HS3SAU: Anarchy in the UK: Punk, Politics and Youth Culture in Britain, 1976-84

Module code: HS3SAU

Module provider: History; School of Humanities

Credits: 40

Level: Level 3 (Honours)

When you'll be taught: Semester 1 / 2

Module convenor: Professor Matthew Worley, email: m.worley@reading.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s):

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: NA

Academic year: 2024/5

Available to visiting students: No

Talis reading list: Yes

Last updated: 11 November 2024

Overview

Module aims and purpose

Special Subject modules provide 'hands-on' experience of the historian's task through the close examination and evaluation of primary sources and the light they shed on issues and problems.  

This module will: 

• Survey the history of punk and punk-related in the UK from the 1970s to the mid-1980s; 
• Reflect on the way culture relates to wider political and socio-economic contexts; 
• Consider punk’s wider cultural influence and what its use as a lens tells us about British history. 

The purpose of the module is to allow students to further develop and demonstrate the skills they have gained working with primary sources throughout their degree programme. 

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to:

1. Undertake detailed textual analysis and comment on the primary materials;
2. Achieve a detailed command of varying historical interpretations of the primary materials and subject as a whole;
3. Organise material and articulate arguments effectively in writing under timed conditions;
4. Locate and assemble information on the subject by independent research;
5. Deploy a wide range of different primary materials  to shed light on the issues and problems being studied.

Module content

This module examines the relationship between youth cultures and politics in Britain between the period 1976 and 1984. These were turbulent times, during which the steady improvements in living standards that helped facilitate the emergence of recognisable youth cultures in the years following World War Two gave way to economic downturn and political instability. The course uses primary material to explore the ways by and extent to which youth cultures provided space for young people to resist, explore and understand the society and communities into which they were coming of age. Thus, the breakdown of the post-war consensus, the emergence of Thatcherism and the reigniting of the cold war will be examined through the music, artwork and writings produced in the wake of punk’s emergence in 1976. Key questions include: what were the politics of punk? Was youth culture a site of resistance, as argued by Stuart Hall and others from the Centre of Contemporary Cultural Study (CCCS)? Can youth culture be read as a reflection of or influence on the wider political and socio-economic context into which it emerges and exists?Given the nature of the subject, some explicit imagery and language may be found among the course material. The course covers political extremes and sexuality. 

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

• The teaching for this module involves weekly two-hour discussion seminars 
• Students will gain ‘hands-on’ experience of the historian’s task through the detailed evaluations of key texts, objects, and images, and the light they shed on the issues and problems being investigated 
• Students will be required to prepare for seminars through reading from both the primary sources and the secondary literature 

Study hours

At least 44 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

Students need to achieve an overall module mark of 40% to pass this module.

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

Assessments with numerical marks

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each working day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of three working days;
• the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three working days of the deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: https://www.reading.ac.uk/cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

Formative work, for instance essay plans, seminar presentations, book reviews, posters, practice source commentaries, will be required for this Special Subject over the two semesters. Practice commentaries on the sources will be required for formative assessment. 

Reassessment

Additional costs