Module manager: Dr Peter Maw
Email: p.maw@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) View Timetable
Year running 2025/26
This module is not approved as a discovery module
Why are some countries rich and some countries poor? This is one of the most important questions facing contemporary societies. To answer this question, it is necessary to look back to the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and to the history of a small island located off the western coast of mainland Europe. It is in Britain that we can begin to find an answer to this question because it was in Britain that the world’s first Industrial Revolution took place. This module provides a specialist, research-informed coverage of the history of the British Industrial Revolution, drawing on perspectives and methodologies from the field of economic and social history. The module is framed around the three major historiographical debates on the causes, character, and social impacts of Industrial Revolution, offering you the opportunity to evaluate why the world’s first industrial revolution took place in Britain, how far it should be viewed as a watershed moment in British (or even human) history, and the different ways it was experienced by those who lived through it. Content note: to discuss these themes effectively the module engages with some sensitive issues, including sexist, ableist, and xenophobic language; death including infant mortality; and child labour and violence against children. The module tutor can provide more information on this if required. Please note this is an optional module and runs subject to enrolments. If a low number of students choose this module, then the module may not run and you may be asked to choose another module.
The module aims to equip you with the skills to study the Industrial Revolution from a diverse range of perspectives. Lectures will provide structured entry points for the relevant historical and historiographical contexts. The seminars will focus on skill development in three areas: building effective evidence-based historical arguments; critically evaluating primary and secondary sources; and analysing how and why historians’ interpretations change over time. The two assignments have been designed to allow you to apply and further develop these skills.
On successful completion of the module you will have demonstrated the following learning outcomes relevant to the subject:
1. Identify and articulate key aspects of the history of the British economy and society between 1750 and 1850.
2. Critically analyse primary sources relating to the Industrial Revolution, in terms of authorship, content, and wider context.
3. Critically evaluate the approaches and arguments of historians writing about the Industrial Revolution.
Skills Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the module you will have demonstrated the following skills learning outcomes:
4. Effectively communicate historical arguments and interpretations in a range of formats.
5. Use relevant evidence to articulate historical arguments.
Details of the syllabus will be provided on the Minerva organisation (or equivalent) for the module.
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Supervision | 2 | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Lecture | 10 | 1 | 10 |
| Seminar | 10 | 1 | 10 |
| Private study hours | 179.6 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 20.4 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 200 | ||
You will receive written feedback on one formative gobbet, which will help you prepare for the summative assessment.
You will be offered a one-on-one meeting with the tutor prior to the submission of the essay to discuss your intended argument, essay plan, and bibliography.
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Coursework | Primary source gobbet exercise | 40 |
| Coursework | Essay | 60 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 100 | |
Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated
The reading list is available from the Library website
Last updated: 29/04/2025
Errors, omissions, failed links etc should be notified to the Catalogue Team