Module Information

In this course students will examine the cultural and historical geographies of the British landscape in the twentieth century, focussing on the changing meanings of built landscapes and the environment between 1918 and 1990. The module traces the geographies of specific sites and subject-positions which have been associated with modern life in twentieth century Britain. Specific lectures will focus on: the expansion of suburbia; the links between countryside preservation and modern planning between the wars; the expansion of leisure and the 'writing' of the landscape through guidebooks; the impact of the blitz on urban landscapes during World War Two; the reconstruction of post-war Britain; and the importance of landscape to Welsh nationalism. The module aims to show how particular understandings of Britishness and British modernity (and their common equation with Englishness) have continually been challenged and resisted in different periods through the cultural activities of Welsh nationalists. The module will examine various counter-modern practices and sites, from the emergence of 'anti-modern' sentiments associated with particular conservation, organic, environmental and architectural movements, to the geographies of groups who are frequently excluded from hegemonic accounts of Britishness - such as ethnic minority groups, the young, homosexuals, new age travellers, other nationals, and subjects of empire. The final lecture will examine the geographies of 'sites' and 'sensibilities' which have frequently been associated with postmodern and globalised geographies, including motorways, airports, shopping centres and spaces of deindustrialisation and heritage.

This new module is designed to widen the range of option modules available to geography and sociology students at Level 3. The module reflects the current research interests of Peter Merriman. It also reflects the broader research and teaching themes of other members of the Historical and Cultural Geography Research Group.