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AM-100
American History and Politics
This module examines the history and politics of the United States from the American Revolution to the present. Major topics include the American Constitution and the structure of government, conservatism and liberalism, race and ethnicity, the American Dream, reform initiatives, the civil rights movement, immigration, voting rights, and the United States as a superpower.
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DAL268
The Early Modern World: 1500-1800
In 1500, European exploration and colonisation of the rest of the world was only in its infancy. America, two continents North and South, had been unknown to Europeans until just eight years previously. Most of it was still unmapped by Europeans, as were large parts of the rest of the world. By 1800, on the other hand, it was possible to construct a recognisable modern version of a world map. Europeans had explored, colonised, and resettled huge swathes of America in the first instances. They had killed or displaced millions of Native Americans in the process, wiping out whole civilisations, and they had enslaved 12 million or more Africans in that same process, inflicting immense damage on African societies. Europeans were in the early stages of colonising large parts of Africa and Asia too by 1800.
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DAL390
The Early Modern World: 1500-1800
In 1500, European exploration and colonisation of the rest of the world was only in its infancy. America, two continents North and South, had been unknown to Europeans until just eight years previously. Most of it was still unmapped by Europeans, as were large parts of the rest of the world. By 1800, on the other hand, it was possible to construct a recognisable modern version of a world map. Europeans had explored, colonised, and resettled huge swathes of America in the first instances. They had killed or displaced millions of Native Americans in the process, wiping out whole civilisations, and they had enslaved 12 million or more Africans in that same process, inflicting immense damage on African societies. Europeans were in the early stages of colonising large parts of Africa and Asia too by 1800.
And yet, advances in science had transformed human understanding of the universe, of the world, and indeed of ourselves. This was connected through the Renaissance in art, culture, and politics as well as science, to enormous changes in the structure of polities and societies. The Early Modern era perhaps saw the invention not only of modern empires, but of large, centralised modern states. Also, the Renaissance and then Enlightenment changed the way people and states interacted. Arguably, the early modern period represents the transition period between an era of medieval hierarchy and the origins of modern social and political democracy.
Essentially, the aim of the module, through lectures, seminars, and independent reading and thinking, is to give students a sense of the connections between these places and their histories, highlighting that the increasing inter-connection between them is itself a feature of the early modern period. Students will also get a broad sense of how the world as a whole changed between 1500 and 1800.
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HI-M94
The American Revolution On Film & Television, 1754-1815
At a time when most people draw their ideas of the past from streaming series such as THE CROWN and BRIDGERTON, and award-winning movies like OPPENHEIMER, it has never been more important for historians to engage with what has been termed an `alternative¿ historiography. This course does just that, using films, TV dramas and documentaries as a lens through which to explore the founding moment of the USA, the American Revolution. It does so in two ways. Firstly, it examines the revolution in its broadest sense, from the outbreak of the French and Indian War that reconfigured the continent to the end of the conflict many considered a Second War of Independence, the War of 1812. Secondly, it places the film and TV materials that have depicted this period in conversation with the written texts, both primary and secondary sources. The questions it confronts are: How has the American Revolution been interpreted and communicated on-screen to mass audiences over the past century? What has been the relationship between that material and the written historiography? And to what extent do films and TV series whilst visualising the past also engage with its voices found in primary sources? The course embraces the themes of colonialism, imperialism, slavery, gender, liberty, constitutionalism, and continentalism and examines the French and Indian War, the extension of British North America that followed, the shift to revolution, the War of Independence, creation of the constitution and national government, the first two party system, the USA in the Atlantic World, and the War of 1812.
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HIH118
The Early Modern World, 1500-1800
In 1500, European exploration and colonisation of the rest of the world was only in its infancy. America, two continents North and South, had been unknown to Europeans until just eight years previously. Most of it was still unmapped by Europeans, as were large parts of the rest of the world. By 1800, on the other hand, it was possible to construct a recognisable modern version of a world map. Europeans had explored, colonised, and resettled huge swathes of America in the first instances. They had killed or displaced millions of Native Americans in the process, wiping out whole civilisations, and they had enslaved 12 million or more Africans in that same process, inflicting immense damage on African societies. Europeans were in the early stages of colonising large parts of Africa and Asia too by 1800.
And yet, advances in science had transformed human understanding of the universe, of the world, and indeed of ourselves. This was connected through the Renaissance in art, culture, and politics as well as science, to enormous changes in the structure of polities and societies. The early modern era perhaps saw the invention not only of modern empires, but of large, centralised modern states. Also, the Renaissance and then Enlightenment changed the way people and states interacted. Arguably, the early modern period represents the transition period between an era of medieval hierarchy and the origins of modern social and political democracy.
Essentially, the aim of the module, through your lectures, seminars, and independent reading and thinking, is to give you a sense of the connections between these places and their histories, highlighting that the increasing inter-connection between them is itself a feature of the early modern period. You¿ll also get a broad sense of how the world as a whole changed between 1500 and 1800.
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HIH2016
America in a Nutshell: A History of Pennsylvania from William Penn to Donald Trump, 1631-2016
This module surveys the political, social, cultural and economic history of the State of Pennsylvania. It allows students to explore the rich history of America as it is researched and taught by American historians with the Unites States, that is, through the lens of `state¿ history. This module will allow students to explore the foundation of a key British colony in North America, to follow its trajectory of growth and interaction with other colonies before the American Revolution and its trajectory of growth and interaction with both other states and the United States Federal Government from 1776 to 2010. This module aims to help students capture the nature of `state identity¿ in America, so fundamental to American political and social history. Students will be encouraged to view America as most Americans see it, looking out from within a state context, with all of the historical and historiographical considerations that approach entails. Some core strands are political, social and cultural life against the backdrop of colonial life, revolution, civil war, industrialisation and deindustrialisation.
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HIH281
History Work Placement
This module enables students to gain professional work experience in a setting that is typical of the types of graduate careers that History students pursue. Placements are expected to offer graduate level work with the possibility (where relevant) of students being allocated to a specific project within the workplace. Prior to beginning their placement, students will complete a series of workshops that will introduce various professional skills, explore the range of History graduate careers and the skills and attributes they are developing as part of their degree, and offer opportunities to reflect on their own personal development, self-awareness and mindset in relation to future career goals. This will be supplemented by practical workshops during the placement period to develop skills in writing CVs, applications and personal statements, interviews, and reflective practice. Teaching will be tied in to the SEA award allowing students to complete appropriate levels of the award (bronze and silver).
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HIH3300
History Dissertation
The History dissertation is a free-standing, 40-credit module that runs across both semesters of Level Three. Candidates conduct research upon a subject of their choice, devised in consultation with a member of staff teaching for the degrees in History, and concerning a topic that falls within staff research and teaching interests.
