Power, Money, Sex: Britain, 1700-1830

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.