Key facts

Details for course being taught in current academic year
Level 2  -  18 credits  -  spring and summer terms

E-learning links

Study Direct: V1327 (09/10)

Resources

Timetable Link
Reading list

Course description

Course outline

There were nearly 60,000 British casualties (of whom 20,000 were dead) on the first day of the Somme. The final tally was nearly 420,000 British casualties during the battle. This represents a significant proportion of total British war casualties of about 0.75 million dead and 1.5 million wounded.

Nearly all of those that fought are now dead and the war is rapidly passing from living memory. What were the experiences of those who fought? How did experience and expectation vary by class and age? Is it true that the ‘flower of British youth’ perished in Flanders fields? What long term impact did the carnage have on the attitudes of the British people? How is the war represented in art and literature and in what ways have these representations been used to portray particular views of war -

The war is often seen as a great watershed between the old Victorian nineteenth century and the modern twentieth century, but historians have increasingly questioned the extent to which changes brought about by the war were anything more than transitory. Nevertheless, the lives of many who were non-combatants did change profoundly. About 800,000 women entered the workplace to replace men who were called up. How did war work affect women’s lives and expectations? In a wider context, did the needs of ‘total war’ and desire to secure victory at all costs transform the political aspirations of working people?

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course, a successful student should be able to:
1) understand a historical moment by reference to the particular context in which it occurred;
2) communicate the importance of locality in history, and the specificity of particular historical events;
3) supply evidence of these skills in essays that distil information provided in course lectures and for class discussion;
4) undertake a sustained argument largely based on secondary sources but also using a limited amount of primary material.

Assessments

Resit mode of assessment

Timing

Submission deadlines may vary for different types of assignment/groups of students.

Weighting

Coursework components (if listed) total 100% of the overall coursework weighting value.

Teaching methods

How to read the week pattern

The numbers indicate the weeks of the term and how many events take place each week.

Contact details

Dr Lucy Robinson

Assess convenor
http://www.sussex.ac.uk/history/profile22808.html

Dr Hester Barron

Assess convenor, Convenor
http://www.sussex.ac.uk/history/profile211496.html