Postgraduate Course: The Material Culture of Gender in Eighteenth-Century Britain (online) (PGHC11636)
Course Outline
| School | School of History, Classics and Archaeology |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
| Course type | Online Distance Learning |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course provides an advanced analysis of the material world as defined by gendered experience and expectations in eighteenth century Britain. It looks at the rich and the poor and is focussed on housing, the body, consumer behaviour, manufacture and design issues, portraiture and print satire. It also explores contemporary social philosophies, such as "politeness" and the impact on behaviour relative to the material. |
| Course description |
This course provides an advanced analysis of the material world as defined by gendered experience and expectations in eighteenth century Britain. It looks at the rich and the poor and is focussed on such themes as housing, the body, consumer behaviour, manufacture and design issues, portraiture and print satire. It also explores contemporary social philosophies, such as "politeness" and the impact of such popular thinking on personal, group and gendered behaviour relative to the material. The course is taught through a mixture of short presentations, exercises based on circulated images and some web-based searches, and seminar discussion based on pre-set reading. The course seeks to explore both material and visual sources in depth including furniture, clothing, textiles, portraits and prints and engravings.
Content note: The study of History inevitably involves the study of difficult topics that we encourage students to approach in a respectful, scholarly, and sensitive manner. Course organisers cannot entirely predict the directions discussions may take in tutorials or seminars, or through the wider reading that students may conduct for the course
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Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
|
| Academic year 2025/26, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
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Quota: 0 |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Online Activities 22,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
174 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Coursework
3000 word Essay (80%)
Forum Posts (20%) |
| Feedback |
Not entered |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Demonstrate a detailed and critical command of the body of knowledge concerning the material culture of gender in eighteenth century Britain
- Analyse and reflect critically upon relevant scholarship concerning course, plus the associated primary source materials both visual and material and connected conceptual discussions
- Develop and sustain original scholarly arguments in oral and written forms by independently formulating appropriate questions and utilising relevant evidence considered in the course
- Demonstrate in oral and written form originality and independence of mind and initiative; intellectual integrity and maturity; an ability to evaluate the work of others, including peers; and a considerable degree of autonomy
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Reading List
- A. Appadurai, The Social Life of Things: Commodities in Cultural Perspective. (1986)
- Jennie Batchelor and Cora Kaplan, eds. Women and Material Culture, 1660-1830 (2007)
- M. Berg, Luxury and Pleasure in Eighteenth Century Britain (2005)
- H. Berry and J. Gregory, eds. Creating and Consuming Culture in North-East England, 1660-1830 (2004)
- P. Borsay, The English Urban Renaissance: Culture and Society in the Provincial Town (1989)
- M. Hallett, The Spectacle of Difference: Graphic Satire in the Age of Hogarth (Yale 1999)
- S. Nenadic, Lairds and Luxury: The Highland Gentry in Eighteenth Century Scotland (2007)
- M. Snodin and J. Styles, (2001) Design and the Decorative Arts: Britain, 1500-1900. V&A Publications
- D. H. Solkin, D. H. Painting for Money: The Visual Arts and the Public Sphere in Eighteenth-Century England. London: Yale University Press. 1993
- Vickery, A. Behind Closed Doors: At Home in Georgian England (2009) |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Sarah Goldsmith
Tel: (0131 6)50 4620
Email: Sarah.Goldsmith@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | |
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