HST6046 Sex and Power: The Politics of Women's Liberation in Modern Britain
15 credits
Module leader: Julie Gottlieb
Listed on MA Modern History, MA Historical Research
Module summary
This module examines the integration of women and the evolving themes and demands of the women's movement in the political sphere in Britain from the heyday of the suffrage movement up to the reign of Britain's first female PM, Margaret Thatcher. We will focus on both women's wide-ranging attempts and their more limited achievements to gain entry into the political establishment, at the local, national and international levels. Topics will include women's suffrage agitation; the aftermath of suffrage; inter-war feminism; feminist internationalism; studies of women politicians; Second Wave Feminism; and gendered readings of British political history.
Learning outcomes
By the end of the module, you will be able to:
Demonstrate a more profound understanding of women's movements, women's political history, and the gendering of political institutions and relationship in Britain in the 20th century
Demonstrate the ability to distinguish between and critically evaluate different schools of interpretation and historical debate on women's political history in the modern Britain, attaining an awareness of current research issues beyond the published literature
Demonstrate an ability to elaborate and defend an intellectual position to other members of the seminar group as well as presenting scholarly arguments and historiographical debate to them
Demonstrate a more profound understanding of the scope and nature of the relevant primary material, and the interpretive tools needed to analyse these
Demonstrate an awareness of the contribution made by other academic disciplines - women's studies, political science, sociology - to our understanding of women's history
Demonstrate an ability to engage in group discussions of interpretive issues
Assessment methods
Assessment type - % of final mark
3000 word essay - 100%
You will complete a 3000 word essay on a topic related to one of the module's key themes. You will define your own essay topic in discussion with your tutor.
Additional learning and teaching information
Teaching and indicative seminar plan:
The module will be taught in five, two-hour classes. You will also have individual tutorial contact with the module tutor in order to discuss your assessment for this module.
Selected reading:
Esther Breitenbach and Pat Thane (eds.), Women and Citizenship in Britain and Ireland in the Twentieth Century: What Difference Did the Vote Make? (2010)
Krista Cowman, Women in British Politics c. 1689-1979 (2010)
J. Gottlieb and R. Toye (eds.), The Aftermath of Suffrage: Women, Gender, and Politics in Britain 1918-1945 (2013)
Helen Jones, Women in British Public Life, 1914-1950 (2000)
Martin Pugh, Women and the Women’s Movement in Britain, 1914-1999 (second edition, 2000)
June Purvis (ed.) Women’s History: Britain, 1850-1945 (1995)