EUH 4542 —MODERN BRITAIN, 1688-PRESENT

SPRING SEMESTER, 2011

SECTION U01

Dr. Jeremy Rowan

Office: DM399
Office Phone: (305) 348-4791
Office Hours: MW 2:00-4:00
E-mail: rowanj@fiu.edu

Course Description: This course analyzes the political, social, cultural, and economic
history of Modern Britain from the Glorious Revolution of 1688 to the recent
governments of Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair. The major themes of this course
focus on the rise and fall of Britain as an industrial and imperial power, the construction
of regional and national identities within the United Kingdom of Great Britain, and the
transformations (and continuities) in British society.

Course Objectives: EUH 4542 aims

1. To provide insight on issues dealing with social diversity by examining ways
in which British society (and empire) has dealt with racial, gender, religious,
and class diversity;
2. To enhance student writing skills through the preparation of written
assignments and essay exams.
3. To foster additional student skills through the use of a variety of learning
methods in the areas of:
a. note taking in a classroom lecture format;
b. reading by using different styles of assigned readings in the form of
academic monographs, articles and primary source historical
documents;
c. integration of various historical perspectives—social, cultural,
political, and economic;
d. basic historical research using traditional print and modern electronic
sources;
e. critical thinking through classroom discussion, paper assignments,
essay exams, and oral presentation;
4. To monitor progress in student performance and provide feedback to the
student throughout the course of the semester by scheduling various measures
of evaluation approximately every two weeks.

Learning Outcomes: Students will

1. Develop an understanding of the changing role of the monarchy and Parliament
in the development of the modern British state.
 2. Have an appreciation for the expansion of “British” values and institutions
beyond national borders in the formation of a United Kingdom of Great Britain
and subsequently, the British Empire.
3. Analyze the process of changing self-perceptions of a nation in the face of
internal and external challenges.
4. Discuss and trace the formation of national, imperial, gender, and class
identities.

Course Books (required) The following books will be available for purchase at the
University Book Store and can also be purchased on the internet through vendors such as
Amazon or Barnes and Noble:

Linda Colley, Britons: Forging the Nation, 1707-1837. Yale, 2005

Deborah Valenze, The First Industrial Woman. Oxford, 1995

David Cannadine, Ornamentalism: How the British Saw their Empire. Oxford, 2002

George Orwell, The Road to Wigan Pier. Penguin Classics; 2001

Chapters/Selections (required) found online at books.google.com:

Bernard Porter, The Absent-Minded Imperialists. Oxford, 2006

Martin Wiener, English Culture and the Decline of the Industrial Spirit. Cambridge, 1981

William Rubinstein, Capitalism, Culture and Decline in Britain. Routledge, 1994

Kathleen Paul, Whitewashing Britain: Race and Citizenship in the Postwar Era.
Cornell, 1997

Criteria for Evaluation:

2 exams – each worth 25% of the course grade

1 term paper – worth 35% of the course grade
Class participation (including discussion from the readings and various in-class exercises
such as peer review) – worth 15% of the course grade

All exams will be essay exams. Each exam will cover the material since the previous
exam. STUDENTS ARE TO BRING A BLUE EXAMINATION BOOKLET TO
CLASS ON THE EXAM DATES. BLUE BOOKS ARE AVAILABLE FOR SALE IN
THE CAMPUS BOOKSTORE.

The term paper:

Students will construct their research and writing assignment based on an acceptable
topic of their choosing. All students are required to present a topic, working thesis and
bibliography to the instructor during class. Students will also be required to bring a
completed draft of the paper for peer review. The paper needs to be 8-10 double-spaced
pages in length with 12-point Times New Roman font. All sources must be cited
according to the Chicago Manual of Style. Students will upload their writing assignment
to Turnitin.com on the due date listed in the course schedule below. Late papers will be
penalized a letter grade for every class period that the paper is late.

Make-up Exams:

No make-up exams will be given except in cases of illness and medical emergency. A
doctor’s note must be presented upon the instructor’s request for a make-up exam to be
given. If no note is forthcoming, the instructor retains the right to refuse to administer a
make-up exam. A doctor’s or dental appointment which is a non-emergency, and which,
therefore, can be reasonably rescheduled, is not a valid excuse. Unexcused missed exams
will receive an automatic grade of 0%.

Special Notes:

1. Students are responsible for information—lectures, required texts, handouts,

as well announcements—contained in each class meeting;
2. Students with documented special learning needs may want to inform the
instructor so that accommodations may be made, or contact the FIU Disability
Resources Center (305-348-3532)

Grading:

In the course, grading will follow the scale below:

A = 100-93 %
A- = 92-90%
B+ = 89–86%
B = 85-83%
B- = 82-80%
C+ = 79–76%
C = 75-73%
C- = 72-70%
D+ = 69-66%
D = 65-63%
D+ = 62-60
F = 59% and below

Attendance Policy:

A total of six class hours will result in an automatic withdrawal with a “W”, “WP”, or
WF” if within the designated withdrawal periods, or an automatic “F” if not. It is the
students’ responsibility to initiate the withdrawal during the designated withdrawal
periods and after. Otherwise, an “F” or “F0” will be issued at the end of the term.
Students should familiarize themselves with the designated withdrawal periods in the FIU
University Undergraduate Catalogue.

Academic Dishonesty Policy

Cheating and Plagiarism

a. Cheating is defined as the attempt, successful or not, to give or obtain
information by illicit means in meeting any academic requirements
including, but not limited to, examinations;
b. Plagiarism is defined as the use, without proper acknowledgement, of
the ideas, phrases, sentences, or larger units of discourse from another
writer or speaker.

Students are expected to know and abide by the academic dishonesty

policy as stated in the university catalogue.

Students are therefore warned: Cheating and/or plagiarism are grounds for
an automatic grade of “0” for the assignment and subsequently will be
reported to the office of Academic Affairs.

Student Behavior

All FIU students are expected to behave according to the accepted norms that ensure a
climate wherein all can exercise their right to learn. Such norms are set forth in the
undergraduate catalogue. No faculty member will tolerate classroom behavior that
violates these norms. Such behavior will be grounds for withdrawal from the class,
judicial proceedings, and/or failure of the course. If warranted, students engaging in such
behavior will be removed from class by security personnel and may be required to
undergo counseling.

Turnitin.com

All students must register for Turnitin.com. The class # is 3732524 and the password is
“Dickens”. Please register during the first week of class.

Class Schedule:

Week 1:
Monday, Jan 10 —Course Introduction and Syllabus
Reading: Britons

Wednesday, Jan 12—17th Century Crises: The English Civil War

Friday, Jan 14—The Glorious Revolution

Week 2:
Monday, Jan 17 —No Class (Martin Luther King Day)

Wednesday, Jan 19—The Landed Oligarchy: 18th Century Politics and Society

Friday, Jan 21—18th Century Politics and Society (cont.)

Week 3:
Monday, Jan 24—18th Century Culture

Wednesday, Jan 26—British National Identity

Discussion: Britons
Reading: The First Industrial Woman

Friday, Jan 28— British Expansion

Week 4:
Monday, Jan 31—The Late 18th Century Imperial Crisis

Wednesday, Feb 2—Imperial Crisis (cont.)

Friday, Feb 4—18th Century Revolutions: Agricultural, Demographic, Industrial,

Intellectual

Week 5:
Monday, Feb 7—18th Century Revolutions

Wednesday, Feb 9— Discussion: The First Industrial Woman

Reading: Ornamentalism: How the British Saw their Empire;
Online Selections from The Absent-Minded Imperialists

Friday, Feb 11—Research Paper: Topic, Working Thesis, and Bibliography Due

Week 6:
Monday, Feb 14—Early Victorians

Wednesday, Feb 16—Mid-Victorians

Friday, Feb 18—Mid-Victorians

Week 7:
Monday, Feb 21—Late Victorians
Wednesday, Feb 23—New Imperialism

Friday, Feb 25—Discussion: Ornamentalism and The Absent-Minded Imperialists

Reading: The Road to Wigan Pier

Week 8:
Monday, Feb 28—Midterm Exam

Wednesday, Mar 2—Origins of the Great War

Friday, Mar 4—World War I

Week 9:
Monday, Mar 7— World War I; Paris Peace Conference

Wednesday, Mar 9—Interwar Years

Friday, Mar 11—Interwar Years (cont.)

Week 10:
Mar 14-20—SPRING BREAK

Week 11:
Monday, Mar 21—Discussion: The Road to Wigan Pier
Reading: Online excerpts from English Culture and the Decline of the
Industrial Spirit and Capitalism, Culture and Decline in Britain.

Wednesday, Mar 23—Civil War in Ireland

Friday, Mar 25— Draft of Term Paper Due for Peer Review

Week 12:
Monday, Mar 28—World War II

Wednesday, Mar 30—World War II

Friday, Apr 1—Discussion: English Culture and the Decline of the Industrial
Spirit and Capitalism and Culture and Decline in Britain.
Reading: Whitewashing Britain

Week 13:

Monday, Apr 4—Post-war British Politics and Society

Wednesday, Apr 6—Post-war British Politics and Society

Friday, Apr 8—Discussion: Whitewashing Britain

Week 14:
Monday, Apr 11—Contemporary Britain: Thatcher and the Collapse of the
Post-war Consensus

Wednesday, Apr 13—Final Term Paper Due

Friday, Apr 15—Contemporary Britain: The Rise of

New Labour

Week 15:
Monday, Apr 18—Contemporary Britain

Wednesday, Apr 20—Contemporary Britain

Friday, Apr 22—Exam Review

Week 16:

Monday, Apr 25—Final Exam 12:00-2:00