The Victorian Factory Worker



Overview

Victorian Britain's factories and mines play a significant role in its history, yet they are often misunderstood.

This course delves into the Victorian Industrial Revolution, a period of profound transformation in Britain and globally. You will investigate the lives of the men and women who propelled Britain to become the industrial titan of the nineteenth century. We will explore the working conditions across various factories, from Manchester's cotton mills to the shipyards of Newcastle and Glasgow, Yorkshire's collieries, and Swindon's railway workshops. You will learn about the treatment of workers by factory owners and whether they all resided in slums. The course covers topics like the employment of women and children in factories and mines, the Victorian railways' contribution to British industry, the influence of trade unions and government legislation on improving working conditions, and the increasing prosperity of most Britons. Additionally, we will explore the lives of slum dwellers and the reasons behind their living conditions.

This course offers a fresh viewpoint on British industry and the workers in the nineteenth century.

Programme details

Course starts: 2 Oct 2024

Week 1: An Introduction to Victorian Industry and the Factories

Week 2: Who were the Factory Workers ?

Week 3: Exploring the Victorian factory and mine

Week 4: Victorian canals, railways, and industry

Week 5: Who owned the Victorian factories and railways and how did they treat the workers ?

Week 6: Accidents, welfare and health in the Victorian factories

Week 7: Strike! The role of the trades unions and legislation in improving working conditions

Week 8: Case Study: The Men, Women and Families of Swindon Works - All of British Industry in One Place

Week 9: Who lived in the slums and why they lived there

Week 10: Worker's playtime: The Victorian working class at leisure

Certification

To complete the course and receive a certificate, you will be required to attend at least 80% of the classes on the course and pass your final assignment. Upon successful completion, you will receive a link to download a University of Oxford digital certificate. Information on how to access this digital certificate will be emailed to you after the end of the course. The certificate will show your name, the course title and the dates of the course you attended. You will be able to download your certificate or share it on social media if you choose to do so.

Fees

Description Costs
Course Fee £285.00
Take this course for CATS points £30.00

Funding

If you are in receipt of a UK state benefit, you are a full-time student in the UK or a student on a low income, you may be eligible for a reduction of 50% of tuition fees. Please see the below link for full details:

Concessionary fees for short courses

Tutor

Dr Richard Marks

Richard is a professional historian with various research interests including industrial history and the history of Victorian Britain. He has published a number of books, his latest book, A History of British Rail Engineering Limited, was published in March 2024. Richard is also a regular speaker on a broad range of topics for local history groups.

Course aims

To provide students with a new perspective on the Victorian workplace, and a new understanding of who the workers were and what they did.

Course objectives:

To equip students with a new perspective on Britain's industrial history.

To encourage students to explore Britain's Victorian industrial heritage, whether on their own or as part of a group.

To enable students to discuss British industrial history and heritage from a new perspective.

Teaching methods

The course will include an introductory session, eight detailed sessions focusing on individual aspects of the subject, and a case study session that explores a specific location embodying all the areas covered to illustrate the topic.

Each session will feature an illustrated PowerPoint presentation with a range of images and documents, designed to be as interactive as possible. Emphasis will be on student participation and verbal interaction, with all students encouraged to contribute to class discussions. A variety of exercises will be employed to bring the topics to life, allowing students to engage with the content more interactively.

At the conclusion of each week, students will receive materials previewing the topics for the upcoming week, along with recommendations for additional reading to be done at their leisure. They will also be encouraged to utilise the department's library resources for independent study.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course, students will be expected to:

  • be able to discuss the impact of the Victorian factories on the lives of the people who worked within them;
  • be able to explain how the working class lived and worked, and who the factory workforce was; and
  • have gained confidence and enthusiasm for the subject.

Assessment methods

Students will be asked to write one short essay (1500 words maximum) related to one of the topics discussed during the course.

Coursework is an integral part of all weekly classes and everyone enrolled will be expected to do coursework in order to benefit fully from the course. Only those who have registered for credit will be awarded CATS points for completing work to the required standard.

Students must submit a completed Declaration of Authorship form at the end of term when submitting your final piece of work. CATS points cannot be awarded without the aforementioned form - Declaration of Authorship form

Application

To earn credit (CATS points) for your course you will need to register and pay an additional £30 fee per course. You can do this by ticking the relevant box at the bottom of the enrolment form or when enrolling online.

Please use the 'Book' or 'Apply' button on this page. Alternatively, please complete an Enrolment Form (Word) or Enrolment Form (Pdf)

Level and demands

The Department's Weekly Classes are taught at FHEQ Level 4, i.e. first year undergraduate level, and you will be expected to engage in a significant amount of private study in preparation for the classes. This may take the form, for instance, of reading and analysing set texts, responding to questions or tasks, or preparing work to present in class.

The course is open to all with an interest in industrial or Victorian history. No prior experience of the topic is required, the aim of the course being to provide an experience suitable for all students who are generally interested in the subject and for those who wish to study history further. No specialist history qualifications are required. Some degree of private study will be needed between sessions.

Credit Accumulation and Transfer Scheme (CATS)

To earn credit (CATS points) you will need to register and pay an additional £30 fee per course. You can do this by ticking the relevant box at the bottom of the enrolment form or when enrolling online. Students who register for CATS points will receive a Record of CATS points on successful completion of their course assessment.

Students who do not register for CATS points during the enrolment process can either register for CATS points prior to the start of their course or retrospectively from the January 1st after the current full academic year has been completed. If you are enrolled on the Certificate of Higher Education you need to indicate this on the enrolment form but there is no additional registration fee.

Terms & conditions for applicants and students

Information on financial support