History 514.03 covers the history of Great Britain during the twentieth century, beginning for background with events and movements during the last decades of the nineteenth century. Students will be exposed to important ideas which have influenced the development of government and culture in both Europe and America, and especially to an examination of fundamental social and intellectual concepts.
British history is a particularly valuable medium for conveying comparative understandings.
Graduate student tests will be graded separately from those of undergraduates, and a greater degree of familiarity with the supplementary readings will be required. In the second hour of the final examination you will also be required to write one long comprehensive essay, selected from a list of topics given out in advance. Each student will be assigned a specific year and asked to survey one or more contemporary periodicals and write on one of the main political issues of that year. Our library is rich in British periodicals and newspapers, and you will have exclusive use of the periodicals you need to consult, so there should be no problem of availability of sources. Students planning to do this supplementary essay should meet with me by April 8 to select a topic and by May 20 to have outlines approved.