The 1960s and the West, 1958-1974
| Code | School | Level | Credits | Semesters |
| HIST3009 | History | 3 | 40 | Full Year UK |
- Code
- HIST3009
- School
- History
- Level
- 3
- Credits
- 40
- Semesters
- Full Year UK
Summary
Typically this special subject module surveys and analyses social and cultural change in the West during the `long Sixties' from the late 1950s to the mid-1970s. Key issues include:
- The origins and nature of changes in norms of behaviour in the 1960s such as the sexual revolution, attitudes to authority, and the role of youth in society.
- The impact of wider historical developments such as post-war economic prosperity and the Cold War (the Berlin Wall was constructed in 1961 and the Cuban Missile Crisis took place in 1962, for instance).
- An emphasis on looking at the experiences of ordinary people while acknowledging the role of major leaders.
- The origins of a counterculture in the United States and Britain.
- The Vietnam War.
- The development of protest movements such as the civil rights campaign in the United States; the anti-nuclear movement (CND was founded in 1958); student protest movements; the anti-Vietnam War campaign.
- The movement of protest campaigns toward the use of violence, and ultimately the development of terrorist campaigns in the 1970s (Baader-Meinhof, the Weathermen, the Red Brigades).
- The `second wave' of feminism from the late 1960s.
- The representation of the decade in popular culture, both in the 1960s and in subsequent decades, and in particular the politicisation of debates about this controversial period.
Target Students
Students must have taken HIST1001 or HIST1002.
Classes
- One 1-hour seminar each week for 20 weeks
- One 2-hour seminar each week for 20 weeks
Assessment
- 30% Coursework 1: 3,000 word essay
- 30% Coursework 2: 3,000 document analysis
- 40% Presentation: Synoptic presentation and report
Assessed in both autumn & spring semest
Educational Aims
To provide students with a framework of the course of social and cultural change in the West in the 1960s, a knowledge of the background factors which influenced these developments, and an understanding of the historiographical debates surrounding the subject, and through this to develop the intellectual and transferable skills outlined below, through critical reading of original source materials in particular.Learning Outcomes
(a) Knowledge and understanding. By the end of the module students should be able to:
Explain and interpret the major underlying forces that shaped social and cultural change in the 1960s
evaluate forces of change and continuity at work within the period
(b) Intellectual skills. By the end of the module students should be able to:
think critically and imaginatively about the subject matter
identify and address key problems relevant to it
interpret secondary sources on the subject matter and be aware of differing historical interpretations
construct coherent and independent historical argument
(c) Professional/practical skills. The module will develop students ability to:
select, sift and synthesize information from a range of primary and secondary sources
identify and compare key arguments in those materials
demonstrate appropriate IT skills
(d) Transferable skills. The module will develop students ability to:
manage a large and disparate body of information
develop oral and written communication skills
work and learn actively with others
manage and take responsibility for their own learning
use IT to word process their assessed essays