History

HST690: Fraternalism, Trade Unions and Politics in Nineteenth-Century Britain

15 credits (semester 1)

Module Leader: Dr. David Martin

Module Summary

This MA module takes as its theme the fraternal organisations created by working men in nineteenth-century Britain and assesses their significance. Historians have paid more attention to working-class political movements, yet these were more sporadic than the activities of the trade unions and friendly societies established and sustained in the same period. Indeed, it might be that some of the organisational skills and the collectivist ethos engendered by bodies formed for trade and welfare purposes fostered political solidarity. Some organisations included oaths and symbols similar to those found in freemasonry. Most emphasised their fraternal purposes (though 'brotherhood' was invoked more than 'sisterhood', an aspect that will also be considered). Intrinsic within these bodies were many wider elements of the period – occupational and class status, religion and ethnicity, gender roles, self-help and respectability – and attention will be paid to these. The module will examine too the nature and scale of fraternal organisations, their development during the period after about 1825 and their gradual eclipse in the early twentieth century.

Teaching

Five two-hour seminars will be held. At each of these, students will have opportunities to share knowledge, debate controversial issues and listen and respond to the views of others in a structured environment. Students will, in addition, have an individual tutorial with their own supervisor in which to discuss the work they will write for assessment for this module.

Assessment

One piece of written work will be required, of 3000 words. This will assess candidates' ability to formulate arguments in a structured and well written essay. In seminars, students will be encouraged to analyse the principal themes of the module.

Selected Reading

The University Library includes several relevant secondary sources, some of which are listed below, although the module will also incorporate primary material.

• Malcolm Chase, Early Trade Unionism: Fraternity, Skill and the Politics of Labour (2000)
  

• Simon Cordery, 'Friendly Societies and the Discourse of Respectability in Britain, 1825-1875', Journal of British Studies, 1995, 35-58
  

• Simon Cordery, 'Mutualism, Friendly Societies and the Genesis of Railway Trade Unionism', Labour History Review, 2002, 263-279
  

• [Cordery's British Friendly Societies, 1750-1914 (Palgrave Macmillan, 2003) is not in the library]
  

• P. H. J. H. Gosden, Self-Help: Voluntary Associations in the 19th Century (1973)
  

• Eric Hopkins, Working-Class Self-Help in Nineteenth-Century England (1995)
  

• Donald M. MacRaild, Faith, Fraternity and Fighting: The Orange Order and Irish Migrants in Northern England c. 1850-1920 (2005)
  

• Donald MacRaild and David E. Martin, Labour in British Society, 1830-1914 (2000), ch. 5, 'Self Help and Associationalism'
  

• Robert J. Morris, 'Clubs, Societies and Associations', in F. M. L. Thompson (ed.), The Cambridge Social History of Britain since 1850, 1990, 395-445
  

• Richard Price, 'The Working Men's Movement and Victorian Social Reform', Victorian Studies, 1971, 117-147
  

Intended Learning Outcomes

By the end of the module, a candidate should be able to demonstrate:

• A sound knowledge of nineteenth-century British working-class fraternalism, including the equipment engage with major historical debates.
  

• The ability to evaluate a variety of primary source materials.
  

• The skill to write effective, and fully literate, commentaries on source materials under pressure of time.
  

• A wider experience of working co-operatively with others, including confidence in presenting material orally and exchanging views with the tutor and other students.