Undergraduate Course: Gender Identities in Britain during the Two World Wars (HIST10342)
Course Outline
School | School of History, Classics and Archaeology |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
Summary | This course highlights the centrality of gender to the analysis of wartime experience in twentieth century Britain and explores how gender identities are socially, culturally and historically shaped. It examines the public construction of gender roles in wartime and considers the ways in which norms of masculinity and femininity were promoted and utilised by the government to mobilise the British population at war.
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Course description |
This course addresses the construction and representation of gender roles in Britain during the two world wars, paying particular attention to the social construction of wartime masculinities. It addresses the primacy of the 'soldier hero' during the First World War as well as exploring naval masculinities and the phenomenon of the 'aviator' warrior. At the same time, this course also addresses the experiences of those who did not conform to hegemonic forms of wartime masculinity such as conscientious objectors and civilian male workers. Addressing wide-ranging topics such as sexuality, LGBT identities, disabilities and ethnicities, this course adopts an inter disciplinary approach which incorporates popular representations from film, literature and the arts. The topics covered are:
Gendering War - an overview
Heroic Masculinities and the First World War
Naval Masculinities
The Aviator
Maiming - disfigurement and disabilities
Women's Wartime Roles
Sexuality
LGBT Identities
The Civilian Male
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | A pass or passes in 40 credits of first level historical courses or equivalent and a pass or passes in 40 credits of second level historical courses or equivalent.
Before enrolling students on this course, PTs are asked to contact the History Honours Admission Administrator to ensure that a place is available (Tel: 503780). |
Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisites | Visiting students should have at least 3 History courses at grade B or above (or be predicted to obtain this). We will only consider University/College level courses. Applicants should note that, as with other popular courses, meeting the minimum does NOT guarantee admission.
** as numbers are limited, visiting students should contact the Visiting Student Office directly for admission to this course ** |
High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- demonstrate, by way of coursework and examination as required, command of the body of knowledge considered in the course;
- demonstrate, by way of coursework and examination as required, an ability to read, analyse and reflect critically upon relevant scholarship;
- demonstrate, by way of coursework and examination as required, an ability to understand, evaluate and utilise a variety of primary source material;
- demonstrate, by way of coursework and examination as required, the ability to develop and sustain scholarly arguments in oral and written form, by formulating appropriate questions and utilising relevant evidence;
- demonstrate independence of mind and initiative; intellectual integrity and maturity; an ability to evaluate the work of others, including peers and the ability to work in a team.
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Reading List
Joanna Bourke, Dismembering the Male: Men's Bodies, Britain and the Great War (1996)
Mary Conley, From Jack Tar to Union Jack. Representing Naval Manhood in the British Empire 1870-1918 (2009)
R W Connell Masculinities (1995),
Graham Dawson, Soldier Heroes: British Adventure, Empire and the Imagining of Masculinity (1994)
Martin Francis, The Flyer. British Culture and the Royal Air Force 1939-45 (2009)
Joshua S Goldstein, War and Gender: how gender shapes the war system and vice versa (2001)
Nicoletta Gullace, The Blood of our Sons men, women and the renegotiation of British citizenship during the Great War (2004)
M. R. Higonnet, J. Jenson, S. Michel and M. Collins Weitz (eds) Behind the Lines. Gender and the Two World Wars (1987)
Jessica Meyer, Men at War. Masculinity and the First World War in Britain (2008)
Lucy Noakes, War & the British: gender, memory and national identity (1998)
Sonya O Rose, Which People's War? National Identity and Citizenship in Wartime Britain 1939-1945 (2003)
Emma Vickers, Queen and Country: Same-sex Desire in the British Armed Forces, 1939-45 (2013)
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Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
Keywords | Gender Identities |
Contacts
Course organiser | Dr Wendy Ugolini
Tel: (0131 6)50 3766
Email: wendy.ugolini@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Alexandra Adam
Tel: (0131 6)50 3767
Email: alex.adam@ed.ac.uk |
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