1. Primary source (ie, a source produced at the time of the historical event) Mass-Observation, ‘The London Blitz’, in Tom Harrison (editor), Living Through the Blitz (Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1976), pp. 61-131.
Write an 8-10 page (doubled spaced, no more than 12-point font) paper based upon the following sources:
1. Primary source (ie, a source produced at the time of the historical event) Mass-Observation, ‘The London Blitz’, in Tom Harrison (editor), Living Through the Blitz (Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1976), pp. 61-131
2. Secondary sources (ie, those sources produced after the time of the historical event, by historians, sociologists, writers, critics, et cetera) Amy Helen Bell, ‘Landscapes of Fear: Wartime London, 1939-45’, Journal of British Studies 48 (January 2009), 153-75
Geoffrey Field, ‘Nights Underground in Darkest London: The Blitz, 1940-1’, International Labor and Working-Class History 62 (Fall 2002), 11-49
Brad Beaven and John Griffiths, ‘The Blitz, Civilian Morale and the City: Mass-Observation and Working-Class Culture in Britain, 1940-1’, Urban History 26 (1999), 71-88.
These sources, or links to these sources are provided on the Moodle site. Please note that all listed sources must be used.
Guidelines:
Though you can decide the structure of your paper, the paper should address the following questions: – How did Londoners experience the Blitz of the Second World War? What do you consider the main or most important aspects of this experience?
– How do historians like Bell, Field, Beaven and Griffiths interpret the experience of the London Blitz?
Suggestions
– Make sure to use examples from the primary source (whether a quote or quotes) to support any points you make.
– Make sure to integrate the analyses offered by Bell, Field, Beaven and Griffiths in their secondary sources, into your analysis, by quoting them or reflecting upon their arguments – all the secondary source authors talk, for instance, about the importance of maintaining morale during the Blitz – what is the evidence in Mass-Observation that morale was maintained? What is the evidence against this?
In terms of citation, please make sure all quotations or paraphrases are cited fully and properly. Discuss with your tutorial leader which citation form they prefer.
