Undergraduate Course: Youth and Modernity, c.1780-1880 (ECSH10069)
Course Outline
| School | School of History, Classics and Archaeology |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course examines the ways in which the concepts of youth and childhood, shaped by romanticism and the Enlightenment, were interpreted and experienced in the nineteenth century. The course focuses primarily on Britain but also explores the wider global contexts of empire and migration; the British experience is compared and contrasted with that of other locations. Claims that the idea of childhood has been crucial to modern concepts of identity, sexuality and selfhood will be investigated. |
| Course description |
Although a significant proportion of the western population has consisted of those under 21, the study of childhood and youth has often been regarded as a marginal area of social history. Over the last 20 years, however, historians have produced a wealth of research which demonstrates that the idea of childhood was crucial to the development of modern welfare states and to modern concepts of identity, sexuality and selfhood. The contributions of young people have come to be viewed as integral to the study of western economies. Furthermore, children and young people have been reclaimed as historical actors and even agents of change. Topics covered include the discovery of childhood; autobiography and memory; child poverty, child-saving and juvenile delinquency; school, family, work and migration; debates relating to child marriage in India and the age of consent. We will consider, throughout, the ways in which ideas about class, gender, race and age have structured adult interventions and youthful experience. The role of the law, medicine, religion and education will be explored throughout. We will also assess the problem of finding the real child in the archive because his/her traces are so often transitory. Extensive use will be made of a wide variety of primary sources (visual and textual) including fiction, autobiographies, newspapers and magazines.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
Students MUST have passed:
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements |
A pass or passes in 40 credits of first level historical courses or equivalent and a pass or passes in 40 credits of second level historical courses or equivalent.
Before enrolling students on this course, Personal Tutors are asked to contact the History Honours Admission Administrator to ensure that a place is available (Tel: 503780). |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites |
Visiting students should have at least 3 History courses at grade B or above (or be predicted to obtain this). We will only consider University/College level courses. Applicants should note that, as with other popular courses, meeting the minimum does NOT guarantee admission.
** as numbers are limited, visiting students should contact the Visiting Student Office directly for admission to this course **
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| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- demonstrate, by way of coursework and examination as required, command of the body of knowledge considered in the course;
- demonstrate, by way of coursework and examination as required, an ability to read, analyse and reflect critically upon relevant scholarship;
- demonstrate, by way of coursework and examination as required, an ability to understand, evaluate and utilise a variety of primary source material;
- demonstrate, by way of coursework and examination as required, the ability to develop and sustain scholarly arguments in oral and written form, by formulating appropriate questions and utilising relevant evidence;
- demonstrate independence of mind and initiative; intellectual integrity and maturity; an ability to evaluate the work of others, including peers.
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Reading List
Bristow, J. (1991) Empire Boys: Adventures in a Mans World. Routledge.
Buettner, E. (2004) Empire Families. Britons and Late Imperial India. Oxford UP. Cunningham, H. (2005) Children and Childhood in Western Society. Longman.
Maynes, M.J, B. Soland and C. Benninghaus (eds)(2005) Secret Gardens, Satanic Mills. Placing Girls in European History, 1750-1960. Indiana UP.
Fletcher, A. (2008) Growing Up in England. The Experience of Childhood. Yale University Press.
Gillis, J.R. (1981) Youth and History. Academic Press.
Lawrence, J. and P. Starkey (eds)(2001) Child Welfare and Social Action in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries. International Perspectives. Liverpool UP.
Mitchell, S. (1995) The New Girl. Girls Culture in England, 1880-1915. Columbia University Press.
Rahikainen, M. (2004) Centuries of Child Labour: European Experiences from the Seventeenth to the Twentieth Century. Ashgate.
Shore, H. (1999) Artful Dodgers. Youth and Crime in Early Nineteenth-Century London. Boydell & Brewer.
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Youth 1780 |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Louise Jackson
Tel: (0131 6)50 3837
Email: |
Course secretary | Miss Clare Guymer
Tel: (0131 6)50 4030
Email: |
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