The Environment and Everyday Life in Modern Britain
| Module title | The Environment and Everyday Life in Modern Britain |
|---|---|
| Module code | HIC3316 |
| Academic year | 2022/3 |
| Credits | 30 |
| Module staff | Dr Timothy Cooper (Convenor) |
| Duration: Term | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duration: Weeks | 11 | 11 |
| Number students taking module (anticipated) | 32 |
|---|
Module description
This module, arranged across six weeks per term across two terms, explores the experience of the environment in everyday life in modern Britain. It asks you to investigate how ordinary British people encountered nature, ecology, and environmental change in the later-nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and what their experiences tell us about the changing relationship to nature in that period. It is a research-based module assessing both your understanding of supplied materials and your own research. You will be encouraged to break away from the constraints academic expression to find your own writing voice.
Module aims - intentions of the module
This module explores the experience of the environment in everyday life in modern Britain. It asks how ordinary British people encountered nature, ecology, and environmental change in the later-nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This is a primary source-based module. You will approach this topic mainly through case studies and explorations of original materials, including printed works, oral histories, literary representations, and film. Using these sources, and others we gather in a closely supported research process, you will be asked to explore for yourselves how the ‘environment’ came to be a ‘matter of concern’ in modern Britain, and ultimately to write their own long research paper exploring this problem. The approach to teaching will be based on workshop-learning, with discussions of both primary sources and how these fit with existing secondary literature in the field. You will engage with the convenor’s ongoing research in this field and be asked to think about how you can make their own contributions to the field, as well as its relevance for thinking about environmental problems today. You will be encouraged to write, and express your own ideas, in a scholarly but also engaging and creative way.
Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
ILO: Module-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 1. Show a thorough understanding of the environmental history of modern Britain
- 2. Use primary sources in a sophisticated way to tell your own story about nature and everyday life in modern Britain
ILO: Discipline-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 3. Be able to write in an engaging and creative way about historical change
- 4. Demonstrate a very good understanding of the relationship between environmental contexts and historical change
ILO: Personal and key skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 5. Demonstrate an ability to synthesize a complex literature in an effective and comprehensible way for a general audience
- 6. Demonstrate an ability to use primary sources in an effective way to tell engaging stories for a general audience
Syllabus plan
The syllabus is likely to include at least some of the following topics:
Coastal Environments
Post-industrial Landscapes
Waste and Everyday Life
Animals and Everyday Environments
Extreme Weather, Floods and Hurricanes
Energy, Infrastructures and Pollution
Environmental Literatures and Popular Environmentalism
Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 33 | 267 | 0 |
Details of learning activities and teaching methods
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching | 3 | Introductory and concluding workshops. The first of these sessions outlines the content of the module, its assessment process and plan. The second offers students the opportunity to reflect on their learning at the end of the term. |
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching | 7.5 | Secondary reading workshops. These will be content sessions based on discussion of secondary literature. This material will form the basis your work on the research essay |
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching | 7.5 | Primary source workshops. These will be content based sessions based on exploration of primary sources to be supplied. This material will form the basis of your work on the research essay |
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching | 3 | A field walk of Falmouth town and environs. During which there will be discussion of primary sources, study of the changing material environment, and an opportunity to take notes and develop material in preparation for the submission of the Field Notebook. Hopefully the Field Notebook will inspire you when it comes to thinking about possible questions to pursue in the Research Essay. |
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching | 9 | Essay and research workshops. These sessions will offer detailed support in researching planning and writing the research essay. The first session will be a research session. Building on your content knowledge we will explore various ways to identify new primary material to support your research essay. The second session will be based around a planning process including peer feedback on essay ideas and plans. It will be based around delivery of 10-minute individual presentations. The second session will be a pomodoro technique-based quiet writing session offering the opportunity to progress writing of the research essay) and to get peer feedback on what you have written. |
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching | 3 | A research seminar will offer an opportunity for students to engage with the research of an externally invited speaker and the module convenor in hearing papers presented and to feedback on them and reflect on the relationship to their own work. |
| Guided independent study | 267 | Reading, workshop preparation and ELE |
Formative assessment
| Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Individual presentation | 10 minutes | 1, 2, 4-6 | Verbal |
| In class writing. This will aim at giving you a start on the research essay for this module and getting in-class feedback on your progress | 2 hours | 1-6 | Verbal peer and written tutor feedback |
Summative assessment (% of credit)
| Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | 0 | 0 |
Details of summative assessment
| Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Research Essay | 60 | 4000 words | 1-6 | Written |
| Either a Field Notebook based on the field walk or a Primary Source Portfolio based on primary sources studied over the first time. | 40 | 2500 words | 1-6 | Written |
Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)
| Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Research Essay (4000 words) | Research Essay (4000 words) | 1-6 | Referral/Deferral period |
| Either a Field Notebook based on the field walk or a Primary Source Portfolio based on primary sources studied over the first time (2500 words) | Primary Source Portfolio to be based on primary sources studies in class over the module in lieu of the notebook based on the field walk (2500 words) | 1-6 | Referral/Deferral period |
Re-assessment notes
Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.
Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be required to submit a further assessment as necessary. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 40%
Indicative learning resources - Basic reading
- J. Parr, Sensing Changes, Technologies, Environment and the Everyday, 1953-2003 (2010)
- J. Sheail, An Environmental History of Modern Britain (2007)
- M. Veldman, Fantasy, The Bomb, and the Greening of Britain (1994)
| Credit value | 30 |
|---|---|
| Module ECTS | 15 |
| Module pre-requisites | None |
| Module co-requisites | None |
| NQF level (module) | 6 |
| Available as distance learning? | No |
| Origin date | 23/02/2022 |
| Last revision date | 23/02/2022 |
