristocratic Britain |
| Thurs., Jan. 31: | First examination (closed book; paper will be provided)
(40%) In three sentences, students should be able to identify and give the historical significance of each of the following (students may refer to Arnstein texts, the Encylcopedia Britannica and the Dictionary of National Biography, both of which are available in the Hayden Reference Department): Gregory King
(60%) In an essay of at least three pages, students should describe the main demographic, socio-economic, political, and cultural characteristics of Aristocratic Britain from the 1680s to the 1780s. |
| Tues., Feb. 5: | Read Arnstein, Aristocracy, Chapters 10, 11, & 12
Lecture: Industrial Britain |
| Thurs., Feb. 7: | Read Arnstein, Past Speaks, Chapter 6 and 7
Discussion (Quiz?) |
| Fri., Feb. 8: | Unrestricted withdrawl deadline |
| Tues., Feb. 12: | Read Arnstein, Yesterday, Chapters 1, 2, 3, & 4
Lecture: Industrial Britain |
| Thurs., Feb. 14: | Read Arnstein, Past Speaks, Chapters 8 & 9
Discussion (Quiz?) |
| Tues., Feb 19: | Read Arnstein, Yesterday, Chapters 5, 6, & 7
Lecture: Industrial Britain |
| Thurs., Feb. 21: | Second examination (closed book, paper will be provided)
(40%) In three sentences, students should be able to identify and give the historical significance of each of the following: Tom Paine
(60%) In an essay of approximately three pages, students should describe the main demographic, socio-economic, political, and cultural characteristics of Industrial Britain from the 1790s to the 1870s. |
| Tues., Feb. 26: | Read Arnstein, Yesterday, Chapters 8 & 9
Lecture: Metropolitan Britain |
| Thurs., Feb. 28: | Read Arnstein, Past Speaks, Chapters 10
Discussion (Quiz?) |
| Tues., March 5: | Read Arnstein, Yesterday, Chapters 10 & 11;
Lecture: Metropolitan Britain |
| Thurs., March 7: | Read Arnstein, Past Speaks, Chapter 11
Honors and Graduate Students turn in first critique |
| March 10-17: | Spring Recess at ASU |
| Tues., March 19: | Read Arnstein, Yesterday, Chapters 12 & 13
Lecture: Metropolitan Britain |
| Thurs., March 21: | Read Arnstein, Past Speaks, Chapter 12
Discussion (Quiz); Edwardian Soap |
| Tues., March 26: | Read Arnstein, Yesterday, Chapter 14 & 15
Lecture: Metropolitan Britain |
| Thurs., March 28: | Read Arnstein, Past Speaks, Chapters 13 & 14
Discussion (Quiz?); House of Commons Debate on Ireland |
| Fri., March 29: | Restricted course withdrawal deadline |
| Tues., April 2: | Read Arnstein, Yesterday, Chapters 16 & 17
Lecture: Metropolitan Britain |
| Thurs., April 4: | Third examination (closed book, paper will be provided)
(40%) In three sentences, students should be able to identify and give the historical significance of each of the following: Boer War
(60%) In approximately three pages, students should write an essay describing the demographic, socio-economic, political, and cultural characteristics of Metropolitan Britain from the 1880s to the 1940s. |
| Tues., Apr. 9: | Read Arnstein, Yesterday, Chapters 18, 19, & 20
Lecture: Contemporary Britain |
| Thurs., Apr. 11: | Read Arnstein, Past Speaks, Chapter 15 & 16
Discussion (Quiz?); Partisan Weeklies |
| Tues., Apr. 16: | Read Arnstein, Yesterday, Chapters 21 & 22
Lecture: Contemporary Britain |
| Thurs., April 18: | Read Arnstein, Past Speaks, Chapters 18 & 19
Discussion (Quiz?); British Pop Music since the Beatles Restricted complete withdrawal deadline |
| Tues., April 23: | Read Arnstein, Yesterday, Chapter 22
Lecture: Contemporary Britain |
| Thurs., April 25: | Read Arnstein, Past Speaks, Chapter 19
Discussion (Quiz?); The Contemporary London Press |
| Tues., April 30: | No reading assignment
Lecture: Putting British History into a Global Perspective Honors and graduate students turn in last critiques Written assessments of a class presentation due |
| Fri., May 3: | Final Examination (non-cumulative): 10:00-11:50 a.m.
(40%) In three sentences, students should be able to identify and give the historical significance of each of the following: Winston Churchill
(60%) In approximately three pages, write an essay that describes the demographic, socio-economic, political, and cultural characteristics of Contempoary Britain from the 1940s to the present. |
LECTURE OUTLINES
Background Lecture
Aristocratic Britain, from the 1680s
to the 1780s
Industrial Britain, from the 1790s
to the 1870s
Metropolitan Britain, from the 1880s
to the 1940s
Contemporary Britain, since the 1940s
In-class Role Playing Exercises