Module Information
Course Delivery
| Delivery Type | Delivery length / details |
|---|---|
| Seminar | 10 x 2 Hour Seminars |
Assessment
| Assessment Type | Assessment length / details | Proportion |
|---|---|---|
| Semester Assessment | Essay 1 - 1 x 1,500 word essay | 20% |
| Semester Assessment | Essay 2 - 1 x 1,500 word essay | 20% |
| Semester Assessment | 1 x 5,000 word project | 60% |
| Supplementary Assessment | Essay 1 - 1 x 1,500 word supplementary (resit) essay | 20% |
| Supplementary Assessment | Essay 2 - 1 x 1,500 word supplementary (resit) essay | 20% |
| Supplementary Assessment | 1 x 5,000 word supplementary (resit) project | 60% |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this module, students should be able to:
a) Demonstrate familiarity with a wide range of knowledge of the social, political and cultural history of British journalism
b) Demonstrate familiarity with comparative perspectives on the history of the press in the regions of Britain, in the metropolis and the provinces
c) Demonstrate an understanding of a range of approaches to the study of historical narratives contained in the communication of news, particularly during the second half of the nineteenth century
d) Read, analyse and reflect critically on primary texts and have an appreciation of the breadth of primary historical evidence contained in newspapers. Students will also demonstrate an understanding of the possibilities and pitfalls of using newspapers as sources of historical knowledge
e) Develop the ability to evaluate strengths and weaknesses of particular historical arguments and where necessary challenge them.
f) Gather, sift and critically assess both primary and secondary source materials
g) Work both independently and collaboratively and to participate in group discussion
h) Experience using content analysis techniques, and the manipulation of indexes, catalogues and the NEWSPLAN series
i) Acquisition of a competence in the principles of the specialist skills required to read archival material, in both print and manuscript form
Brief description
The module will introduce students to the wide range of historical evidence available in newspapers and periodicals, which will be helpful in the preparation of Third Year dissertations in any modern subject area. At the same time, it will help students to understand the legislative, moral and political contexts in which journalism was written, edited, printed and distributed in the Victorian and Edwardian periods. Much of the module will focus on the ways in which news was gathered, nationally and internationally, how it was presented to a growing readership, and what effects it might have had on the social and political behaviour of readers and the wider society.
Content
1. Introduction
2. The Victorian press, c.1830-1896
3. W.T. Stead, sensationalism and 'Government by Journalism'
4. Patriotism, the press, and the First World War
5. How to 'read' a newspaper: content analysis and qualitative methodology (includes project discussion)
6. 'Power without responsibility'? The inter-war press and British politics
7. 'Newspapers for the masses': The inter-war press and British society
8. The British press and the Second World War
9. History and journalism: journalists' memoirs as historical sources
10. Historians and the British press today
Notes
This module is at CQFW Level 6