HS1001: Arriving in Britain: a History of Immigration, 1685-2004

Module code: HS1001

Module provider: History; School of Humanities

Credits: 20

Level: Level 1 (Certificate)

When you'll be taught: Semester 2

Module convenor: Dr Daniel Renshaw, email: d.g.renshaw@reading.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s):

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: NA

Academic year: 2024/5

Available to visiting students: No

Talis reading list: Yes

Last updated: 21 May 2024

Overview

Module aims and purpose

This optional module examines the experiences of migrant groups in Britain from the early modern period to the early twenty-first century. It will consider the different reasons for migration from one part of the world to another, focusing in particular on forms of persecution and economic motivations. We will look at the reception accorded to migrants in Britain, positive and negative, political and religious contexts, and the formation of minority identities. The module will make use of a range of primary sources, including illustration, poetry and cinema, to consider how migration has shaped Britain. Students will gain an appreciation of long-term and cyclical trends in how migration and the migrant experience is perceived, the theoretical and empirical literature on migration and how this has developed and be able to locate contemporary debates and controversies over migration in their historical context.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to:

1. Understand how migration has shaped modern Britain and relate contemporary debates to historical experiences;
2. Have a conception of the different reasons why migration takes place;
3. Appraise critically the primary sources and historical interpretations of the subject;
4. Organise material and articulate arguments effectively in writing and debate.

Module content

This module will examine immigration to Britain from the arrival of French Protestants escaping religious persecution in the seventeenth century to the journeys of migrants from across Europe following the expansion of the EU in 2004. Over the course of the semester, we will examine ideas of difference, diaspora, belonging and exclusion, how migrants have historically been viewed by a host society and how migrants have viewed their own place within that society. Does Britain really deserve its reputation as a tolerant country? How have different groups, religious organisations, political pressure groups, and trade unions, responded to the demographic changes following migration? From Irish migrants travelling from a Famine-stricken homeland to Jewish refugees from Eastern Europe leaving behind pogroms and discrimination, to children fleeing from fascism in the 1930s and arrivals from the New Commonwealth after 1945, modern Britain has been shaped by migration. Using a range of primary and secondary materials, including newspapers, pamphlets, oral histories, autobiographies, music and film, the module will address how and why this was the case.

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

Teaching and learning will be by a variety of methods, which includes:

Lectures;

• Seminars, which rely on structured group discussion and may also include seminar papers by students, discussion of evidence, team-based exercises, and debates;
• Online exercises, including quizzes and worksheets;
• Independent study and self-directed research projects;
• Fortnightly workshop sessions will give practical advice on working towards the assessment and practice time for skills related to the module.

Study hours

At least 27 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

Students need to achieve an overall module mark of 40% to pass this module.

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

Assessments with numerical marks

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each working day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of three working days;
• the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three working days of the deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: /cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

Essay plan to be submitted half way through the semester.

Reassessment

Additional costs