The unit examines the birth in Europe of the first half of the nineteenth century of the notion of society and how it inspired the new political doctrine of liberalism, promoting society's freedom from state power and new scientific aspirations. It looks at how these new goals were formulated in Britain and France and struggled to impose themselves against pre-existing conceptions of political power. How they motivated the cult of individualism but also encountered cultural and social resistance. It thus explores the Romantic Movement, in its ambivalent relationship to the liberal revolution. Finally, it discusses the appearance of a rival ideology: socialism. -- Course Website
Instructor: Dr. Natalie Doyle
