Short course
Agricultural Revolution, Enclosure, and the Impact on Rural Society
Course status:
Applications being accepted
Dates and time:
19/01/2027 - 23/03/202710:30 - 12:30
Study format:
In-person weekly
Fees:
£315.00
Recent historical research has challenged previous ideas about the timing and nature of a British agricultural revolution with agricultural improvers and landowners leading the way in increasing farming productivity. New measurements of work occupations and agricultural output show that food production rose significantly before the eighteenth century. There was also a 'second agricultural revolution' in the mid-nineteenth century, the golden age of British farming. These changes over more than two centuries allowed more food to be produced by a lower proportion of the workforce, releasing labour to propel the growth of manufacturing in the period before and during the Industrial Revolution.
This course draws on recent scholarship to investigate how and when British food production increased, what part was played by the Parliamentary enclosures of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries when landowners reshaped the farming landscape, and the social impact of radical changes in the British countryside which brought widening inequality and the impoverishment of the agricultural workforce. The course will ask: can we in fact still talk about an 'agricultural revolution'?
Book this course
Book your place online using the button below.
Programme details
Course Starts Tuesday 19 January 2027
This is an in-person course which requires your attendance at the weekly meetings in Oxford on Tuesdays, 10.30am-12.30pm.
Week 1: Introduction – British agriculture, population growth and the standard of living.
Week 2: The seventeenth-century yeoman’s agricultural revolution.
Week 3: Improved farming methods.
Week 4: The growth of landed estates and capitalist farms.
Week 5: Parliamentary enclosure in the lowlands.
Week 6: Expansion into the uplands.
Week 7: The role of agricultural improvers and estate agents.
Week 8: The social impact.
Week 9: The nineteenth-century ‘second [or third?] agricultural revolution’.
Week 10: Agricultural labourers – poverty, unemployment, and growth of allotments.
Teaching methods
Teaching will be based around informal lectures using PowerPoint, individual presentations, and class or small group discussion of key ideas and debates based on original sources and short set readings. There will be an opportunity to undertake a short original research project. Course notes will be provided.
Learning outcomes
By the end of the course students will be expected to:
1. Understand the nature and timing of British agricultural change from 1600 to 1870.
2. Appreciate differing scholarly views on the economic and social factors that influenced changes in landownership, the growth of capitalist agriculture, and their social impact on the rural population.
3. Be able to evaluate original sources and explain their own viewpoints on economic and social issues, both informally through discussion and formally through written work.
Assessment methods
Only those students who have registered for assessment and accreditation, in advance of the course start date, can submit coursework/assignments for assessment.
Assessment
You will be set two pieces of work for the course. The first of 500 words is due halfway through your course. This does not count towards your final outcome but preparing for it, and the feedback you are given, will help you prepare for your assessed piece of work of 1,500 words due at the end of the course. The assessed work is marked pass or fail.
Level and demands
The Department’s Weekly Classes are taught at FHEQ Level 4, ie 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.
Course aims
To study agricultural changes between 1600 and 1870 in a number of regions, and to understand the technical, social and economic aspects that reshaped the British countryside and rural society.
Course Objectives
1. To gain a knowledge and understanding of agricultural change from 1600–1870.
2. To examine the factors leading to the growth of capitalist agriculture and the social consequences.
3. To evaluate recent scholarly findings and debates.
Programme details
Course Starts Tuesday 19 January 2027
This is an in-person course which requires your attendance at the weekly meetings in Oxford on Tuesdays, 10.30am-12.30pm.
Week 1: Introduction – British agriculture, population growth and the standard of living.
Week 2: The seventeenth-century yeoman’s agricultural revolution.
Week 3: Improved farming methods.
Week 4: The growth of landed estates and capitalist farms.
Week 5: Parliamentary enclosure in the lowlands.
Week 6: Expansion into the uplands.
Week 7: The role of agricultural improvers and estate agents.
Week 8: The social impact.
Week 9: The nineteenth-century ‘second [or third?] agricultural revolution’.
Week 10: Agricultural labourers – poverty, unemployment, and growth of allotments.
Teaching methods
Teaching will be based around informal lectures using PowerPoint, individual presentations, and class or small group discussion of key ideas and debates based on original sources and short set readings. There will be an opportunity to undertake a short original research project. Course notes will be provided.
Learning outcomes
By the end of the course students will be expected to:
1. Understand the nature and timing of British agricultural change from 1600 to 1870.
2. Appreciate differing scholarly views on the economic and social factors that influenced changes in landownership, the growth of capitalist agriculture, and their social impact on the rural population.
3. Be able to evaluate original sources and explain their own viewpoints on economic and social issues, both informally through discussion and formally through written work.
Assessment methods
Only those students who have registered for assessment and accreditation, in advance of the course start date, can submit coursework/assignments for assessment.
Assessment
You will be set two pieces of work for the course. The first of 500 words is due halfway through your course. This does not count towards your final outcome but preparing for it, and the feedback you are given, will help you prepare for your assessed piece of work of 1,500 words due at the end of the course. The assessed work is marked pass or fail.
Dr Frances Richardson
Frances has a doctorate in Local History and teaches on a range of courses at Oxford University’s Department for Continuing Education. Publications include work on local history topics and journal articles on women farmers, upland enclosure, occupations, and nonconformist chapels. Frances’ current research focuses on the economy of Wales in the early 19th century and poverty and poor relief in Wales.
Assessment methods
Only those students who have registered for assessment and accreditation, in advance of the course start date, can submit coursework/assignments for assessment.
Level and demands
The Department’s Weekly Classes are taught at FHEQ Level 4, ie 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.
Fees
| Description | Costs |
|---|---|
| Course fee (with no assessment) | £315.00 |
| Assessment and Accreditation fee | £60.00 |
Module code: O26P489LHW
How to enrol
Please use the ‘Book now’ button on this page. Alternatively, please complete an enrolment form.
How to register for accreditation and assessment
To be able to submit coursework and to earn credit (CATS points) for this course, if you wish to do so, you will need to register and pay an additional £60 fee. You can do this by ticking the relevant box at the bottom of the enrolment form or when enrolling online.
Students who do not register for CATS points during the enrolment process will not be able to do so after the course has begun.
If you are enrolled on the Certificate of Higher Education at the Department you need to indicate this on the enrolment form but there is no additional registration fee.