A2 Coursework
• Medicine in Britain,
1870 – 1990
• Focus
• Course Content
• Areas of Enquiry
• Basic Bibliography
and suggested areas
of research before
September

Focus
• “The transformation of
approaches to medical
treatment and surgery in
the period and the role of
wars, government
policies and
developments in science
and technology in
influencing this progress.”
• In other words…..
• How and why did medical
treatments and the
attitudes towards them
change between 1870
and 1990?

Course Content
• The taught section of the course
will last around 10 – 12 weeks.
• It will cover:
– Improvements in medicine and
surgery in the late 19th Century;
– The impact of war on medical
treatment to 1945;
– Government policies and their
influence on provision in the 20th
Century;
– The impact of developments in
science and technology on
approaches to surgery and
medical treatment.
• These will be normal lessons –
you will be expected to attend
every one, as well as complete all
tasks and all set homework.
• All notes from lessons MUST be
kept in your coursework folders.

Course Content
• After the taught section, we will
begin lessons focussing on
research techniques,
referencing and extended
essay writing. Some of the
lessons will be in Central
Library, to help with research.
• We will also be visiting the
Thackeray Museum in Leeds,
for a tour and also to use their
research library, with the help
of their academics;
• You will (hopefully) also have
the chance to interview nurses
and doctors involved in military
operations in Afghanistan and
Iraq, to gauge the effect of war
on medicine.

Area of Enquiry
• The tasks will be based around
the significance of the
following events in approaches
to medicine and surgery;
– World War One
– World War Two
– The National Health Service
Act, 1946
• The first 2000 word essay will
be on the short term (10 year)
significance of one of the
events;
• The second 2000 word essay
will be on how far one of the
events can be seen as a key
turning point over the whole
period of time.

Basic Bibliography and areas of
suggested research
• Brunton, D: Medicine
Transformed; Health, Disease
and Society in Europe 1800 –
1930 (Manchester University
Press, 2004)
• Hardy, A: Health and
Medicine in Britain since 1869
(Palgrave, 2001)
• Lane, J: A Social History of
Medicine, 1750 – 1950
(Routledge, 2001) Suggested Areas of Research:
• Marwick, A: British Society Find out about the following
since 1945 (Penguin, 1996) people as a starter for September;
• Rivett, G: From Cradle to
Marie Curie, Florence Nightingale,
Grave – Fifty Years of the NHS
(Kings Fund, 1997) John Snow, William Beveridge,
Siegfried Sassoon

Remember
• Anything you read or watch
over the summer needs to
be recorded on the
Resource Record Sheet
Template.
• These need to be kept safe
and up to date at all times.
• Your bibliographies and
references in your final
written piece of work must
Casualty 1909 is currently available match up to this, so look
on the BBC iPlayer – watch some after them.
episodes of this and think carefully • Get a DECENT folder to
about HOW and WHY treatments keep everything safe,
differ from modern doctors and together, and well looked
hospitals. after.