Was there an Industrial Revolution? This seems like an odd question given the importance of industrialization in the modern world, but when historians searched the evidence many concluded the Industrial Revolution was “neither very industrial nor very revolutionary”. We’ll work to understand why industrialization started in Britain and debate whether it needs to be renamed. We will then explore the economic, social, political and environmental consequences of industrialization in England, Scotland and Wales; including how urbanization and industrialization changed social and gender relations, creating new demands for democratic reform, unionization and women's rights. We will look at the global history of industrialization, from the cotton plantations, wheat fields, sheep stations, palm groves and copper mines that supplied raw materials to British factories, to the spread of industrial economies to Germany, North America, Japan and China. While exploring these interconnected histories, we will learn about different methods and approaches to history such as economic, social, political and environmental history. The history of the first modern industrial society; urbanization, democratization and class conflict; the rise of the labour movement, the triumph of middle-class values, the decline of the aristocracy; the changing religious and moral climate; the domestic consequences of world power; the social and economic impact of two world wars, the loss of world power. Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hoursPrerequisite(s): 3 credit units HIST at the 100 level; or 30 credit units of University level courses.
Was there an Industrial Revolution? This seems like an odd question given the importance of industrialization in the modern world, but when historians searched the evidence many concluded the Industrial Revolution was “neither very industrial nor very revolutionary”. We’ll work to understand why industrialization started in Britain and debate whether it needs to be renamed. We will then explore the economic, social, political and environmental consequences of industrialization in England, Scotland and Wales; including how urbanization and industrialization changed social and gender relations, creating new demands for democratic reform, unionization and women's rights. We will look at the global history of industrialization, from the cotton plantations, wheat fields, sheep stations, palm groves and copper mines that supplied raw materials to British factories, to the spread of industrial economies to Germany, North America, Japan and China. While exploring these interconnected histories, we will learn about different methods and approaches to history such as economic, social, political and environmental history. The history of the first modern industrial society; urbanization, democratization and class conflict; the rise of the labour movement, the triumph of middle-class values, the decline of the aristocracy; the changing religious and moral climate; the domestic consequences of world power; the social and economic impact of two world wars, the loss of world power. Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hoursPrerequisite(s): 3 credit units HIST at the 100 level; or 30 credit units of University level courses.
