Perhaps more formative for the modern British state than any before or since, the years 1660 to 1720 saw Britain’s territorial boundaries and infrastructure forged, with constitutional monarchy, expanding state bureaucracy, and political parties as its principal tenets. During the same period, political power in England changed hands; new political personnel operated within novel political institutions and voiced innovative political economies.
Making Modern Britain will challenge participants to analyse and debate formative changes to British literature, commerce, art and architecture as well as to discuss the changed relationship between Britain and the world during this period. Participants will therefore receive a broad understanding of late 17th and early 18th century British history; they will also develop expertise in the following subfields: cultural, art, political, parliamentary, global, economic, constitutional, gender, and business history.
What our students say:
‘The access to databases for sources was very useful. The structure of the module was very valuable and easy to follow. The workshops were really useful, with them being more than an hour, because I felt like they improved my understanding of all the reading and all the content in the lectures.’ (Anonymous student evaluation)
‘Learning more about the economic state of Britain; the way the connections between lectures and readings were handled. Even if it was more challenging to do, it really forced you to think about the module and its contents critically.’ (Anonymous student evaluation)