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Description：
The module
intends to provide a survey of the origins and transformations of industrial
society over the last two centuries or so, a period of time within which
industrial nation states have reached new heights of power and acquired the
dominant share of the world’s wealth – a wealth once dominated by Westerners
but increasingly challenged in recent years by the rise of, for example,
South East Asian nations. This comparative studies programme shall allow
students to obtain a critical understanding of the nature of industrial
society through fostering a multidisciplinary approach to industrialisation
and many of the changes in society it helped to establish. The course will
give students the opportunity to consider the ideas and the conditions in
Europe and elsewhere that produced industrial change, capitalism and
democracy – processes that the West considered then and still considers today
as desirable for itself and other parts of the world. The curriculum gives
particular focus to pre-industrial Europe and its economy, industrial
Britain, urbanisation and its effects upon social classes, public health,
housing and ways of living. The course is designed to build skills such as
thinking critically, well-constructed writing and the clear presenting of
oral arguments. In so doing students will be expected to critically engage
with a range of academic disciplines such as History (social and economic,
cultural and urban), Social Studies, Economics and Geography, so as to answer
questions such as:
• In what ways did industrialisation
fundamentally change societies?
• What factors accounted for the beginning of
the Industrial Revolution?
• How did patterns of urbanisation change as
a consequence of industrial growth?
• How did social class relations shift due to
industrial progress?
• How did industrial changes affect the role
of women or children in the work place?
• What demographic changes have occurred
since industrialisation began?
• Were the First and Second Industrial
Revolutions the same or were they different?
• How did rural developments affect the rise
of industry in Europe’s past?
• What is the relationship between cities and
the countryside both before and after the onset of industrial growth?
• What dangers arise from industrial and
urban transition? Are these dangers universal?
Learning
Outcome：
1. Recognise
and explain key events that led to upheavals within the economies and
societies of Europe, North America and Asia, in so doing enhancing existing
knowledge of what shaped these continents.
2. Grasp the
relationship between the evolution of industrialisation and the changing
nature of societies.
3. Consider
broad issues within History in greater depth so as to make connections
between industrial growth and other contexts.
4. Demonstrate
historical knowledge via a short tutorial presentation and class-centred
exercises.
5. Exhibit
critical thinking and research skills through the writing of scholarly
assignments and the compiling of an online portfolio.
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