HI304G: 'CITY OF THE WORLD': LONDON IN THE LONG EIGHTEENTH CENTURY (2014-2015)

By the late seventeenth century London was already one of Western Europe's largest and most important cities; by 1832 it was indisputably a 'world city', dominating processes of imperialism, finance, and international trade. This course focuses on the social and cultural processes that underpinned the city's 'metropolitan' status. It explores how the city acted as human magnate, drawing in immigrants from Britain, Europe, North America, Africa and Asia while acting as the controlling metropolis for Britain's increasingly global empire. It assesses eighteenth-century London politics, elites, the emergence of the 'middling sort', as well as its criminals and its social-sexual outcasts. The class concludes by examing how the city was represented within the vibrant medium of caricature and in the novel by focusing on the themes of life, death and the possibilities of a new 'urban' morality.

This module is available to students on all non-History degree programmes as a Discipline Breadth course for the enhanced study requirement. However, the admission of students with a non-History degree intention will be at the discretion of the School of Divinity, History, and Philosophy.

Information on contact teaching time is available from the course guide.

View HI304G Timetable

More Information about Week Numbers

1st Attempt: 5,000 word essay (50%); 1,500 word source review (20%); 1,500 word report on class presentation (20%); class participation (10%) (including attendance & seminar reports).

Resit: 5,000 word essay (50%); 1,500 word source review (25%); 1,500 word report on topic in lieu of class presentation (25%).

All pieces of resit work must be on new subject matter.

Formative assessment includes weekly feedback on one page hand written analyses of secondary and primary sources relating to each seminar theme. These formative pieces are submitted weekly and are intended to develop and hone the students' abilities to comprehend, analyse and present arguments and understanding of a wide range of primary and secondary materials. Similarly, and essay plan and bibliography are to be submitted and will be returned with comments, suggestions etc.

Verbal feedback is given on all aspects of student performance in individual meetings. Specific written (via essay feedback forms) and verbal feedback is given on essays, primary source reviews and class presentations.

None.