HS1313: Socialism, Society and Politics in Britain, 1880-1900

School History
Department Code SHARE
Module Code HS1313
External Subject Code 100310
Number of Credits 20
Level L6
Language of Delivery English
Module Leader Mr Martin Wright
Semester Autumn Semester
Academic Year 2013/4

Outline Description of Module

This module evaluates the influence of socialists on society & politics in Britain in the last two decades of the nineteenth century. It examines the origins and early development of the socialist movement, when the adoption of Marxist ideas by small groups of mainly middle class idealists in the 1880s added a new and potentially revolutionary impetus to political and social thought. Over the next decades socialist ideas influenced most aspects of British politics and society, and were debated in trade unions, churches and chapels, political parties and cultural and social organisations. Socialists, however, faced fundamental problems in translating their principles into political reality. This module examines a fascinating and exciting period of British history, through the perspective of a movement which sought to change fundamentally society, government and human nature. It explores the debates and disputes unleashed by the attempt to turn revolutionary theory into practical politics; debates which still reverberate in contemporary politics & society.

 

On completion of the module a student should be able to

On completion of the module a student will be able to:

  • critically identify the main features of the British socialist movement and socialist thought in this period.
  • demonstrate a critical and systematic knowledge of the late-nineteenth century British socialist movement and an understanding of pertinent historical and historiographical ideas
  • demonstrate an in-depth and critical understanding of perspectives and debates within the appropriate secondary literature.
  • analyse the activities, roles and influence of the various socialist organisations in the light of relevant historical interpretations of British labour history.
  • demonstrate a critical understanding of key primary sources relating to the British socialist and labour movement in this period, including selected socialist texts, newspaper and pamphlet sources and selected archive collections.
  • summarise and critically evaluate the relative merits and demerits of alternative views and interpretations of late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century British socialism, and evaluate their significance.

How the module will be delivered

The module will be taught and students will learn through:

  • A series of formal lectures will introduce students to the main factual and conceptual issues to be discussed and analysed during the course;
  • Seminars in which key texts are analysed will enable students to further develop analytic skills;
  • Document Workshops in which primary sources are analysed will enable students to develop discipline specific methods of approaching and analysing primary historical sources;
  • Presentations through which students will develop their presentation and team work skills and understanding of specific topics.

 

Skills that will be practised and developed

Academic:

Upon the completion of the advanced option, the typical student will be able to:

  • identify the nature and scope of the issues raised by a study of the late-nineteenth and early twentieth century British socialist and labour movement.
  • discuss in a critical and informed manner the inter-relationship between socialism, society and politics in Britain in this period.
  • summarise and critically evaluate the relative merits and demerits of alternative views and interpretations of late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century British socialism, and evaluate their significance.
  • identify problems, assess evidence, and reach appropriate and consistent conclusions about the nature of socialism, and its relationship with society and politics in Britain in this period
  • devise and sustain arguments about British socialist thought and practice, acknowledging developments in twentieth century British labour historiography.
  • present, accurately, succinctly and lucidly, and in written or oral form their arguments in accordance with appropriate scholarly conventions in British labour history.

 

Subject-specific:

Upon the completion of the advanced option, the typical student will be able to:

  • express their ideas on, and assessments of, the British socialist and labour movement, 1880-1918.
  • discuss in a critical & informed manner the history of British socialism & its relationship to society & politics in Britain, 1880-1918.
  • identify strengths, weaknesses, problems, and or peculiarities of alternative historical/historiographical interpretations, including Marxist, Fabian, Labourist and revisionist approaches to the topic.
  • apply a critical approach to the nature of primary sources in the assessment of historical interpretations and methodologies relating to the socialist and labour movements in Britain, 1880-1918.
  • use and evaluate primary sources and demonstrate an appreciation of  how historians have approached them.

 Generic:

Upon the completion of the option, the typical student will be able to:

  • communicate ideas and arguments effectively, whether in speech or in writing in an accurate, succinct and lucid manner
  • formulate and justify their own arguments and conclusions about a range of issues
  • demonstrate an ability to modify as well as to defend their own position
  • possess a range of information technology resources to assist with information retrieval
  • organise their own study methods and workload
  • work as part of a team in seminar or tutorial discussions independently organise their own study methods and workload.

How the module will be assessed

Summative assessment takes the form of one 3,000 - 4,000 word essay (excluding empirical appendices and references).

Assessment Breakdown

Type % Title Duration(hrs)
Written Assessment 100 Socialism, Society And Politics In Britain 1880-1900 N/A

Syllabus content

  1. What is socialism?
  2. The European context, and discussion of main currents of socialist thought.
  3. The British ‘Socialist Revival’ of the 1880s: context and events.
  4. British socialist organisations (1): The Social Democratic Federation.
  5. British socialist organisations (2): The Socialist League.
  6. British socialist organisations (3): The Fabian Society.
  7. British socialist organisations (4): The Clarion Movement.
  8. British socialist organisations (5): The Independent Labour Party.
  9. Debates within British socialism 1884-1900: Revolution or Reform?; Socialist Unity or Labour Alliance?
  10. Socialism, Society and Politics.

Essential Reading and Resource List

John Callaghan, Socialism in Britain Since 1884 (1990)

Logie Barrow & Ian Bullock, Democratic Ideas and the British Labour Movement 1880-1914 (1996)

June Hannam & Karen Hunt, Socialist Women: Britain 1880s-1920s, (2002).

Keith Laybourn, The Rise of Socialism in Britain c. 1881-1951 (1997)

Henry Pelling, Origins of the Labour Party (1954)

Stanley Pierson, Marxism and the Origins of British Socialism (1973)

Stanley Pierson, British Socialists: The Journey from Fantasy to Politics (1979)

Duncan Tanner, Political Change and the Labour Party (1990)

Chris Waters, British Socialists and the Politics of Popular Culture (1990)

 

 


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