The Contemporary World since 1945
| Code | School | Level | Credits | Semesters |
| HIST1014 | History | 1 | 20 | Full Year UK |
- Code
- HIST1014
- School
- History
- Level
- 1
- Credits
- 20
- Semesters
- Full Year UK
Summary
This module addresses some of the major developments in international affairs since 1945, including international events and the origins, development and culmination of the Cold War, decolonisation and the end of empire, global movements for national, sexual or racial liberation and national or regional histories, especially in Europe and North America, Africa, and East Asia. Whilst interested in high politics, it also addresses, social movements, ideological change, and cultural developments. In doing so, it considers the political, social and cultural forces which have shaped the post-1945 world and which continue to inform our own contemporary times.
Target Students
1st-year Single and Joint Honours History students and Liberal Arts students. Also available to Exchange students.
Classes
- One 1-hour seminar each week for 20 weeks
- One 1-hour lecture each week for 20 weeks
Assessment
- 50% Coursework 1: Piece of individually assessed coursework
- 50% Coursework 2: Piece of individually assessed coursework
Assessed in both autumn & spring semest
Educational Aims
The module aims to provide students with a valuable framework for studying the history of international affairs since 1945, knowledge of the factors that influenced these developments, and an understanding of the wider historiographical debates surrounding them.It aims to give students a foundation for further study in contemporary history in Parts I and II of the degree, as well as encouraging students to think conceptually about what is distinctive about the post-1945 world and what makes it specifically “contemporary”.Learning Outcomes
(a) Knowledge and understanding.
By the end of the module, students should be able to:
● explain and interpret some of the main underlying forces that shaped world history in the years following 1945
● demonstrate an understanding of both major events and broader social, cultural and political trends in this period
● evaluate forces of change and continuity within the period
● demonstrate an awareness and critical evaluation of a variety of historical perspectives on the period, including those of political, social, and cultural history.
(b) Intellectual skills.
By the end of the module students should be able to:
● think critically and imaginatively about the subject matter
● identify and evaluate key problems relevant to it
● interpret primary and secondary sources critically and independently
● understand differing historical interpretations of the subject matter
● construct coherent and independent historical arguments of their own.
(c) Professional/Practical skills.
This module will develop students' ability:
● to select, sift and synthesise information from a range of sources, both primary and secondary
● to identify and compare key arguments in those materials
● plan, research and write a sustained piece of historical research
● to demonstrate appropriate footnoting and bibliographical skills
● to use the University intranet to access the library catalogue.
(d) Transferable skills.
This module will develop students' ability:
● to manage a large and disparate body of information
● to express themselves clearly, coherently and fluently in writing essays
● to work and learn actively with others
● to manage and take responsibility for their own learning
● to use IT to word process their assessed essay.
Conveners
- Dr Ruben Leitao Prazeres Serem