Families and Communities in England and Wales, c. 1600-1900

Module code: HS7136

This module surveys a wide array of themes and approaches in the study of English and Welsh communities and families between c. 1600 and 1900. The aim is to encourage a contextual understanding of a broad range of topics, including social structures, families, identities, belonging, the lifecycle, welfare, and deviance, and the ways in which these changed over time, with particular emphasis on regional variations across England and Wales. The module introduces you to a range of historiographical approaches, including historical demography, social history, cultural history, gender history and histories of crime. You will also engage with a range of primary sources, including parish registers, census returns, poor law accounts, letters, diaries, wills, court records, as well as visual and literary sources.