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This module explores the ways dominant values and gendered codes of conduct and behaviour in 19th and 20th century Britain and North America were interpreted, subverted and challenged by women and men through their public and private writing. Using a series of case studies of pioneering individuals, the course will assess what their writing, ideas and choices - and the reactions to them - reveal about changing discourses of masculinity and femininity and associated experiences of gender, race and class privilege, exclusion and defiance. The course also examines how notions of gender and gender difference have developed conceptually and how the discipline of history has - or might - adapt in response to these debates.

On successful completion of this module a student will be able to:
1. Demonstrate sound knowledge and critical understanding of social, cultural and political systems/structures in Britain and North America and how these changed or were challenged 1850 – 1950.
2. Critically evaluate constructions of masculinity and femininity and their intersection with class, race and ethnicity, and their impact on the lives of women and men in Britain (and parts of the Empire) and North America between 1850 – 1950.
3. Demonstrate a systematic understanding of the historiographical debates and theoretical approaches that inform the history of gender relations and gender identity and the benefits and limitations of these interpretations.
4. Recognise the reliability, validity and significance of life writing, fiction and journalism as sources for historians, demonstrated through practical application.
5. Write effectively and knowledgeably for academic and non-academic audiences using a range of secondary and primary sources.

Drawing on a range of primary sources, primarily life writing, fiction and journalism and a range of secondary sources, students will critically evaluate how gender, race and class privilege were addressed by pioneering British and American men and women over the period 1850 – 1950. Their lifestyles choices and experiences together with their provocative writing and ideas revealing how they envisaged change in their own lives and in wider society will be analysed in the context of dominant social and political norms and conventions. Individual case studies will fall into three broad groupings: Black American Women Writers; ‘New Women’ Writers; Lesbian and Gay Rights Champions: Harriet Beecher Stowe, Sojourner Truth, Zora Neale Hurston, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Olive Schreiner, Oscar Wilde, Cicely Hamilton, Rebecca West, Laurence Houseman, Marguerite Radclyffe Hall and Edward Carpenter Weekly classes will focus on distinctive but overlapping themes, including: marriage, gay rights, women’s rights, slavery and abolition of slavery, employment, consumption, lifestyle, health, childcare and education.

Weekly workshops will be organised around issues that were sites of contention in Britain and North America in the period from the mid-19th to the mid-20th centuries in relation to gender, sexuality, race and/or class. These issues will be studied through the lives and writings of individuals drawn to or affected by them. Students will select two themes or individuals for further original research and analysis and will present their ideas to other students and through formative and summative assessment.

Students will study a range of primary and secondary sources, available in text, digitally, orally and visually and will be encouraged to keep up to date with alternative new historical sources and material as it become available, for example via blogs, vlogs exhibitions etc.

Coursework: 40% weighting, 40% pass mark.
Learning Outcomes: 2, 4, 5.
Word Length: 1000 words.
Outline Details: Using WordPress, write a blog (minimum 1, maximum 2) that discusses a theme or issue that is relevant to the module. Sources consulted must include an item of fiction. The blog should include at least one piece of visual/digital content and be fully references with a bibliography.

Essay: 60% weighting, 40% pass mark.
Learning Outcomes: 1, 2, 3, 5.
Word Length: 2000 words.
Outline Details: Essay answering a question from a list provided by the module leader or one that has been agreed in advance with the module leader.

Formative Assessment: Students will be asked to undertake 2 pieces of formative assessment: an in-class presentation or a blog post (no more than 500 words) that contextualises an item of fiction (from a pre-selected list) and assesses its usefulness and impact for the purposes of historical study. Feedback will be given by other students and the module leader. The feedback will help students to execute their blog assessment to the best of their ability.

Students will be asked to submit a one-page research design outline of their essays, no less than 3 weeks before the essay is due in. This will cover: essay question; outline of argument; structure; sources. Feedback will be provided by the module leader no less than 2 weeks before the essay submission date.