Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
History
Module Catalogue
Semester 1 - 2015/2016
Module Code:
HS1056
Module Name:
International Introductory Module: Europe And The
Americas (1763-1914)
Module Credits:
15
No. of Periods:
1
Level:
Level 4
Module Tutor:
Graciela Iglesias Rogers
Module Description:
This module introduces students to main concepts and developments in the history of the Old and
the New worlds at a period marked by both rupture and increasing interconnection. This is achieved
by exploring a wide variety of topics ranging from demographic trends and social structures to
revolutions, wars of liberation, nationalism and imperialism, with an emphasis upon the significance
of mobility and exchange – in goods, ideas and people – and upon supra-regional phenomena,
including religions, patterns of consumption, environmental stresses and the impact of scientific and
technical knowledge.
Specific to:
Ancient, Classical and Medieval Studies
American Studies and History
Classical Studies
Classical Studies Integrated Masters
Global History and Politics
History and the Modern World
History
History Joint
History and the Medieval World
Assessments:
001:
Assignment I: essay (2000 words)
50%
002:
Written assignment II: (1000 words) (review,
report, critical commentary, or one hour timed
essay)
50%
Availability:
Occ.
Year
Semester
A
15/16
S1
Day
Time
Module Code: HS1008
Module Name: International History Introductory Module: Europe 1300-1500
Module Credits:
No. of Periods:
Level:
Module Tutor:
15
1
Level 4
Rebecca Oakes
Module Description:
The late middle ages was an era in which the political map of Europe became recognizably
what we have today and Europe attained its present boundaries. It was an age of crisis, the
Hundred Years’ War, the Black Death, the Great Schism and the loss of Constantinople, yet it
was also an era of state building, rising standards of living, growing religious diversity, and of
the first flowerings of the Renaissance.
Specific to:
Ancient, Classical and Medieval Studies
American Studies and History
Global History and Politics
History and the Modern World
History
History Joint
History and the Medieval World
Assessments:
001:
002:
Assignment I: Essay
Assignment II
Availability:
Occ.
A
Year
15/16
Semester
S1
50%
50%
Day
Time
Module Code: HS1016A
Module Name: International Introductory Module: Europe in the Twentieth
Century
Module Credits:
No. of Periods:
Level:
Module Tutor:
15
1
Level 4
Natalya Chernyshova
Module Description:
This module will establish a chronological framework and an interpretative introduction for
the political, economic, social history of continental Europe in the twentieth century, with
particular emphasis on the diversity of the countries concerned and on the historical moves
towards federation and union.
Specific to:
Assessments:
001:
002:
Availability:
Occ.
A
Ancient, Classical and Medieval Studies
American Studies and History
Global History and Politics
History and the Modern World
History
History Joint
History and the Medieval World
Politics and Global Studies
Assignment I: Essay
Assignment II (e.g. 1000 word review, report,
critical commentary or one hour timed essay)
Year
15/16
Semester
S1
50%
50%
Day
Time
Module Code: HS1050
Module Name: International Introductory Module: the Classical World 50031BC
Module Credits:
No. of Periods:
Level:
Module Tutor:
15
1
Level 4
Carey Fleiner
Module Description:
This module will introduce students to the general historical framework of the period 500
BC to 31BC, touching on political and military, social and economic, literary and art history
and on various types of historical sources and approaches to them. It will provide an
opportunity for students to develop a broad understanding of classical history and its
sources through a study of two key periods in ancient history: war and democracy in fifthcentury Athens and war and imperialism in Republic Rome and related social and cultural
contexts and expressions. Primary sources will be keenly emphasised and analysed.
Specific to:
Assessments:
001:
002:
Availability:
Occ.
A
Ancient, Classical and Medieval Studies
American Studies and History
Classical Studies
Classical Studies Integrated Masters
Global History and Politics
History and the Modern World
History
History Joint
History and the Medieval World
Assignment - Essay
Assignment II: (e.g. 1000 word review, report,
critical commentary or one hour timed essay)
Year
15/16
Semester
S1
50%
50%
Day Time
Module Code: HS1053
Module Name: British Introductory Module: Tudor and Early Stuart England
1500-1660
Module Credits:
No. of Periods:
Level:
Module Tutor:
15
1
Level 4
Simon Sandall
Module Description:
Following the disasters of the fifteenth century, the English economy and population
expanded apace and the first two Tudors established a firm grip on power. Henry VIII
presided over a splendid court and cut a figure on the continent that belied England’s actual
international weakness that emerged much more clearly under the first two Stuarts.
Overpopulation and consequent poverty soon posed threats to both society and the
political elite. It was the Tudor common wealth men who first caused government and
parliament to take on the management of the economy and society in the interests of all.
New divisions however emerged, particularly the religious divide caused by the
Reformation, and there were a series of mid-century crises at home and international
rivalries abroad. The module ends with further strife, the English Civil War or Revolution
(1642-60), which witnessed the overthrow and execution of an undoubted king, a period of
republicanism, and the Restoration on terms of the Stuart monarchy in 1660.
Specific to:
Assessments:
001:
002:
Availability:
Occ.
A
Ancient, Classical and Medieval Studies
American Studies and History
Global History and Politics
History and the Modern World
History
History Joint
History and the Medieval World
Assignment I- Essay
Assignment II: (e.g. 1000 word review, report,
critical commentary or one hour timed essay
Year
15/16
Semester
S1
50%
50%
Day Time
Module Code:
Module Name:
HS1103
Historical Landmarks
Module Credits:
No. of Periods:
Level:
Module Tutor:
15
1
Level 4
Ryan Lavelle
Module Description:
Historical Landmarks is a compulsory module for Single Honours students. The module will
introduce students to a number of key landmarks in history, offering a series of different
perspectives on the ideas of historical causation and change. Through independent group
work students will investigate a single landmark, learning skills of independent research and
the presentation of historical arguments. The course will embed the use of discussion as a
medium of learning in the history degree.
Specific to:
Assessments:
001:
002:
Availability:
Occ.
A
History, Civilisations and Beliefs
History and the Modern World
History
History and the Medieval World
Assignment I: library research exercise (500 words)
Assignment II: group presentation/individual write-up
(2000 words)
Year
15/16
Semester
S1
40%
60%
Day
Time
Module Code:
Module Name:
HS2073A
Civilisation Study: Culture and Society in 5th Century
Athens
Module Credits:
No. of Periods:
Level:
Module Tutor:
15
1
Level 5
Carey Fleiner
Module Description:
The Golden Age of Athens of the fifth-century BC was a time of vibrant cultural
development. Society and politics, especially within Athens, and by those outsiders inspired
by Athenian culture, influenced and were influenced by everything from the Heroic tradition
of Homer, aristocratic codes of honourable behaviour, athletics, drama, philosophy, and art
(buildings, statues, decorative objects). This civilisation study covers these and other topics,
focusing specifically on fifth-century Athens. We will examine the close ties between the
development of Athenian democracy and culture, set against the framework of the Persian
War, the Empire, and the Peloponnesian War
Specific to:
Assessments:
001:
Ancient, Classical and Medieval Studies
Classical Studies
Classical Studies Integrated Masters
History and the Modern World
History
History Joint
History and the Medieval World
002:
Assignment I: critical commentary
(1000 words)
Assignment II: essay (2000 words)
Availability:
Occ.
A
Year
15/16
Semester Day
S1
50%
50%
Time
Module Code:
HS2070A
Module Name:
Civilisation Study: Culture and Society in the Early Roman
Empire (27 BC - AD 180)
Module Credits:
15
No. of Periods:
1
Level:
Level 5
Module Tutor:
Module Description:
This civilisation study covers various topics related to Roman cultural and social life during
the Pax Romana from the rule of Augustus to the last of the ‘Five Good Emperors’. Emphasis
will be placed on the role of religion as a shaping force in Roman life as well as on the
development of a powerful national identity built around the military and the growth of an
Imperial Cult. This identity will be explored in relation to its public projection through such
avenues as sport and building projects and the relationship of the provinces to Rome.
Particular attention will also be placed on the role of myth in the shaping of history and
identity.
Specific to:
Ancient, Classical and Medieval Studies
Classical Studies
Classical Studies Integrated Masters
History and the Modern World
History
History Joint
History and the Medieval World
Assessments:
001:
Assignment I: critical commentary (1000 words)
50%
002:
Assignment II: essay (2000 words)
50%
Availability:
Occ.
Year
Semester
A
15/16
S1
Day
Time
Module
Code:
HS2010A
Module
Name:
Civilisation Study: Late Medieval Civilisation
Module
Credits:
15
No. of Periods: 1
Level:
Level 5
Module Tutor: Rebecca Oakes
Module Description:
This module considers the changing society of England betweenc.1250 and 1540: a period
riven by such crises as the Hundred Years War, Black Death, and the Rise of Lollardy. It
considers the Church in all its facets, the lives and cultures of the aristocracy, townsmen and
peasants, opportunities for self-advancement and expression, and examines such positive
developments as the rise of literacy, schooling and the professions.
Specific to:
Ancient, Classical and Medieval Studies
History and the Modern World
History
History Joint
History and the Medieval World
Assessments:
001:
Assignment I: critical commentary (1000
words)
50%
002:
Assignment II: essay (2000 words)
50%
Availability:
Occ.
Year
Semester
A
15/16
S1
Day Time
Module Code:
HS2003A
Module Name:
Civilisation Study: France in the Age of Louis XIV
Module Credits:
15
No. of Periods:
1
Level:
Level 5
Module Tutor:
Colin Haydon
Module Description:
The module investigates one of the great periods of French civilisation – the age of the ‘Sun
King’. It begins by examining France’s government, economy and society in the late 17th and
early 18th centuries and then looks at the age’s culture, examining such subjects as art,
architecture, religion, science, and drama. Popular culture, as revealed for example in folk
tales, is investigated as well as the culture of the elite.
Specific to:
Global History and Politics
History and the Modern World
History
History Joint
History and the Medieval World
Assessments:
001:
Assignment I: critical commentary (1000
words)
50%
002:
Assignment II: essay (2000 words)
50%
Availability:
Occ.
Year
Semester Day
A
15/16
S1
Time
Module Code:
HS2082A
Module Name:
Civilisation Study: the Global Hispanic World
(1760s-1960s)
Module Credits:
15
No. of Periods:
1
Level:
Level 5
Module Tutor:
Graciela Iglesias Rogers
Module Description:
This course provides an opportunity to see the Hispanic world from a perspective that
counters crude stereotypes, narratives of failure and geographical determinism. Students
will learn not just how and why the Spanish language has become the third most widely
spoken in the world, but also about the contribution, the challenges and the aspirations of
the diverse communities that from the eighteenth to the twentieth centuries have enriched
and contributed to expand the Hispanic presence throughout Europe, the Americas (North
and South) and beyond.
Specific to:
American Studies and History
Global History and Politics
History and the Modern World
History
History Joint
History and the Medieval World
Assessments:
001:
Assignment I: critical commentary (1000
words)
50%
002:
Assignment II: essay (2000 words)
50%
Availability:
Occ.
Year
Semester Day Time
A
15/16
S1
Module Code:
HS2083A
Module Name:
Civilisation Study: from Slavery to Freedom: the
Caribbean 1763-1838
Module Credits:
15
No. of Periods:
1
Level:
Level 5
Module Tutor:
Douglas Hamilton
Module Description:
Slavery was fundamental to the rise of the Caribbean islands to positions of central importance in
the eighteenth-century British Empire. This module explores the Caribbean in a critical phase of its
history during the transition from slavery to emancipation. It begins with an overview of the
Caribbean’s place in the Atlantic World, goes on to assess the African roots of slavery and considers
the scale and conditions of the transatlantic slave trade. We then look in more depth at the lives of
the enslavers and the enslaved in the islands, and consider the relationship between them. The
enslaved were not passive victims, and we explore the strategies they employed to oppose their
enslavement. Increasingly, as the century wore on, the institution of slavery came to be regarded as
abhorrent, and the course charts the coming and causes of abolition, first of the slave trade and,
finally, of slavery itself. The final weeks of the module explore the shifts in Caribbean society caused
by the end of slavery.
Specific to:
American Studies and History
Global History and Politics
History and the Modern World
History
History Joint
History and the Medieval World
Assessments:
001:
Assignment I: critical commentary
(1000 words)
50%
002:
Assignment II: essay (2000 words)
50%
Availability:
Occ.
Year
Semester Day
A
15/16
S1
Time
Module Code:
HS2081A
Module Name: Civilisation Study: The British Raj, from the ‘Indian Mutiny’
to Gandhi – 1857-1947
Module Credits:
15
No. of Periods:
1
Level:
Level 5
Module Tutor:
Xavier Guegan
Module Description:
This module first focuses on a period – the second-half of the nineteenth century / first half of the
twentieth century – which saw the formation of a strong colonial and imperial society in India: the
British Raj, and we will examine the interaction between the British and the Indian societies in detail:
How, through the Indian Mutiny, which put an end to the East Indian Company, the British increased
their presence in India; the implications of their presence in the subcontinent (both for people living
in India and people living in Great Britain); the meanings of ‘imperialism’ and ‘orientalism’; the
participants in the creation of the Raj – politicians, writers, artists, etc. and how reaction to the
British Empire became an aspiration to independence. The second focus aims to provide a broad
survey of modern Indian social, cultural and political history, particularly in the period 1880-1947. It
explores the development of modern South Asian politics in the twentieth century by analysing the
growth of a mass-based nationalist movement and assessing the terms on which different social
groups participated in it. The process of decolonisation is analysed as a response to mounting
political pressure from the anti-colonial movement and the failure of British efforts to contain it
through repression and limited political devolution. Important themes which will be covered include:
the contribution of Gandhian concepts of non-violent struggle to mass mobilisation; the
participation of different social and religious groups – such as peasants, tribal groups, Hindus and
Muslims, and women – in the nationalist movement.
Specific to:
American Studies and History
Global History and Politics
History and the Modern World
History
History Joint
History and the Medieval World
Assessments:
001:
Assignment I: critical commentary (1000
words)
50%
002:
Assignment II: essay (2000 words)
50%
Availability:
Occ.
Year
Semester
A
15/16 S1
Day
Time