The Making of Britain? Scotland and Ireland, 1707-c.1815 HIST4258
- Academic Session: 2026-27
- School: School of Humanities
- Credits: 20
- Level: Level 4 (SCQF level 10)
- Typically Offered: Either Semester 1 or Semester 2
- Available to Visiting Students: Yes
- Collaborative Online International Learning: No
- Curriculum For Life: No
Short Description
This course assesses the place of Scotland and Ireland within the emerging British state, economy, society and empire from 1707 to c.1815. Using a comparative approach, the course explores Jacobite proclamations and poems, 'enlightenment' texts, religious pamphlets and political caricature. The key objective is to consider how Scotland and Ireland offer telling insights into the considerable strengths and enduring weaknesses that marked out the formation in 1707 and, in 1801, the seeming realization of a united British-Irish Isles.
Timetable
12x1hr lectures;3x1hr workshops; 5x1hr seminars over ten weeks as scheduled in MyCampus. This is one of the honours options in History and may not run every year. The options that are running this session are available on MyCampus.
Requirements of Entry
Available to all students fulfilling requirements for Honours entry into History, and by arrangement to visiting students or students of other Honours programmes who qualify under the University's 25% regulation.
Excluded Courses
None
Co-requisites
None
Assessment
The standard assessments for this course are:
■ Essay (3,500 words) - 60%
■ Word Source review (1,500 words) - 30%
■ Presentation with PowerPoint (8 Minutes) - 10%
If required, for instance where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, the following alternatives are available:
■ There are no alternatives to the essay or review, but flexible deadlines can be offered as reasonable adjustments (students should follow the usual process for extensions).
■ A recorded presentation, or a written script of equivalent length, or a PowerPoint with substantial notes, or a one-to-one presentation as alternative to seminar papers.
Further reasonable adjustments may be provided where necessary. Students are encouraged to consult with the course convenor.
Main Assessment In: April/May
Course Aims
This course will provide the opportunity to:
■ Identify, develop and utilise intellectual and analytical skills in History
■ Evaluate comparative history (including a critical awareness of the pros and cons of such an approach) to better understand the eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century histories of Scotland and Ireland
■ Assess and formulate debates and analyses of Scotland and Ireland's interactions with the British state, empire, economy and society between 1707 and c.1815
■ Utilise the ability to identify, differentiate and assess primary sources, and relate these critically to concepts and arguments in the secondary literature
■ Reflect upon and practice key skills in structuring written work and delivering oral presentations
Intended Learning Outcomes of Course
By the end of this course students will be able to:
■ Develop a broad knowledge of eighteenth-century Scottish and Irish history
■ Evaluate interpretations relating to the formation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
■ Explain the pros and cons of comparative histories through the examples of eighteenth-century Scotland and Ireland
■ Select, assess, compare and inter-relate relevant secondary literature and primary sources and materials
■ Develop and utilize transferable skills in critical analyses and the structuring and presentation of written and oral work.
■ Draw wider conclusions regarding the nature of the British and British-Irish unions.