HIST 1014

SYLLABUS
This unit introduces students to the material, social and political culture of the two major European powers - the British Isles and France - in a period of rapid change.  We shall investigate topics such as citizenship, consumerism, imperialism and industrialisation which are central to current historical enquiry into the emergence of the modern European world.  In Britain, new concepts of wealth and innovative economic practices created a consumer society in which marketing and advertising techniques were deployed across a range of social and political activity.  Revolution in France reordered institutions of government, redefined the relationship between the individual and the state and brought counter-revolutionary panic to Britain.  Gender relations and social structures underwent fundamental change in both countries.  Britain and France were significant Imperial powers, deeply involved with the slave trade, however their authority was challenged in America, Ireland and the Carribean.
We shall examine these issues through a range of primary sources, including visual representation, fiction, diaries and memoirs.

COURSE ORGANISATION

Staff
Dr Christopher Forth; Room 1190; Ph 6249 2717;
e-mail: Christopher.Forth@anu.edu.au

Dr Sarah Lloyd; Room 1211; Ph. 6249 2613;
e-mail: Sarah.Lloyd@anu.edu.au

You are welcome to consult us about any aspect of the course.  We shall post consulting times on our doors in the first week of semester.

Classes
Each week there will be two lectures, each of one hour’s duration: on  Mondays at 10am in the Haydon Allen Tank and Wednesdays at 5pm, again in the Tank.  You are strongly advised to attend whenever possible as visual material will be presented in many lectures.  Lectures will be taped and lodged in the Two-Hour Loan area of the Chifley Library for the benefit of those unable to attend, and for revision purposes.

There will be one tutorial of one-hour’s duration a week.  Attendance is compulsory.  If you have not yet signed up for a tutorial, please add your name to the lists posted on the course noticeboard.  First tutorials for the unit will take place in week one.  Tutorials are essentially co-operative discussions in which students exchange ideas and knowledge.  The quality of tutorials depends largely on the students’ preparation, so it is important to allow time to read widely and thoughtfully each week.  The course guide suggests some questions for tutorial discussion.  These are intended only as a guide to help you in your preparation for class: they are neither comprehensive nor prescriptive.

Your attention is drawn to the section entitled ‘General requirements’ on p.165 of the Undergraduate Handbook 1998.  It is History Department policy that tutorial attendance is compulsory.  Students who miss more than three tutorials in any semester in a particular History unit may be excluded from assessment in that unit.

Reading
The weekly readings are outlined in this guide.  Each week you will be required to read the relevant section of the ‘reading brick’.  Items from the recommended reading list will be essential for written assignments and tutorial presentations (outlined in the following section).  If you have the time, reading these texts will also be useful for tutorial discussion as they will broaden your knowledge of the topic concerned.
Items in the recommended reading list are either in the Two Hour Loan section of the Chifley Library or on 2-day loan.  The date shown next to each work is the date of the first edition and is provided merely as a point of information.  It is not necessary to read that edition.  Don’t hesitate to browse or use relevant readings which are not listed in this guide.
The reading brick is a collection of photocopied materials available at cost price.  To obtain a brick, pay the appropriate sum at the Manning Clark Centre (after 13.3.98, the Faculties Cashier, Copland Building) and then present your receipt at the History Department office.

Texts (available at the Coop Bookshop on campus)
France
The following text is prescribed:
Lynn Hunt, The Family Romance of the French Revolution (Princeton, 1992)

Britain
There is no prescribed text on British history this semester.  You are however advised to purchase one of the books listed below: each provides an overview of the period and of themes we shall discuss in the course.  We suggest that you choose the book which suits your interests and pocket.

Linda Colley, Britons: Forging the Nation 1707-1837 (1992)
Roy Porter, English Society in the Eighteenth Century, revised edition (Penguin, Harmondsworth, 1990)

Assessment
Proposed assessment for the year is:
1 • Tutorial participation throughout the year  10%
2 • Tutorial responses (one per semester)  10%
1st Semester
3 • Book review/Document study, 500 words    5%
4 • First semester research essay, 2,000 words  20%
2nd Semester
4 • Book review/Document study, 1,000 words  10%
6 • Second semester research essay, 2,500 words 25%
7 • End-of-year, two-hour examination   20%
1 Tutorial participation will be assessed on the quality and regularity of your contribution to tutorial discussions.  No marks will be given merely for attending.  Students are reminded that thorough tutorial preparation is also a courtesy to those giving tutorial presentations.
2 Tutorial presentations are short oral responses to the week’s reading given at the beginning of tutorials and intended to promote debate.  It is quite acceptable to speak from notes; each presentation should be no more that 10 minutes long.  You will be asked:
(i) to summarise the arguments made by historians in the week’s required reading and
(ii) to respond with questions or issues for class discussion.
You will need to read the week’s material carefully, giving particular attention to historical interpretation.  The following questions may assist you: what is the extract about; what questions/issues does the author address and why are they important; what concepts and types of evidence are used; what claims does the author make and are they sustained by the evidence; how convincing is this analysis; does it differ from other discussions you have encountered?  It is not enough simply to describe the historical events outlined in the reading.  When giving a tutorial response you may find that some of the questions you propose for discussion overlap with those given in the guide for that week.  This is acceptable as long as you demonstrate their pertinence to the arguments you summarise.  Marks will not be given for recitation from the course guide.
Topics will be allocated in the first tutorial of each semester.  If two students are allocated the same week, they should ensure that they do not duplicate material.
3 Detailed guidance will be given on the question sheet.  Due date: 3 April
4 Detailed guidance will be given on the question sheet.  Due date: 17 July
5 Detailed guidance will be given on the question sheet.  Due date: to be advised
6 Detailed guidance will be given on the question sheet.  Due date: 16 October
7 We shall discuss the format and content of the exam later in the year.