HI4327 An Age Of Transformation: Scottish Society from Union to Empire, c.1688-1832

Module Organiser: Dr Kathleen Middleton
Duration: Hilary term
Contact hours: 2 hours per week
Weighting: 10 ECTS
Assessment: 20% essay, 80% examination

The module examines the political, cultural and social transformation of Scotland between the Williamite Revolution of 1688-90 and the death of Sir Walter Scott in 1832. It also considers the contributions of Scots abroad to shaping the Atlantic world and the British empire; the Union of 1707 and its effects on national identity Jacobitism; the Scottish Enlightenment; and the dramatic disasters and discoveries through which eighteenth-century Scots lived – from famine and the last witchcraft trials to the discovery of tea-drinking. Change was particularly painful in the Highlands, where the ‘Clearances’ were underway by the end of the period. The dramatic experience of this one small nation (about a million people in 1700) epitomized the impact of this transformative century on western Europe.

The aim of this module is to analyse key developments in the history of Scotland c.1688-1832, through the study of primary and secondary sources

Bibliographical advice will be provided in the module handbook

Leaning Outcomes

On successful completion of this module students should be able to:

• Analyse political, cultural and social developments in eighteenth-century and early nineteenth-century Scotland
• Identify and search for relevant secondary literature
• Engage with relevant theoretical and critical approaches to the history of Scotland in this period
• Apply different techniques of evaluation and interpretation to relevant primary sources
• Critique relevant historiography in the light of primary sources
• Present and discuss analysis of question relating to the history of Scotland during this period
• Analyse the impact on Scotland of different aspects of social, cultural and political change