This module (and its co-requisite Where There Is Discord: Making Thatcher’s Britain (Masters): A) will allow students to study a historical theme or area in great depth, under the guidance of an individual member of staff. The module will allow students to study an aspect of history in detail and gain a fuller understanding of how different types of source material inform the historical process. Like Part A, Part B will involve a detailed examination of primary as well as secondary sources, (documents, newspapers etc) both published and unpublished, and students will be tested on their ability to compare different source materials from the period under scrutiny. Many historians have come to regard the Conservative Party's victory in the 1979 general election as a crucial turning point in the direction of British politics, the moment at which the post-war settlement was abandoned in favour of the neoliberalism that would dominate the following thirty years. This module will place Thatcherism in historical perspective, observing the evolution of the ideology from its genesis in the ‘crisis’ of the 1970s, through to its influence on New Labour, on David Cameron and Theresa May, and on Brexit, via a study of a decade of Thatcherism in practice.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the module students should be able to:
analyse and critically appraise key events and historical processes relevant to the subject under scrutiny;
analyse and critically evaluate a wide range of relevant primary source material offering where appropriate, an explicitly comparative perspective;
critically evaluate the historiographical context and trends of the subject under exploration;
Summarise, synthesise and evaluate the subject material in a sophisticated written form showing an awareness of further research potential.
Assessment
31071-01 : 4,000 word take home paper : Exam (School Arranged) - Written Unseen (100%)
