History

Time and Place: 1968: Rivers of Blood

Module code: V1404
Level 5
15 credits in spring semester
Teaching method: Seminar, Lecture
Assessment modes: Coursework

On 20 April 1968, Conservative MP Enoch Powell delivered one of the most controversial speeches in modern political history. Powell warned that the migration of racial and ethnic minorities to Britain threatened to tear the country’s social and economic fabric. His speech stoked the flames of reaction ignited by the arrival of thousands of Caribbean migrants immediately following the end of the Second World War.

On this module, you’ll assess the contested development of multi-racialism in post-war Britain. You’ll explore:

• the factors that precipitated migration
• social unrest and the demands to close Britain’s borders that resulted from it
• the fight for racial equality by black and white activists.

Module learning outcomes

• Critically evaluate the historiography around a particular moment.
• Critically evaluate the applicability of historical concepts to particular cases.
• Supply evidence of these skills in extended essay form.
• Demonstrate ability to use limited amounts of primary source material in extended historical argument.