TOPIC 47: The English industrial revolution: influences as a model of historical transformation. Social and political changes through the period's literature. Charles Dickens.

1. INTRODUCTION

  • Topic 47 deals with the industrial revolution and focuses on its consequences.
  • it marked one of the greatest turning points in human society and established England as the first industrialised capitalist nation. The main goal is not just to make learners conscious of the changes that at those times vexed England and later the world, but to make them aware that we are still dealing with the consequences of those changes.
  • The topic is divided into 7 parts.

2. THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

  • It was the process by which a system based on agriculture, farming and crafts evolved into an industrial one.
  • 18th century England.
  • 2 parts = first industrial revolution (mid-18th century - 1830; confined to Britain) + second industrial revolution (mid 19th century - early 20th century; in Britain, continental Europe, North America, Japan, later the world).
  • Crucial element to start with the industrial revolution = availability of raw material.
  • 19th century = Britain was the richest country in the world and the biggest empire humanity has ever seen -> immense social problems.

2.2. Technical innovations

2.3. Transport revolution

2.1. Agricultural changes

  • 18th century Britain = mainly agricultural society -> several improvements to increase productivity of the agricultural states (sponsored by the government) = the replacement of open fields by enclosures, the Jethro Tull seed drill, the Rotherham's plough + crop rotation.
  • Widespread use of manufacturing machinery = mass production of manufactured goods -> increase in the usage of natural resources.
  • Large and growing demand = pressure on existing techniques -> new discoveries appeared = steam power, textile millds (It was the start of mechanisation).
  • Reduced the cost of size and labour; production increased; more competitive; boosting exports.
  • It required an efficient network of goods transportation.
  • Three main areas: roads (improved and expanded), water (a network of canals), rails (George Stephenson applied Watt's steam powered machine to the locomotives).
  • Boost in production = smaller workforce needed -> huge migration from the rural to the urban area -> the regions of Britain stopped being self-sufficient and started depending upon each other for their supplies.

3. SOCIAL AND POLITICAL CHANGES IN LITERATURE

3.1. Social changes

3.2. Political changes

  • Population doubled from 5 million inhabitants (1700s) to 10 million inhabitants (1800s) + massive exodus from the rural to the urban area.
  • Urban poverty = small farmers and craftsmen became employees + conditions in the city were rough, salaries little and the conditions of work, draconian = recurring topics in the 18th and 19th English literature.
  • The contrast between regions (Elizabeth's Gaskell North and South; between town and city (Tom Hardy's Tess of the D'Ubervilles; horrible conditions in the city (Charles Dickens and William Makepeace Thackeray).
  • Industrialisation = middle class = large and rich sector BUT the blooming urban class was underprivileged and ingnored by the system of electoral representation. This era created the movement ROMANTICISM (denied reason and idealised nature.
  • Role of women = they get involved into literary creation; some authors (Mary Wollstonecraft, Emma Hayes, Fanny Burney) = feminists; 19th century -> increase of boarding schools for girls + entry of women into the public space (writers, performers, etc).
  • 19th and 20th century = period of social freedom and gender equality BUT topics of literature still pressing issues for female readers = choice of a husband + obedience to family wishes (Jane Austen - Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility; Emily Brönte - Wuthering Heights; Charlotte Brönte - Jane Eyre).
  • Second Reform Bill (Disraeli= novelist and prime minister) - gave the workers the right to vote and to sit in parliament.
  • Disraeli's Two Nations and Dickens' Bleak House reflect this conflict.

4. CHARLES DICKENS

  • Born in Portsmouth (1812), son of a minor government clerk - moved to London (1823) and grew up in poverty and little education.
  • At the age of 10 -> blacking business.
  • His father was arrested for debts - whole family joined him in prison except for Charles.
  • He attended school until he was 15.
  • Became a parliamentary reporter and gained fame and financial success with The Pickwick Papers - he became a productive writer.
  • He married Catherine Hogarth - when they got divorced he moved back to Kent and publishc A Tale of Two Cities, Great Expectations, Our Mutual Friend.
    • He was a promoter of literacy and public reading BUT it caused a breakdown in his health.
  • He died at the age of 58 and he was buried at the Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey.
  • He is one of the greatest Victorian novelists - he was one of the few to write from the point of view of the underpriviledged class. His works aimed at pointing social evil and improving social conditions.
  • He created a new realism and wrote different types of books.
  • Pickwick papers = gave him success and fame. Conflict between the idyllic country and the cruel town through the journeys the members of the Pickwick club took.
  • Oliver Twist = the story of an orphan boy living among thieves but who behaves gentleman-like. An attack on the workhouses conditinos.
  • A Christmal Carol = the first and most successful Christmas book.
  • David Copperfield = an autobiography. Most internal novel. Growth from childhood to manhood.
  • Hard Times = a crude portrait of English capitalist society. Set in Manchester.
  • Great Expectations = his most complex novel. Memoirs of an orphan boy.

5. EDUCATIONAL CONTENT

Legal framework taken into account =

  • the Decree 187/2015, of August 25th, on the organisation of Compulsory Secondary Education;
  • the Decree 150/2017, of October 17th, which regulates attention to diversity;

  • the Order ENS/108/2018, of July 4th, which determines the requirements of the assessment procedure in CSE.


  • The Decree 187/2015 (linguistic field) establishes = students should achieve communicative and linguistic skills in order to communicate (orally and written) with the world in different contexts -> 5 dimensions, 11 competencies.

  • This topis is related to the literary dimension (competencies 10 and 11), however, the other dimensions are also related to the topic as students will also foster their reading, writing and oral skills when working with these concepts.

This topic can be brought to class in different ways -> task for 4th of ESO students = read and adaptation of Oliver Twist (competency 11- literary dimension) and write a diary as if they were Oliver Twist (competencies 7,8,9 - written expression). It is an interdisciplinary project with History.

When tackling this topic in class =

  • Different strategies BUT communicative, meaningful, transferrable, contextualised and productive activities -> activate their higher order thinking skills (Bloom's Taxonomy).
  • Student centred.
  • UDL + multilevel activities / adaptations (additional and intensive measures apart from universal).
  • Gender equality.
  • Digital resources = diary (Bookcreator, Canva, Padlet) - competency 2, digital field + VLE (Symbaloo), competency 6, digital field.
  • Sequences of activities = initial, development and synthesis phase.
  • Group, individual and peer work and assessment.
  • Three types of assessment (as, of, for learning)+ regulation / errors / feedback forward.

6. CONCLUSION

  • Important get to know the historical and literary background of Britain in order to improve their English knowledge and command BUT foster their digital, personal and social skills.
  • Teachers = willing to learn, evolve, adjust and adapt to the current needs of society AND provide appropriate tools to succeed in a constantly changing and evolving world.

7. BIBLIOGRAPHY

  • Decree 187/2015, Decree 150/2017, Order ENS/108/2018.
  • Britannica, Industrial Revolution.
  • The Cambridge Companion to the Literature of London. Cambridge University Press.
  • Charles Dickens. Oliver twist. Penguin Readers.