This course will chart Britain's troubled history in the first half of the twentieth-century, from the Boer War to the "total war" waged against the Germans in 1939-45. Warfare is a constant theme of this period and we will explore both the domestic impact of these wars and the role they played in the decline of the nation from a great imperial power to a much less consequential island off the coast of Europe. Topics explored will include social class and everyday life in Edwardian Britain, the rise of a collectivist and feminist politics (and "the strange death of liberal England") before 1914, the trauma of the First World War, the attempts to come to terms with that trauma, post-1918 reconstruction, the interwar transformation of gender roles, popular culture and the interwar consumer revolution, social observation during the Depression, and, finally, the popular experience of the "People's War" against the Nazis. We will consider a variety of sources, including some six films, which students will be expected to view outside of class. Format: discussion (and two lectures). Evaluation will be based on class participation, two 8- to 9-page interpretive essays, and a self-scheduled final exam. No prerequisites. Enrollment limit: 25 (expected: 15-20). Open to all. Priority to upperclass students. Group B