History

This 5 week course aims to explore how popular protest movements during the reign of Queen Victoria, such as Chartism, trade unionism and the fight for the rights of women, influenced the political and social development of this country.
The course will cover:
The influence of the Industrial Revolution and French Revolution on political ideas in the early nineteenth century;
The campaign for reform of the electoral system in the 1830s and 1860s.
The Chartist Movement in the 1830s and 1840s;
The development of trades unions in the 1830-1900 period, including the role of industrial unrest in political and social change;
The fight for women's rights during the nineteenth century;
Why change in the UK was brought about without a political revolution.
Examples from the Sussex area will be used wherever possible to illustrate events in the period, for example the causes of the 1884 Salvation Army Riots in Worthing.

This 5 week course will explore how the social and cultural condition of African Americans developed between the age of Reconstruction in the 1860s and the movement for civil rights in the 1960s, including the impact of Martin Luther King. The course will provide a background to current racial tensions in the United States.
The course cover will cover:
Racial prejudice and segregation in the US from 1865 to 1945, including the 'Jim Crow' laws in the South, key examples of racial prejudice, the Harlem Renaissance, and the impact of activists like Booker T Washington;
Impact of World War Two on the fight for civil rights;
Key developments in the 1950s;
The growth of the civil rights movement in the 1960s, especially the role of Martin Luther King;
The situation by the mid-1960s – the white reaction, racial tensions and violent resistance;
Was the civil rights movement a success or failure?

By the end of the course you should be able to:
Explain the causes and nature of racial prejudice in the United States
Describe the growth of the civil rights movement in the early twentieth century;
Give examples of how civil rights leaders fought to secure equality for African Americans ;
Explain the importance of key figures like Martin Luther King and Malcolm X;
How far the condition of African Americans today differs from the 1960’s.

This 5 week course aims to allow you to investigate the various causes of the civil war and to explore the impact of the war on American politics and society in the years of post-war reconstruction, especially on the lives of African Americans. (N.B. The course will not look in detail at the military campaigns of the war).
The course will cover:
The political, social and economic condition of the United States in 1840s and 1850s;
The arguments about the moral, social and economic role of slavery including the role of abolitionism in bringing about war;
The growth of the United States in the mid-nineteenth century, especially the impact of the war with Mexico;
The conflict over the expansion of slavery in new states and territories, including the 'civil war' in Kansas in the 1850s;
The importance of the election of Lincoln to the Presidency;
The outbreak, course and end of the war;
The Reconstruction of the South, especially the impact of military occupation and the changed status of African Americans.
By the end of the course, you will be able to:
• Outline the problems faced by the United States by the 1850s.
• Discuss the role of slavery in the lead up to war.
• Explain the principle reasons for the outbreak of war in 1861.
• Explain the role played by Abraham Lincoln between 1860 and 1865.
• Outline the consequences of the war, especially for the South, and discuss the reasons why there was little change after 1877.

This 5 week course looks at the nature of criminal activity in Victorian England and changing ways in which the State responded to criminal activity.
It will look at how the nature of Victorian society led various groups and individuals to challenge the law, for personal gain, as a protest against living conditions, or because of their personalities.
It will also look at the working of the courts and the various punishments given for breaking the law.
Breakdown of the course:
Week 1 will look at the 'condition of England' and the ways in which a rapidly industrialising society contributed to social problems that led to some people breaking the law.

Week 2 will examine some key crimes during this period including the 'Great Victorian Train Robbery', the cases of Daniel Good and Maria Manning, and 'Ripper' murders.

Week 3 looks at the prison system in the Victorian period, and the efforts of reformers to bring about change in prison conditions.

Week 4 will look at capital punishment and examine the campaign to control the more extreme elements of the death penalty. It will also include a look at the development policing from the 1840s.

Week 5 deals with the causes and consequences of public unrest and political protest: rioters, anarchists and public disorder in the period.
By the end of the course you should be able to:
Discuss the social conditions in Victorian England that contributed to criminal behaviour.
Describe the range punishments that could be given by the courts.
Outline the main changes that took place in the detection and punishment of crime and disorder in the period.
Describe the features of key criminal cases that affected attitudes to crime and society in the period.