Nationalism and the Empire: Britain and Germany 1815-1914

Course Content:

This module explores in detail aspects of one of the most interesting, complicated and
enduring relationships between two states in modern European history. Rivalry between
Britain and Germany found intense, violent expression in two world wars.

The century preceding the outbreak of war in 1914, however, was marked not by rivalry
and suspicion alone (of which there was a good deal), but also by shared interests
political and diplomatic, social and cultural. What mattered to one of those countries was
often also of interest to the other.
Britons and Germans had more in common than might be assumed from their
relationship in the years since 1914, not least a preoccupation with nationhood and with
overseas empire. Reflecting this variety and complexity, the module ranges widely within
and beyond Britain and Germany, also taking in the European and imperial contexts.

Topics covered include:
? Britain and Germany in European and world affairs.
? The make-up and nature of the British and the German state.
? The nature of British and German politics, economics and diplomacy.
? The influence of politics and diplomacy on British and German society.
? British and German attitudes to monarchism, militarism, nationalism and
imperialism.
? Social and cultural similarities and differences between British and
German peoples.
? Anglo-German cooperation and rivalry within and beyond Europe.
? Key figures and events in British, German and Anglo-German affairs.

AUTUMN SEMESTER: Britain: State, Society, Nation and Empire, with focus on AngloGerman
relations, 1815-1914.
? Britain, Europe and Empire in 1815
? State, Society and Overseas Diplomacy, 1815-45
? Politics, Policies, Rebellions and War, to 1867
? A United Kingdom? Nationhood, Empire and Monarchy
? Empire, Identity and Culture in the Mid-Nineteenth Century
? Biography and British History, 1815-1914
? Empire as Nation: The Idea of ?Greater Britain?
? Nation and Empire Endangered: Late Victorian Militarism
? Scrambling for Africa (and China)
? Edwardian Entanglements
? Britain, Europe and Empire in 1914

SPRING SEMESTER: Germany: the making of a European, imperial and world power and
relations with the United Kingdom, 1815-1914
? The Vienna Congress and the German State System
? Nationalism, Liberalism, Economics, and Industry in the Vormärz period
(1815-1848)
? 1848
? The Reaction, the Crimean War, and the German States
? German Unification
? Two Empires: Germany and Austria
? German Imperialism, 1871-1914
? Anglo-German Entanglements
? Imperialism and the Origins of the First World War
? Germany, Europe and Empire in 1914

Teaching: Lectures and seminars

Assessment:
STUDY OPTION 1:
? 1500 word essay (40%)
? Exam (60%)
STUDY OPTION 2: 2000 word essay
STUDY OPTION 3: 2000 word essay

Study Option 1 = Whole Year
Study Option 2 = Autumn
Study Option 3 = Spring/summer