British History Since 1688

Catalog #20803206

This course will consider and examine the historical developments behind Great Britain's transition from being a largely rural, aristocratically-governed, economically underdeveloped, and politically unstable kingdom in the seventeenth century to its becoming an urban, democratic and parliamentary, economically powerful, and politically stable nation (and empire) by the twentieth century. It will devote considerable attention to explaining how Great Britain shifted from having a constitutional monarchy dominated by the aristocratic elites to its developing a representative, parliamentary democracy that ultimately allowed for the son of circus performers (John Mayor) to serve as prime minister in the late twentieth century. The course will examine and anlayze why Great Britain served as the birthplace for what would be called the Industrial Revolution. More significantly, British History since 1688 will further investigate how the British government moved from supporting laissez-faire capitalism in the first half of the nineteenth century to constructing the collectively-inspired welfare state after World War ll. This course will examine the creation, exploitation of, and the dissolution of the British Empire and analyze how the empire's creation and dissolution has affected British imperial and domestic history--especially how the immigration of former "imperial subjects" to Great Britain has profoundly affected the ethnic, religious, and cultural composition of what has been assumed to be a homogenous nation.

Credits: 3

Prerequisites:

Outline of Instruction

Course Offerings

last updated: 08:01:43 AM Jan 8 2009

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