HST6049   Policing the Family: Welfare, Eugenics and Love in Early 20th Century Britain   (15 credits)

Description

This module explores key themes in the history of the family in Britain at the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth centuries from a variety of perspectives. It aims to show how the family became a site for political arguments about 'modernity', societal degeneration and hopes for the future at the fin-de-siècle. It draws on a wide range of recent historiography as well as sociological literature, and examines a range of sources including anthropological, sociological and legal material as well as literary fiction from the period. Seminar themes will include: (1) Political arguments about the family; (2) Love and divorce (3) Love and homosexuality; (4) Infant mortality and birth rates (5) Eugenics.

Reading List