British History: 1815-1979
The spectacular rise and dramatic decline of Britain as an imperial and industrial power is the central theme of this course. The century after 1815 was an age of political and social reform and the apogee of middle class culture. But in 1914 the crucial problems of women's rights, of labor against capital, and of Irish nationalism remained unsolved. War and economic depression followed. The Labour Party tried, and failed, to create a social democracy out of post-war Britain. Today, empire gone and industry spent, Britain continues to provide both warning and example to the rest of the world.