UGEC1031 History of England: From Nation to Empire

This course provides a framework of the history of England for nearly two thousand years. It is hoped that through this course students will be able to broaden their knowledge of some key aspects of the history of England integrated into SDGs themes.

Students, thus, will be more connected to the modern world by understanding the past since some important ideas and inventions are legacies from England. Students will discuss from different perspectives of ‘England’ in this course, such as political development, intellectual ideology, cultural influences and transformation of society in modern Britain. For example, the concept of ‘democracy’ is based on the constitution movement and it still affects the modern world (#16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions)The industrial revolution and the changing the modern consumption. (#8 Decent Work and Economic Growth #9 Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure). Women’s suffrage in the United Kingdom was a pioneer women movements (#5 Gender Equality)It is hard to understand the shaping of modern world without knowing the role of England in the WWII. Finally, the discussion of the role of Britain in colonial Hong Kong also provides an opportunity for students to understand the legacy of Britain in Hong Kong today.

Students should be able to review the following SDGs themes, including #5 Gender Equality #8 Decent Work and Economic Growth #9 Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure #16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions after this course, which fulfills the SDGs goals.