Undergraduate Course: London Life in the Eighteenth Century: Society and Culture (ECSH10091)
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 offers a survey of some of the major recent themes in the study of London life in the 18th century, taking a social and cultural history approach with a focus on the use and interpretation of a wide variety of sources including personal testimony, court records, contemporary fiction and material and visual resources. Each theme is also explored through a close reading of key texts that allow students to better understand the historiographical evolution of scholarly and popular understandings of London. |
| Course description |
Eighteenth-century London was a marvel of the age, in Britain and beyond, because of its size, innovation and spectacle. Contemporaries were preoccupied with London as a place and idea and it is estimated that as many as 1:6 Britons lived in London at some stage in their life. Modern historians have mirrored this interest, with many of the high profile and innovative digital engagements with the past, famously exemplified by the Old Bailey Online project, having a London focus. This course offers a survey of some of the major recent themes in the study of London life in the 18th century, taking a social and cultural history approach with a focus on the use and interpretation of a wide variety of sources including personal testimony, court records, contemporary fiction and material and visual resources. Each theme is also explored through a close reading of key texts that allow students to better understand the historiographical evolution of scholarly and popular understandings of London. The intellectual point of departure for this course is the pioneering work of Dorothy George (1878-1971) whose study, London Life in the Eighteenth Century (1925) and subsequent British Museum catalogue of political and social print satires, published between 1935 and 1954, provided the foundation for modern scholarly research on and understandings of London. The main themes are migration and emigration; court life; professional culture; the mob; print culture; sex and satire; luxury and spectacle; crime and violence; domestic life and houses; spaces of modernity.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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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, PTs are asked to contact the History Honours Admission Administrator to ensure that a place is available (Tel: 503780). |
| Additional Costs | None |
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 ** |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Through assessments, presentations and seminar preparation and discussion, a critical awareness of varying historiographical approaches to the study of 18th century London as they have evolved since the 1920s.
- Through assessments, presentations and seminar preparation and discussion an understanding of the concepts, methods and analytical challenges of inter-disciplinary history as applied to the study of 18th century London.
- Through assessments, presentations and seminar preparation and discussion a familiarity with the diversity of sources available for the study of 18th century London, and critical skills that allow the evaluation of their use.
- Through student-led seminars, the further development of presentation and verbal skills of participants as well as the associated organizational abilities.
- Through assignments, the further development of literary skills and advancements in the ability to construct coherent arguments and analysis using relevant illustrative data.
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Reading List
Craig Bailey, Irish London: Middle-Class Migration in the Global Eighteenth Century (2014)
John Brewer, Pleasures of the Imagination: English Culture in the Eighteenth Century, (1996)
Markman Ellis, Coffee House: A Cultural History (2004).
Vic Gatrell, City of Laughter: Sex and Satire in Eighteenth-Century London, (2006).
Dorothy George, London Life in the Eighteenth Century (1925)
Peter Guillery, The Small House in Eighteenth-Century London: A Social and Architectural History (New Haven and London, 2004).
Tony Henderson, Disorderly Women in Eighteenth-Century London: Prostitution and Control in the Metropolis, 1730-1830 (1999).
Ian Heywood and John Seed, The Gordon Riots: Politics, Culture and Insurrection in Late-Eighteenth Century Britain (2012).
Susan C. Lawrence, Charitable Knowledge. Hospital Pupils and Practitioners in Eighteenth-Century London (2002)
Tim Meldrum, Domestic Service and Gender, 1650-1750. Life and Work in the London Household (2000)
Stana Nenadic, ed. Scots in London in the Eighteenth Century (Lewisburg, 2010)
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
The study of the past gives students a unique understanding of the present that will enable them to succeed in a broad range of careers. The transferable skills gained from this course include:
understanding of complex issues and how to draw valid conclusions from the past.
ability to analyse the origins and development of historiographical debates.
a command of bibliographical, library and IT-based online research skills.
a range of skills in reading and textual analysis.
ability to question and problematize evidence; considering the relationship between evidence and interpretation.
ability to marshal arguments coherently and concisely, both orally and in writing.
ability to deliver a paper or a presentation in front of peer audiences.
ability to design and execute a sustained piece of written work. |
| Keywords | London Life |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Prof Stana Nenadic
Tel: (0131 6)50 3839
Email: |
Course secretary | Mrs Diane Knowles
Tel: (0131 6)50 3781
Email: |
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