A Land Fit for Heroes? Britain and the British Empire between the Two World Wars (Non-credit)

Content of Course

1. Introduction and Overview.

2. ‘Winning the Peace’: The Treaty of Versailles and beyond.

3. ‘The Roaring Twenties?’ Life in post-war Britain.

4. ‘Yet more red’: the British Empire and Commonwealth in the post-war period.

5. ‘MacBaldwinism’: Tory resurgence and the rise of the Labour Party.

6. ‘Slump’: the Great Depression.

7.  ‘An end in sight?’ Britain and the nationalist movement in India.

8. ‘Dangerous Promises’: Britain and the Middle East.

9. ‘Appeasement’: Keeping the peace in Europe.

10. ‘Once more unto the breach’: Britain and the Empire at the outbreak of the Second World War.

Learning outcomes

Upon completion of the course it is intended that students will be able to:

• Demonstrate an understanding of the history of Britain and the British Empire during the interwar period, including economic decline and rising industrial unrest in Britain, and the impact of nationalist movements in India and elsewhere;

• Demonstrate through oral contribution in classes, and through the assessment where applicable, an ability to analyse the primary sources, and to handle critically the secondary sources;

• Demonstrate, through oral contribution in classes, and through the assessment where applicable, an ability to conduct research and to structure ideas;

• Demonstrate, through oral contribution in classes and through the assessment where applicable, an ability to organize their own learning and to manage their workload.

Sources

Core Readings

Essential:

• Niall Ferguson, 2003. Empire, How Britain Made the Modern World. London: Penguin (chapters 6).

• Christopher Lee, 1999. This Sceptred Isle. London: BBC (chapters 1 to 4).

Recommended:

• John Darwin, 2009. The Empire Project, The Rise and Fall of the British World-System, 1830-1970. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (chapters 8 to 11).

• Ronald Hyam, 1976. Britain’s Imperial Century, 1815-1914, A Study of Empire and Expansion. Basingstoke: Palgrave-Macmillan (chapters 3 and 4).

• Denis Judd, 1996. Empire. 2001 edition. London: Harper Collins (chapters 20, 21, 22).

• Jan Morris, 1978. Farewell the Trumpets. An Imperial Retreat. 1998 edition. London: Faber and Faber (chapters 10 to 15).

• Robert Rhodes James, 1977. The British Revolution, British Politics 1880-1939, Volume Two: From Asquith to Chamberlain, 1914 to 1939. London: Hamish Hamilton.

Queries

If you have questions regarding the course or enrolment, please contact COL Reception at Paterson's Land by email COL@ed.ac.uk or by phone 0131 650 4400.

Student support

If you have a disability, learning difficulty or health condition which may affect your studies, please let us know by ticking the 'specific support needs' box on your course application form. This will allow us to make appropriate adjustments in advance and in accordance with your rights under the Equality Act 2010. For more information please visit the Student Support section of our website.