Undergraduate Course: Britain and the Second World War (HIST10083)
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 4 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 40 |
ECTS Credits | 20 |
| Summary | This course, which is taught over two semesters, looks at selected aspects of Britain and the Second World War, with particular emphasis on the war in Europe. It covers both the home front and the military campaigns in which British forces played a prominent role. |
| Course description |
The work of the first semester will be mainly devoted to the home front. Topics covered include Britain's role in the outbreak of the war, Churchill's rise to power, the organisation of the war economy, relations between the social classes, the role of women, civilian morale, the Beveridge Report, and the 1945 general election. There will also be a discussion of a selection of contemporary British wartime films. The second semester will be mainly devoted to the battles/military campaigns in which British forces played a prominent role. Topics covered include the British evacuation from Dunkirk, the Battle of Britain, the Battle of the Atlantic, the Battle of El Alamein, the strategic bombing offensive, D-Day, and Operation Market Garden. Other topics include Anglo-American wartime relations and Churchill's wartime leadership. Again, there will be a discussion of a selection of contemporary British wartime films.
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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 in 40 credits of third 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). |
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 source material (including film);
- demonstrate, by way of coursework and examination as required, the ability to develop and sustain scholarly arguments in written form;
- demonstrate independence of mind and initiative; intellectual integrity and maturity; an ability to evaluate the work of others.
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Reading List
P. Addison, The Road to 1945: British Politics and the Second World War (1994)
A. Aldgate and J. Richards, Britain Can Take It: the British Cinema in the Second World War (1994)
A. Calder, The People's War: Britain 1939-1945 (1969)
W. S. Churchill, The Second World War, 6 vols (1948-1954)
D. Edgerton, Britain's War Machine (2011)
T. Harrisson, Living Through the Blitz (1976)
S. Nicholas, The Echo of War: Home Front Propaganda and the Wartime BBC 1939-45 (1996)
R. Overy, Why the Allies Won (1995)
P. Summerfield, 'Approaches to Women and Social Change in the Second World War' in B. Brivati and H. Jones (eds), What Difference Did the War Make? (1995)
R. Titmuss, Problems of Social Policy (1950)
C. Webster and N. Frankland, The Strategic Bombing Offensive Against Germany, 4 vols (1961)
J. Wyndham, Love Lessons and Love is Blue: Diaries of the War Years (1995)
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Brit and Second WW |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Jeremy Crang
Tel: (0131 6)51 1255
Email: |
Course secretary | Ms Rosie Filipiak
Tel: (0131 6)50 3843
Email: |
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