Module Information

This course will introduce students to the social and political history of twentieth -century Britain by an in-depth study of Britain during the Great War. It will consider the reasons behind Britain's involvement in the war and outline the main features of the military conflict. It will then focus primarily on the social and political history of the period : the military, industrial and political mobilisation of the nation towards 'total war', and the ways in which the war affected ordinary civilian life. Specifics topics to be covered will include the rise of Lloyd George to the Premiership, the wartime industrial unrest in Scotland and Wales, the impact of the war on the lives of British women, and the enduring legacy of the 'lost generation'. Comparison will also be made between the British experience of the Great War and that of the other major belligerents, France, Germany, Russia and the USA. Throughout the semester, students will be encouraged to evaluate the 'war and social change' thesis propounded by Marwick and others, and the course will end by assessing the extent to which the Great War marked a 'watershed' in modern British history.