Leisure and Society in Britain C.1780-1939 (ES0011)

? Credit Points : 40 ? SCQF Level : 10 ? Acronym : HCA-3-Leisure

This course is taught through 18 1.5 hour lectures and 16 1.5 hour tutorial sessions. The course seeks to examine developments in leisure, in particular changes and continuities in the extent of free time and the manner in which it was utilised. Such changes were conditioned by broader economic, social and cultural influences. The relationship between these various forces are examined here within a British context. Covering the period from the onset of industrialisation to the outbreak of the Second World War, the course also uses leisure as a way into examining many of the forces shaping society in a period of unprecedented change. Particular attention is paid to the impact of class, age, and gender, along with distinctions based on regional and national identities. In the First Semester, these themes are examined in the context of the transition from an outwardly 'traditional' recreational calendar, marked by local diversity and informed by notions of 'custom', to a recognisably 'modern' leisure culture, drawing on bureaucratic and commercial forms of organisation. During the Second semester, particular aspects of the emergent leisure industry will be analysed, alongside the study of more informal recreational pursuits, locating leisure more firmly within the everyday culture of family and neighbourhood.

Entry Requirements

? Pre-requisites : Visiting students should normally have 3 to 4 History courses at Grade B or above.

Subject Areas

Home subject area

Economic and Social History, (School of History, Classics and Archaeology, Schedule E)

Delivery Information

? Normal year taken : 3rd year

? Delivery Period : Full Year (Blocks 1-4)

? Contact Teaching Time : 3 hour(s) per week for 18 weeks

First Class Information

Date	Start	End	Room	Area	Additional Information
20/09/2007	11:30	13:00	Room G.09, William Robertson Building	Central

All of the following classes

Type	Day	Start	End	Area
Lecture	Monday	11:10	13:00	Central
Lecture	Thursday	11:10	13:00	Central

? Additional Class Information : Sessions run 11.30 am to 1pm, not standard teaching periods.

Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes

- To develop students' appreciation of the diversity of sources available to historians, and to encourage a critical evaluation of their uses in promoting an understanding of the role of leisure within society.
- To promote an appreciation of many of the sources of change and continuity in British society in this period.
- To encourage a critical awareness of the theories, methodologies, and concepts utilised by historians, sociologists, and economists to explain developments in leisure patterns, and how they relate to the broader processes of economic and social change.
- To enable students to comment intelligently on, among other things, the peculiar appeal of Gracie Fields and George Formby, and the significance of each Saturday's football results.
- Student-led seminars are intended to develop the presentation and verbal skills of participating students.
- Written assignments are intended to develop the literary skills of students and their ability to construct coherent argument and analysis.

Assessment Information

One document-based exercise and one essay of approximately 3,000 words per semester. Assessed work to count for 25% (the average of the document based exercies to count for 5%, the average of the essay marks for 20%) of the final mark. One three hour degree exam to count for 75% of the final mark.