Modern Britain

History 453: Modern Britain since 1815
Britain in Film, British History through Film

Prof. Jeffrey Auerbach
Spring 2009
Time: Tuesdays 4:20-6:50 pm
Location: SH 268

Description:

This course combines film, readings, lecture, and discussion to explore important people, events, and themes in the history of Great Britain and its empire from the Napoleonic Wars to the present day. Topics include the expansion and dissolution of the empire, Victorian attitudes toward sex and society, the experience of war, the impact of immigration, Ireland, Thatcherism, and contemporary Britain. Films will be analyzed from a historical perspective, and history will be explored from a filmic perspective. We will pay particular attention to the ways in which individual directors have represented history and identity.

Readings:

The following books are available at the Matador Bookstore. They may also be available for signficantly less through an online vendor:

Niall Ferguson, Empire (Basic Books, 2002; ISBN 0465023290)
Elizabeth Gaskell, North and South (Oxford, 1998; ISBN 0199537003)
Walter Arnstein, Queen Victoria (Palgrave Macmillan, 2005; ISBN 0333638077)
Senia Paseta, Modern Ireland (Oxford, 2003; ISBN 0192801678)
George Orwell, The Road to Wigan Pier (Harcourt Brace, 1972; ISBN 0156767503)
Zareer Masani, Indian Tales of the Raj (University of California, 1990; ISBN 0520071271)
Samuel Selvon, The Lonely Londoners (Longman, 1990; ISBN 0582642647); See Reading Questions
Eric Evans, Thatcher and Thatcherism (Routledge, 2004; ISBN 0415270138)

Assignments:

A 3-page paper analyzing North and South, due March 3 (20%)
A 3-page paper comparing and contrasting the two Peter Weir films, Master and Commander and Gallipoli, due March 17 (20%)
A 3-page paper comparing the experience of immigrants in Lonely Londoners and My Beautiful Laundrette, due May 4 (20%)
Regular, thoughtful participation in class discussions; various quizzes and viewing worksheets will be incorporated (10%)
A take-home final exam, scheduled for May 12 (30%)

Course Policies:

All assignments are due at the beginning of class on the specified due date. Papers may not be emailed. Late papers will be marked down one-third grade (e.g., from an A to an A-) per day. Missed assignments will be entered as a zero.
Students are expected to attend every class. More than two absences for any reason will adversely affect the student's grade, as will repeated lateness. Please turn off all pagers and cell phones during class.
Any student caught plagiarizing (copying or borrowing someone else's words or ideas, whether on paper or from the internet, without crediting them in full) will receive a failing grade for the course and will be referred to the Office of Student Affairs for dsciplinary action.
The instructor reserves the right to modify the course schedule or assignments as needed. Students will be given adequate notice of any changes.

Lecture Topics and Readings:


An Imperial Nation
Jan. 20	Introduction	Tom Jones and Britain's Eighteenth-Century Inheritance
Jan. 27	Britain Rules the Waves	Film: Master and Commander (2003); Read: Ferguson, Empire, xii-113
Feb. 3	Darkest Africa	Film: Sanders of the River (1935) and The Four Feathers (1939); Read: Ferguson, Empire, 114-289
An Industrial Nation
Feb. 10	Hard Times?	Read: Gaskell, North and South, 1-206
Feb. 17	North and South?	Read: Gaskell, North and South, 207-436
Feb. 24	Queen Victoria	Film: Mrs. Brown (1997); Read: Arnstein, Queen Victoria
March 3-10	Edwardian Tensions	Film: Howard’s End (1992)
A Nation at War
March 17	The Great War	Film: Galipoli (1981) Read: Ferguson, Empire, 292-313
March 24	Ireland	Film: Michael Collins (1996); Read: Paseta, Ireland, 1-143
March 31	No Class: Cesar Chavez Day
April 7	No Class: Spring Break
April 14	The Interwar Years	Read: Orwell, The Road to Wigan Pier and Ferguson, Empire, 265-302; Film: Gandhi (1982) [Read the screenplay and answer Viewing Questions]
An Immigrant Nation
April 21	Decolonization	Read: Selvon, The Lonely Londoners; see Reading Questions
April 28	The Thatcher Years	Film: My Beautiful Laundrette (1986); Read: Evans, Thatcher and Thatcherism
May 5	Lingering Troubles	Film: Bloody Sunday (2002); Read: Paseta, Ireland, 144-218

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