Class Uses Wesleyan’s British Book Collection for Final Research Project

On April 29, the HIST 269 (Modern Britain: From Empire to Quagmire, 1688–Present) class visited Wesleyan’s Special Collections and Archives to present five-minute talks about their final research projects. The class is taught by Jennifer Tucker, associate professor of history.

At the beginning of the semester, each student chose a book from Special Collections and was required, for the assignment, to write a 20-page critical introduction to the book for modern audiences.

The students shared their projects with Susan Kent, a professor from the University of Colorado at Boulder, who specializes in modern British history, focusing on gender, culture, imperialism, and politics. Kent also is the author of the class’s core history textbook on modern British history.

The majority of Wesleyan’s collection comes from the Beales collection, which is focused on 19th-century British social and economic history.

Photos of the class are below: (Photos courtesy of Jennifer Tucker)