2. Economy and Society

About this Lecture

Lecture

In this module, we think about the impact of the First World War on the British economy and society, focusing in particular on: (i) the measures put in place by the government in order to further the war effort; (ii) the high expectations among the British people that the government would reward their contributions to the war effort once the war had been won; (iii) the difficulties faced by the British economy following the war, and the reduction in public spending proposed by Sir Eric Geddes in 1921; (iv) the participation of women in the wartime economy; (v) the changes in family structure as a result of war, e.g. more single mothers; and (vi) the moral and economic vulnerability of the British aristocracy in the years following the war.

Course

In this course, Professor Matthew Cole (University of Birmingham) explores the impact of the First World War on British society between 1918-39. In the first module, we think about the ways in which the First World War was a 'total war', focusing in particular on the extent to which it impacted every aspect of life in Britain. In the second module, we think about the impact of the First World War on the British economy and society, before turning in the third module to consider the impact of the war on the British political system. Finally, in the fourth module, we think about the impact of the war on Britain's position in the world, and the extent to which Britain's unwillingness to prepare for the possibility of another European war allowed for the expansion of Nazi Germany and the outbreak of the Second World War.

Lecturer

Matthew Cole is Teaching Fellow in the Department of History at the University of Birmingham. He is a historian of modern Britain with a particular interest in twentieth century constitutional and party politics, and local history.