This module looks at probably the most important element of everyday life - work - through the experience of individuals in early modern Britain. As well as putting food on the table, work is also a large part of people's identity: there is a reason that 'what do you do?' is one of the first questions when people are introduced. Around half of most people's waking hours are spent working. So what did the changes in patterns and structures of work over the early modern period mean for other aspects of peoples' identities? What did it mean to be a farmer, a weaver, or a merchant?
We explore the changes over time in the types of work that people did in agriculture, manufacturing, and service industries between the fifteenth and eighteenth centuries, and examine changes in people's lifestyle, prosperity, and identities. The early modern period saw a variety of fundamental changes to the economy of Britain and western Europe, including the elimination of feudalism; the impact of increasingly globalised trade, and the growth of a new 'middling sort'. Did this commercialisation increase living standards, or make people work harder for the benefit of others? These changes arguably had very significant impacts for families as well as individuals: how did households combine different tasks, and did work become more or less gendered? Did the structures such as apprenticeship and guilds benefit or constrain individuals and the broader economy?
The module is built around a broad range of primary sources, including datasets and maps. As well as essays, students will write for different audiences using blogs and infographics.
We explore the changes over time in the types of work that people did in agriculture, manufacturing, and service industries between the fifteenth and eighteenth centuries, and examine changes in people's lifestyle, prosperity, and identities. The early modern period saw a variety of fundamental changes to the economy of Britain and western Europe, including the elimination of feudalism; the impact of increasingly globalised trade, and the growth of a new 'middling sort'. Did this commercialisation increase living standards, or make people work harder for the benefit of others? These changes arguably had very significant impacts for families as well as individuals: how did households combine different tasks, and did work become more or less gendered? Did the structures such as apprenticeship and guilds benefit or constrain individuals and the broader economy?
The module is built around a broad range of primary sources, including datasets and maps. As well as essays, students will write for different audiences using blogs and infographics.