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Nationalism and Empire: Britain and Germany, 1815-1914

  • Module code: HS5003
  • Year: 2018/9
  • Level: 5
  • Credits: 30
  • Pre-requisites: Completion of relevant L4 modules or equivalent
  • Co-requisites: None

Summary

A module informed by research-led teaching, ‘Nationalism and Empire: Britain and Germany, 1815-1914’ explores some of the most interesting and complicated aspects of modern European history. Rivalry between Britain and Germany found intense, violent expression in two world wars. The century preceding the outbreak of war in 1914, however, was marked not by rivalry and suspicion alone (of which there was a good deal), but also by shared interests political and diplomatic, social and cultural. What mattered to one of those countries was often also of interest to the other. Britons and Germans had more in common than might be assumed from their relationship in the years since 1914, not least a preoccupation with nationhood and with overseas empire. Reflecting this variety and complexity, the module ranges widely within and beyond Britain and Germany, also taking in the European and imperial contexts. Through contemporary and historical accounts and primary source materials, it examines over the course of a hundred years the varied ways in which Anglo-German and international affairs influenced politics, the economy and society in two major European states.

Aims

  • To introduce students to the modern history of Britain and Germany;
  • To provide students with understanding of ways in which nationalism and empire influenced politics and society in Britain and Germany;
  • To enable students to engage critically with historical debates and controversies;
  • To equip students with the skills necessary to identify, locate and interpret sources relating to the history of Britain, Germany and Europe, 1815-1914

Learning outcomes

On successful completion of the module, students will be able to:

  • Identify the context in which Anglo-German relations occurred during the period 1815-1914;
  • Describe the political, social and economic implications for Britain and Germany of Anglo-German relations, 1815-1914;
  • Evaluate contemporary and historical debates and controversies about British and German history, 1815-1914;
  • Identify, access and interpret source materials relating to the history of Britain and Germany, 1815-1914.

Curriculum content

  • Britain and Germany in European and world affairs.
  • The make-up and nature of the British and the German state.
  • The nature of British and German politics, economics and diplomacy.
  • The influence of politics and diplomacy on British and German society.
  • British and German attitudes to monarchism, militarism, nationalism and imperialism.
  • Social and cultural similarities and differences between British and German peoples.
  • Anglo-German cooperation and rivalry within and beyond Europe.
  • Key figures and events in British, German and Anglo-German affairs.

Teaching and learning strategy

Weekly lectures, providing background and contextual information, are are  combined with seminar workshops in which students analyse and discuss issues, notably through the use of contemporary source materials. Students learn from the work of historians, and also undertake their own historical interpretation, through engagement with sources that help reveal how people in Britain and Germany interpreted events through which they lived during the period 1815-1914.

Breakdown of Teaching and Learning Hours

Definitive UNISTATS Category Indicative Description Hours
Scheduled learning and teaching 20 two-hour combined lecture and seminar workshops 40
Guided independent study Student independent study 260
Total (number of credits x 10) 300

Assessment strategy

Summative assessment takes the form of a portfolio , which comprises  100% of the marks for the module. Formative assessment takes the form workshop exercises in historical document and source analysis. y Regular feedback and feed forward enables students to develop through tutor and peer feedback understanding not only of historical matters and primary sources but also of their own learning experience, through the study of Anglo-German relations, 1815-1914.

Mapping of Learning Outcomes to Assessment Strategy (Indicative)

Learning Outcome Assessment Strategy
Identify the context in which Anglo-German relations occurred during the period 1815-1914. Assessed summatively by a portfolio. Assessed formatively through seminar workshop discussion and activity.
Describe the political, social and economic implications for Britain and Germany of Anglo-German relations, 1815-1914. Assessed summatively by a portfolio. Assessed formatively through seminar workshop discussion and activity.
Evaluate contemporary and historical debates and controversies about Anglo-German relations, 1815-1914. Assessed summatively by a portfolio. Assessed formatively through seminar workshop discussion and activity.
Identify, access and interpret source materials relating to the history of Anglo-German relations, 1815-1914. Assessed summatively by a portfolio. Assessed formatively through seminar workshop discussion and document analysis.

Achieving a pass

It IS NOT a requirement that any major assessment category is passed separately in order to achieve an overall pass for the module

Bibliography core texts

Farmer, A (2001). An Introduction to nineteenth-century European History, 1815-1914. Hodder and Stoughton. 

Hall, C and Rose, SO (eds.) (2006). At Home with the Empire: Metropolitan Culture and the Imperial World. Cambridge University Press.

Bibliography recommended reading

Blanning, TCP (2000). The Nineteenth Century – Europe 1789-1914. Oxford University Press.

Breuilly, J (2001). Nineteenth Century Germany: Politics, Culture and Society, 1780-1918. Arnold.

Hyam, R (2003). Britain’s Imperial Century, 1815-1914. Palgrave.

Porter, B (2006). The Absent-Minded Imperialists: Empire, Society and Culture in Britain. Oxford University Press. 

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