Aims

This module will explore the dramatic consequences of the explosion of news media in Georgian Britain. The political and social upheavals of these decades, together with the expansion of print culture, meant that news was shared more quickly, more widely, and in a greater variety of forms than ever before. This transformed political culture in Britain, as public opinion became a powerful force with which to reckon, paving the way for a more radical, democratic politics. It allowed opposition voices, critical of those in power and determined to hold them to account, a platform. It also focussed attention on questions of free speech and freedom of the press, informed by the wider Enlightenment context, establishing the tensions between those in power and the press which would define their relationship from then on.

In this module we will use news reporting as a lens through which to study some of the major events and themes of the eighteenth century. We will examine how major developments of the period – the Jacobite Risings; the spread of British colonisation; the existence of an increasingly competitive electoral politics; the rise and fall of Britain’s first prime minister – were reported on and debated in this public forum. Students will engage closely with the newspapers, pamphlets, and satirical prints which made up this news revolution, while also exploring the physical spaces in which news was discussed, such as coffee houses and debating societies. We will also focus closely on Newcastle’s own active news ecosystem, using local archives to do so.

The aims of this module are:
To enable students to study the rise of news media in eighteenth century Britain (1714-1780) in depth using primary sources and engaging with major historiographical debates relevant to the period
To give students the opportunity to explore the political and social upheavals of Georgian Britain through the lens of the expansion of newspapers
To equip students with the skills to use evidence from the press, including newspapers, periodicals, pamphlets, and satirical prints, in their historical analysis
To explore contemporary debates concerning the value of public opinion, the right to hold government to account, and the liberty of the press
To facilitate direct engagement with special collections and especially the news heritage of Newcastle and Northumberland

Outline Of Syllabus

The following is a guide only; actual seminars may differ from those listed.
The business of news in Georgian Britain
The Jacobite Risings in the Tory Newspapers
Robert Walpole: the rise and fall of a prime minister in the news
The government versus the printers in the 1760s: reporting on parliament
Policing the press: libel laws and censorship
Women as consumers of the news
Reporting on Empire
Debating the news: coffee houses and societies

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

Lectures will introduce topics with key debates and themes.

Seminars encourage independent learning, discussion, and debate, while also guiding students on how to approach primary sources and historiography in a critical and effective manner.

One-on-one surgeries will allow students to discuss the feedback from their first assessment together with plans for their second assessment.

The workshop will give an introduction to the second assessment, offering advice and answering questions.

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

The shorter written exercise will take place during the semester, and will focus on analysis of sources, allowing both the accumulation of understanding and a tool for tracking and informing student progress. This will feedforward into the final essay, in which source analysis will form a significant role.

The final essay will test both knowledge and understanding, and the students’ ability to synthesise and evaluate the themes studied during the module. The ability to deploy sources effectively in a thematic essay will form part of assessment, drawing on skills developed in the mid-module assessment.