Key facts

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Type	Weekly Classes
Location	Woodley
Address	Waingels College Waingels Road Woodley Reading RG5 4RF
Dates	Thu 27 Sep to Thu 6 Dec 2012 Day: Thursday Time of meeting: 10.00 am-12.00 pm Number of meetings: 10
Subject area(s)	History
CATS points	10
Fees	From £145.00
Application status	Course full
Course code	E12P556HIW
Course contact	If you have any questions about this course, please email ppweekly@conted.ox.ac.uk.

Overview

The Hanoverian line reigned uninterrupted through five monarchs despite Jacobite risings, the loss of the American colonies and a long but victorious war with Napoleonic France. Come and explore the politics and politicians of the period.

Description

The House of Hanover lost influence to Parliament but presided over a nation that was to become the leading world power. The Hanoverian line continued uninterrupted through five monarchs despite Jacobite risings, the loss of the American colonies and a long but victorious war with Revolutionary and Napoleonic France. From a German-speaking autocrat to a sovereign who sponsored, albeit reluctantly, the 1832 Reform Act, we will examine the politics and politicians of the period as new social classes arose and modern party politics bagan to take shape. British colonial and commercial ambitions will be explored through the expanding Empire and through a major imperial setback.

Programme details

Week 1: George I: The Stuart legacy , Jacobite rebellion
Week 2: George I: Whig ascendancy - Robert Walpole
Week 3: George II: Walpole and William Pitt the Elder
Week 4: George II: War and Empire building
Week 5: George III: Lord North & Pitt the Younger
Week 6: George III: Loss of the American colonies
Week 7: George III: War with Revolutionary & Napoleonic France
Week 8: George IV: Dissolute, pleasure-loving dilettente?
Week 9: William IV: Reluctant reformist
Week 10: Review of the Georgian age

Background Reading:
A, Thompson George II
G, M, Ditchfield George III An Essay in Monarchy
C, Hibbert George III: a personal history
E,A, Smith George IV
R, Brown Church and State in Modern Britain 1700-1850
G,Holmes & D, Szechi The Age of Oligarchy Pre-Industrial Britain 1722-1783
N, Harding Hanover and the British Empire

Staff

Course aims

Course Aims:
To introduce students to the reigns of the Georgian monarchs in Britain by exploring their personal and public personas and their role in the political struggles of the period.

Course Objectives:
1. To introduce students to the reigns of the Georgian monarchs by exploring their personal and public personas and their interaction with Parliament
2. To explore British colonial developments
3. To introduce students to contemporary sources and the use historians have made of them

Assessment methods

Option A:
Two written pieces of coursework to be completed at home in the form of a series of questions on the material already covered in class.
OR
Option B:
An essay of c1000-1500 words to be completed at home.

Teaching methods

Each session will consist of an informal lecture, using power point for illustrations and key text, followed by analysis of contemporary documents through general and / or small group discussions. Handouts of documents will be distributed each week in advance of the relevant session.

Teaching outcomes

By the end of the course students can expect to:
1. Identify and contrast the personal styles and public policies of the Georgian monarchs and the changing balance of power and influence between Crown and Parliament
2. Assess overseas developments and Britain’s position as a world power
3. Critically evaluate contemporary documents

Fee options

Programme Fee

EU Fee: £145.00

Non-EU Fee: £145.00

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