Thatcher's Britain

Overview

An examination of the Thatcher era (1979-1990) from political, cultural, social, intellectual and international perspectives. The module will also consider the longer-term, post-1945, development of Thatcherism and its legacy in the 1990s. Topics to be considered include: race and national identity; Britain and the wider world; devolution and local government; economics; party and identity politics; urban unrest; and debates over the nuclear deterrent.

Learning Objectives

On completion of this module, students should be able to demonstrate: 1) knowledge of the main developments of the Thatcher era, both in outline and fine detail; 2) an understanding of the deeper, and longer-term, changes occurring in British politics, society and culture after 1945; 3) an ability to engage with the relevant historiographical debates; 4) an ability to analyse a range of relevant primary sources; 5) an appreciation of the distinctive challenges of contemporary history.

Skills

On completion of this module, students should have acquired the following skills: 1) an increased ability critically to engage with historiography; 2) an increased ability to analyse primary sources; 3) an increased ability to develop an argument in written and oral forms.

Assessment

None