Studying online (if an online offering is shown below)
There are now 2 possible online modes for units:
Units with modes Online timetabled and Online flexible are available for any student to self-enrol and study online.
Click on an offering mode for more details.
Unit Overview
- Description
Britain and Ireland shaped the modern world like few others. Innovations in science and technology, combined with military and naval power, helped the ‘workshop of the world' extend its influence over an Empire on which the ‘sun never set'. But behind the grandeur of industrial and global supremacy lay human suffering, resistance and repression that would threaten the very concept of the United Kingdom itself. This unit charts the rise, decline and break-up of Britain and Ireland from political union in the eighteenth century to armed conflict and partition in the twentieth. It considers how Britain, ‘Britishness' and ‘Irishness' were politically and culturally constructed in the face of opposition and rebellion; how Empire was conceptualised, marketed and received; and how the British nation state and its position in the world was challenged by colonial resistance, sectarian ‘troubles' and Irish and Scottish nationalist demands for self-governance. The unit also explores how hegemonic social and moral codes were experienced and resisted in people's day-to-day lives. It looks at how women overthrew a repressive gender ideology that denied them legal rights, how sexual moral codes were usurped, and how sport was wielded as a political and cultural tool to express competing identities and subvert existing power structures. How these historical themes connect to contemporary issues – including campaigns to tear down imperial statues and recognise Britain's slave history – will be explored throughout. The unit draws heavily on historical sources, including film footage and documentary, posters/propaganda, Belfast murals and personal and political correspondence)
- Credit
- 6 points
- Offering
Availability Location Mode Not available in 2025 UWA (Perth) Face to face Not available in 2025 Albany Face to face - Details for undergraduate courses
- Level 2 option in the History; Human Rights major sequences
- Level 2 elective
- Outcomes
Students are able to (1) describe and assess the basic historiographical issues characteristic of the discipline of History; (2) identify and evaluate the historiographical approaches appropriate for the study of British and Irish history; (3) demonstrate a detailed understanding of social, cultural and political change in Britain and Ireland from the eighteenth century onwards; (4) locate and use appropriate sources for research essays; and (5) present arguments in both written and oral assessments using the conventions of the historical discipline.
- Assessment
Indicative assessments in this unit are as follows: (1) workshop participation; (2) major research essay; and (3) reflective essay. Further information is available in the unit outline.
Student may be offered supplementary assessment in this unit if they meet the eligibility criteria.
- Unit Coordinator(s)
- Associate Professor David Barrie
- Unit rules
- Prerequisites
- Successful completion of12 points Unit(s) from any discipline
- Incompatibility
- HIST2244 Britain 1750–1900: the First Industrial Nation.
HIST3344 Britain 1750–1900: the First Industrial Nation
- Contact hours
- Two-hour weekly workshops and one-hour weekly recorded lectures over ten weeks.
- The availability of units in Semester 1, 2, etc. was correct at the time of publication but may be subject to change.
- All students are responsible for identifying when they need assistance to improve their academic learning, research, English language and numeracy skills; seeking out the services and resources available to help them; and applying what they learn. Students are encouraged to register for free online support through GETSmart; to help themselves to the extensive range of resources on UWA's STUDYSmarter website; and to participate in WRITESmart and (ma+hs)Smart drop-ins and workshops.
- Visit the Essential Textbooks website to see if any textbooks are required for this Unit. The website is updated regularly so content may change. Students are recommended to purchase Essential Textbooks, but a limited number of copies of all Essential Textbooks are held in the Library in print, and as an ebook where possible. Recommended readings for the unit can be accessed in Unit Readings directly through the Learning Management System (LMS).
- Contact hours provide an indication of the type and extent of in-class activities this unit may contain. The total amount of student work (including contact hours, assessment time, and self-study) will approximate 150 hours per 6 credit points.
Face to face
Predominantly face-to-face. On campus attendance required to complete this unit. May have accompanying resources online.
Online flexible
100% Online Unit. NO campus face-to-face attendance is required to complete this unit. All study requirements are online only. Unit is asynchronous delivery, with NO requirement for students to participate online at specific times.
Online timetabled
100% Online Unit. NO campus face-to-face attendance is required to complete this unit. All study requirements are online only. Unit includes some synchronous components, with a requirement for students to participate online at specific times.
Online Restricted
Not available for self-enrolment. Students access this mode by contacting their student office through AskUWA. 100% Online Unit.
NO campus face-to-face attendance. All study and assessment requirements are online only. Unit includes some timetabled activities, with a requirement for students to participate online at specific times. In exceptional cases (noted in the Handbook) students may be required to participate in face-to-face laboratory classes when a return to UWA’s Crawley campus becomes possible in order to be awarded a final grade.
External
No attendance or regular contact is required, and all study requirements are completed either via correspondence and/or online submission.
Off-campus
Regular attendance is not required, but student attends the institution face to face on an agreed schedule for purposes of supervision and/or instruction.
Multi-mode
Multiple modes of delivery. Unit includes a mix of online and on-campus study requirements. On campus attendance for some activities is required to complete this unit.