HIST 2078 - Power, Money, Sex: Britain, 1700-1830

North Terrace Campus - Semester 1 - 2025

The eighteenth-century has been located as a key moment where British people became modern. Industrial revolution and the development of financial capitalism, growing democracy and access to the public sphere, intensifying consumer culture and the availability of far-flung goods, the expansion and contraction of empire, including slavery and revolution, urbanisation and new living arrangements, and changing ideas about the body and sexuality, all contributed to Britons thinking about themselves differently and the ways that would have repercussions for the future. This course explores the eighteenth century as a modernising moment for Britain, asking to what extent these changes were revolutionary or more incremental. It provides students with the historical backdrop to understand key events that continue to have significant power in the cultural imagination. The course also highlights the possibilities of digital humanities research for historians of eighteenth-century Britain. It introduces students to a range of resources that provide access and analysis of relevant primary sources for this period, and explores how such methodologies can enhance traditional forms of historical research.

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Course Details

Course Code	HIST 2078
Course	Power, Money, Sex: Britain, 1700-1830
Coordinating Unit	Historical and Classical Studies
Term	Semester 1
Level	Undergraduate
Location/s	North Terrace Campus
Units	3
Contact	Up to 3 hours per week
Available for Study Abroad and Exchange	Y
Prerequisites	At least 12 units of Level I undergraduate study
Assumed Knowledge	Level I History course
Assessment	Digital humanities task, Historiographical essay, Research project

Course Staff

Course Coordinator: Dr Grace Waye-Harris

Grace Waye-Harris
Napier 307
grace.waye-harris@adelaide.edu.au

Course Timetable

The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from .

Course Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this course students will be able to:

1	Demonstrate a focused understanding of the history of Georgian Britain;
2	Demonstrate an awareness of how approaches from the digital humanities have shaped historical debates about Georgian Britain;
3	Use digital resources to locate, contextualise and analyse primary sources as part of independent research;
4	Use digital humanities resources and methodologies to engage with historical problems;
5	Use a range of formats to demonstrate knowledge of Georgian Britain;
6	Proficiently use contemporary technologies to interrogate primary source information and communicate findings to others;
7	Show understanding of the professional and ethical issues that arise in researching Georgian Britain;
8	Demonstrate an understanding of the diversity of experiences of those who lived in Georgian Britain and its empire.

University Graduate Attributes

This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attribute(s) specified below:

University Graduate Attribute	Course Learning Outcome(s)
Attribute 1: Deep discipline knowledge and intellectual breadth Graduates have comprehensive knowledge and understanding of their subject area, the ability to engage with different traditions of thought, and the ability to apply their knowledge in practice including in multi-disciplinary or multi-professional contexts.	1, 2, 3
Attribute 2: Creative and critical thinking, and problem solving Graduates are effective problems-solvers, able to apply critical, creative and evidence-based thinking to conceive innovative responses to future challenges.	3, 4, 5
Attribute 3: Teamwork and communication skills Graduates convey ideas and information effectively to a range of audiences for a variety of purposes and contribute in a positive and collaborative manner to achieving common goals.	5, 6
Attribute 4: Professionalism and leadership readiness Graduates engage in professional behaviour and have the potential to be entrepreneurial and take leadership roles in their chosen occupations or careers and communities.	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Attribute 5: Intercultural and ethical competency Graduates are responsible and effective global citizens whose personal values and practices are consistent with their roles as responsible members of society.	1, 8
Attribute 8: Self-awareness and emotional intelligence Graduates are self-aware and reflective; they are flexible and resilient and have the capacity to accept and give constructive feedback; they act with integrity and take responsibility for their actions.	7, 8

Learning Resources

Required Resources

Students should have access to ordinary computing facilities with a good internet connection, such as provided in the hub and other similar computing suites. No specialist software is required.

Recommended Resources

A list of key and extended reading, detailed guides to digital humanities resources, web-links, online videos and similar will be provided through MyUni.

Online Learning

Please consult the Myuni pages for this course regularly for updates and additional resources.
Learning & Teaching Activities

Learning & Teaching Modes

This course involves an interactive lecture-workshop and a small group tutorial. The goal of the lecture-workshop will be to introduce students to a topic in eighteenth-century British history and to sources, methods and digital resources that we can use to explore this era. The purpose of the tutorial is for small group discussion, building skills in group work and communication.

Workload

The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

WORKLOAD – STRUCTURED LEARNING TOTAL HOURS
1 x 2 hour lecture per week 24
1 x 1 hour tutorial per week 12

WORKLOAD – SELF-DIRECTED LEARNING TOTAL HOURS
6 hours reading per week 72
2 hours research per week 24
2 hours assignment preparation per week 24
TOTAL 150 hours a semester

Learning Activities Summary

This course is a survey of Georgian Britain and is designed to give a broad overview of the field whilst also giving students skills in the methods and resources for digital humanities in this area. It is divided into three thematic modules: power, money and sex. The power module will introduce students to eighteenth-century politics, the role of the state, the development of democratic ideals and the expansion of the middle-class, and growth of the ‘public sphere’ (newspapers, coffeeshops, seditious speech), crime and law and order. The money module will focus on the transformation of the British economy with the development of modern finance and the stock market, early industrialisation, and expansion into Empire, and also the rise of consumerism and shopping! Sex explores the social history of the period, looking at gender, family life, changing attitudes to sex, prostitution, and the culture of sensibility. Digital humanities resources for eighteenth-century are remarkable and can enable students to engage with primary sources on these topics and importantly analyse them in new ways, whether that is mapping using London Maps (GIS software), statistical analysis (Old Bailey), corpus analysis of texts (google books), or tracking the news as it moves across the country (Gale eighteenth-century newspapers). These resources will be integrated into the workshops, supporting their structured learning activities and demonstrating how historians use such tools to write history. In the final few weeks, students will select a resource and use it to answer a relevant research question. This task will be supported by set activities to guide students through the research process. These tasks will be the basis of class discussion in later weeks.

Specific Course Requirements

None

The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:

Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
Assessment must maintain academic standards.

Assessment Summary

ASSESSMENT TASK TASK TYPE WEIGHTING COURSE LEARNING OUTCOME(S)
Digital humanities methods Formative and summative 20% 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7,
Historiographical essay Summative 35% 1, 5, 6, 7, 8
Research project Summative 45% 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

Assessment Detail

Digital humanities methods will be a short assignment (equivalent of 1,000 words) designed to assess knowledge of the basic principles and methods involved in the digital humanities. This is not a technical assignment (how to use x), but is designed to demonstrate knowledge of the larger conceptual and methodological issues involved in this type of research.

Historiographical essay. This is a traditional historiographical essay designed to assess knowledge of the history of Georgian Britain. Students can answer from a set of pre-existing questions or design their own (1,500 words).

Research project. This key assessment will require students to develop a research question that can be answered by one of the digital humanities resources they have been introduced to, and then use that resource to answer it. For example, a research question about women’s involvement in crime in eighteenth century Britain could use the Old Bailey online to analyse this issue. Students would then be expected to place their research into historiographical context and to reflect on the limitations of what their source and analysis. This will be supported by directed tasks to guide students through this process (2,000 words).

Submission

Submission is through Turnitin on MyUni.

Course Grading

Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:

M10 (Coursework Mark Scheme)
Grade	Mark	Description
FNS		Fail No Submission
F	1-49	Fail
P	50-64	Pass
C	65-74	Credit
D	75-84	Distinction
HD	85-100	High Distinction
CN		Continuing
NFE		No Formal Examination
RP		Result Pending

Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.

Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.

Final results for this course will be made available through .

Student Feedback

The University places a high priority on approaches to learning and teaching that enhance the student experience. Feedback is sought from students in a variety of ways including on-going engagement with staff, the use of online discussion boards and the use of Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys as well as GOS surveys and Program reviews.

SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.
Student Support
Policies & Guidelines
This section contains links to relevant assessment-related policies and guidelines - all university policies.
The School of History and Politics is committed to upholding the University's Policy on Occupational Health & Safety (OH&S). All staff and students have a legal responsibility to act in the interests of themselves and others with respect to OH&S. For information on the School's contingency plan and emergency procedures, please see the OH&S section on the school website:

http://www.hss.adelaide.edu.au/historypolitics/ohs
Fraud Awareness

Students are reminded that in order to maintain the academic integrity of all programs and courses, the university has a zero-tolerance approach to students offering money or significant value goods or services to any staff member who is involved in their teaching or assessment. Students offering lecturers or tutors or professional staff anything more than a small token of appreciation is totally unacceptable, in any circumstances. Staff members are obliged to report all such incidents to their supervisor/manager, who will refer them for action under the university's student鈥檚 disciplinary procedures.

The 成人大片 is committed to regular reviews of the courses and programs it offers to students. The 成人大片 therefore reserves the right to discontinue or vary programs and courses without notice. Please read the important information contained in the disclaimer.

Authorised by:	Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Academic)
Maintained by:	Course Outlines Administrator

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