Urban Histories of Britain, 1600-1900

In this course we will explore the social and cultural landscape of urban Britain throughout seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. Specifically, we will look to the urban centers of London, Manchester, Edinburgh, and Glasgow. This period saw large-scale urbanization across Britain and with this urbanization came dramatic changes in the social, cultural, political, and economic spheres. We will map the socio-spatial intricacies of seventeenth-century London, question the notion of an “urban renaissance” in the eighteenth century, and trace the explosion of rapid industrialization in nineteenth-century Manchester. In doing so, we will examine how questions of class, race, gender, sexuality, and nationality played out within the urban landscape. A portion of the course will be dedicated to the development of student research projects.