Skip to main content

The Victorians: liberalism, empire, and morality, 1780-1900 (362-2-20)

Instructors

Claire Courtney Arnold

Meeting Info

Kresge Centennial Hall 2-425: Mon, Wed 12:30PM - 1:50PM

Overview of class

The Victorian Era was one of the most influential periods in not just British history, but the history of the modern world. Between 1780 and 1900, the British Isles transformed from a small island nation of the coast of Europe to the heart of an empire that claim to a quarter of the world's land and population. This expansion not only changed Britain itself, but spread political structures, Victorian culture, and British settlers around the world. This course explores how and why Britain came to "rule the waves" over the nineteenth century, along with considering what everyday life was like for people both in Britain and in the Empire. It also considers the legacy of the Victorian era in both historical structures and cultural memory.

Learning Objectives

Identify the major events in nineteenth-century British history. Understand and make arguments about historical causality. Discuss how historians use different types of primary sources to understand the past. Improve critical reading and argumentative writing skills.

Class Notes

History concentration(s): European

Class Attributes

Historical Studies Distro Area