Permissive Britain? Social and Cultural Change 1956-74

HST31020: Permissive Britain? Social and Cultural Change, 1956-74

40 credits (semesters 1 and 2)

Module Leader: Dr Lucy Brown (2024-25)

Module Summary

This module explores British society and culture as the nation moved from an era of austerity and rationing to one of unprecedented affluence. This was a period of intellectual ferment when traditions and authorities were challenged, personal morality was re-evaluated, and new freedoms were claimed. The transition to a more individualistic, pluralistic and multicultural society caused considerable debate and disquiet. Key topics to be studied include the impact of affluence and consumerism on class and gender relationships; the emergence of a national youth culture based around music and fashion; changes and continuities in sexual behaviour in the wake of the introduction of the contraceptive pill; the increasingly heated debates about immigration and race. Students will assess the significance of the reforming legislation that relaxed the censorship regime, decriminalised homosexuality, enabled easier access to abortion, liberalised the divorce system and abolished capital punishment. They will examine the arguments of those who championed, and those who resisted, 'permissiveness'.

Teaching

The module is taught through twice-weekly seminars. These seminars will focus on the discussion of primary material, including sociological surveys, government reports, memoirs, diaries, court transcripts, newspaper and magazine articles, novels, plays, films, television broadcasts and music.

Assessment

Please see this page for more information about assessment. 

Seminars

Themes may include:

• Post-war Britain

• Affluence and consumerism

• Suez, satire and the `state of the nation´

• Morality and the law: the Wolfenden Report

• Obscenity and censorship: the Lady Chatterley trial

• Youth culture, pop music and the media

• The pill and sexual mores

• Immigration and national identity

• Education and social mobility

• Poverty, welfare and housing

• Religion, secularization and moral protest

• Crime, punishment and the abolition of the death penalty

• Permissive legislation? Homosexuality, abortion, divorce

• Challenging authority: counter-culture and student protest

• Feminism and gay rights

• Powell, racism and nationalism

• Backlash? The right and the response to `permissiveness´

• Industrial relations and the trade union movement

• Turbulent Seventies: political conflict and economic crisis

• Myths, memories and legacies of the Sixties

Selected Reading

• Mark Donnelly, Sixties Britain: Culture, Society and Politics (Harlow, 2005)

• Jonathon Green, All Dressed Up: The Sixties and the Counter-Culture (London, 1999)

• Robert Hewison, Too Much: Art and Society in the Sixties, 1960-75 (London, 1986)

• Peter Hennessy, Having it So Good: Britain in the Fifties (London, 2006)

• Arthur Marwick, The Sixties: Cultural Revolution in Britain, France, Italy, and the United States, c. 1958-c.1974 (Oxford, 1998)

• Arthur Marwick, British Society since 1945 (4th ed., London, 2003)

• Dominic Sandbrook, Never Had It So Good: A History of Britain From Suez to the Beatles (London, 2005); White Heat: A History of Britain in the Swinging Sixties (London, 2006)

Intended Learning Outcomes

By the end of the unit, a candidate will be able to demonstrate:

• A detailed knowledge of the social and cultural changes in Britain between 1956 and 1974.

• A clear understanding of the significance of the reforming legislation of this period.

• The ability to identify continuities and changes in patterns of personal behaviour in this period.

• The ability to analyse a range of primary sources and evaluate their significance in historiographical context.

• The ability to identify and evaluate the main historiographical interpretations of the social and cultural changes of the period.

• A clear understanding of the methodological issues involved in the historical study of the recent past.

• The ability to present material in seminars and participate intelligently in discussion with both the tutor and fellow students.

• The ability to write informed and coherent essays and commentaries on documents, under pressure of time.