Second and third year undergraduate courses (Special subjects)

Culture and Society in Wartime Britain

Dr Helen Jones

HT53006A

The way in which the experiences of war influenced and changed social relationships, perceptions, identities, the use of language and the construction of images, have been the subject of much debate. Evacuation of the cities, the retreat from Dunkirk, the Battle of Britain, and the internment of enemy aliens; air raids and the Blitzes; gender relations; the experience of ethnic minorities and imperial images; daily life, including the black-out, rationing, health, the black market and crime; class relations and work, national identity; morale, propaganda and the media; the arts; and visual culture, in particular photography and films, are all considered, along with the way in which these experiences influenced longer-term developments, in particular the creation of the welfare state.

The course is assessed by a three-hour examination paper and a 10,000-word dissertation.