During the nineteenth century, Britain became more extensively urbanized than ever before. In 1800, about one in four British people lived in cities; by 1900, three in four did so. Rather than this being a source of pride or optimism, contemporary observers feared that the city was becoming a 'terra incognita', a place of 'dreadful delight'. Manchester was 'Coke Town', London the 'modern Babylon'. At a physical level, urbanization compounded existing social problems of sanitation, disease, and housing and gave rise to new ones that contemporaries linked to crime, prostitution, and poverty. Cities were seen as sites of moral corruption and violence, the haunts of criminals, drug addicts, prostitutes, homosexuals and immigrants. More adventurous Victorians saw cities as places of excitement, however. Many took advantage of the growing leisure opportunities on offer. Others went 'slumming', exploring working-class districts, slums, and rookeries either in pursuit of excitement or to offer charity. This module explores the nature of urban living and the underside of the Victorian and Edwardian cities. Rather than sensationalizing the urban experience, it looks at how contemporaries viewed and interpreted the city. It examines the effect of rapid urbanisation on different institutions, groups and individuals as well as on ideas of class, gender, sexuality, race and welfare. It investigates those who lived, played, and worked in them, and how the social and physical problems they encountered were defined and tackled. In doing so, the module explores of number of issues, such as poverty and fears of the underclass, crime, leisure and pleasure, sex and prostitution, homosexuality, pollution and disease, race and fears of degeneration, and examines contemporary responses to them through the police, social purity movement, charity, controls on drink and entertainment, etc. METHODS OF TEACHING: A mixture of lectures and seminars. METHODS OF ASSESSMENT: One assessed essay (25%) and one 3 hour examination (75%).

Knowledge and Understanding:

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

• demonstrate a critical and systematic knowledge of history of urban society and culture in Britain between 1800 and 1914and an understanding of pertinent historical and historiographical ideas/contexts/frameworks;
• critical identify the main trends in contemporary discourses about the impact of urbanization of British culture and society between 1800 and 1914 and the perceived problems (crime, slums, prostitution, poverty, etc) generated by urbanization and the solutions adopted;
• critically identify the main trends in research on history of urban society and culture in Britain between 1800 and 1914;
• demonstrate a in-depth and critical understanding of a range of concepts/perspectives/debates within the appropriate secondary literature;
• analyse key themes and issues inhistory of urban society and culture in Britain between 1800 and 1914 inthe light of those ideas/contexts/frameworks;
• demonstrate a critical understanding of key primary sources urban history and their significance.

Intellectual Skills:

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

Discipline Specific (including practical) Skills:

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

Transferable Skills:

• discuss in a critical and informed manner the history of urban society and culture in Britain between 1800 and 1914;
• summarise and critically evaluate the relative merits and demerits of alternative views and interpretations about the history of urban society and culture in Britain between 1800 and 1914and evaluate their significance;
• identify problems, assess evidence, and reach conclusions consistent with them on history of urban society and culture in Britain between 1800 and 1914;
• devise and sustain arguments about issues such poverty, crime, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, health, leisure, and ideas of degenerationusing a range of ideas or techniques including historical geography, gender, ethnicity,;
• present, accurately, succinctly and lucidly, and in written or oral form their arguments in accordance with appropriate scholarly conventions.
  • express their ideas and assessments on selected topics related to the history of urban society and culture in Britain between 1800 and 1914
  • discuss in a critical and informed manner the history of urban society and culture in Britain between 1800 and 1914
  • identify strengths, weaknesses, problems, and or peculiarities of alternative historical/historiographical interpretations
  • apply a critical approach to the nature of primary sources in the assessment of historical interpretations and methodologies;
  • use and evaluate primary sources and demonstrate an appreciation of  how historians have approached them.
  • 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
  • posses a range of information technology resources to assist  with information retrieval
  • work as part of a team in seminar or tutorial discussions
  • independently organise your own study methods and workload

• A series of formal lectures will introduce students to factual and conceptual issues
• Seminar discussions of secondary historical literature will develop student understanding of these issues, with discussions focused around key course themes
• Workshops in which key texts are analysed will enable students to further develop analytic skills
• Workshops in which primary sources are analysed will enable students to develop discipline specific methods of approaching and analysing primary historical sources

 Transferable Skills:

• 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
• posses a range of information technology resources to assist  with information retrieval
• work as part of a team in seminar or tutorial discussions
• independently organise your own study methods and workload

Students will be assessed by means of a combination of one essay relating to primary sources [20%], an assessed essay [30%] and an examination paper [50%].

Course assignments:

1. The essay relating to primary sources will contribute 20% of the final mark for the module and must be no longer than 1,000 words.
2. The Assessed Essay will contribute 30% of the final mark for the module. It is designed to give students the opportunity to demonstrate their ability to review evidence, draw appropriate conclusions from it and employ the formal conventions of scholarly presentation. It must be no longer than 2,000 words.
3. The Examination will take place during the second assessment period [May/June] and will consist of an unseen two hour paper that will contribute the remaining 50% of the final mark for this module. Students must write 2 answers in total.  

1. Historians the Victorian City
2. Images of the Victorian and Edwardian City
3. Underclass and poverty
4. Slums and slumming
5. Charity and Welfare
6. Crime and Violence
7. Police and resistance
8. Entertainment and gambling
9. Drink and Disorder
10. Drug dens and addiction
11. Sex and Prostitution
12. Controlling the Prostitute
13. Jack the Ripper (presentations)
14. Homosexual Underworld
15. Urban nuisances and pollution
16. Epidemics and Disease
17. Public Health
18. Race
19. Fears of degeneration
20. Revision

Please see Background Reading List for an indicative list.

Kelly Boyd and Rohan McWilliam (eds), Victorian Studies Reader (2007)

Andy Croll, Civilizing the urban: Popular culture, public space and urban meaning, Merthyr c.1870-1914 (Cardiff, 2000)

D. Cannadine & D. Reeder (eds), Exploring the Urban Past (1982)

Martin Daunton (ed.), CambridgeUrban History of Britain vol. 3 (Cambridge, 2001)

D. Fraser & D. Sutcliffe (ed.), The Pursuit of Urban History (1983)

Ann Hardy, Epidemic Streets (1993)

G. Kearns & C. Withers (eds), Urbanising Britain (1991)

R. Morris & R. Rodger (eds), The Victorian City (1993

F. M. L. Thompson (ed.), The Cambridge Social History of Britain 1750-1950, 2 (1990)

P. Waller, Town, City and Nation (1983)

Anthony Wohl, Endangered Lives (1983)