UNIVERSITY OF KENT
Module Specification
1.
The title of the module.
HI864 The Cold War, 1941-1991
2.
The School which will be responsible for management of the module.
History
3.
The Start Date of the Module.
Spring 2011.
4.
The cohort of students (onwards) to which the module will be
applicable.
MA candidates
5.
The number of students expected to take the module.
10-15
6.
Modules to be withdrawn on the introduction of this proposed module
and consultation with other relevant Departments and Faculties
regarding the withdrawal.
None.
7.
The level of the module (eg Certificate [C], Intermediate [I], Honours [H]
or Postgraduate [M]).
M
8.
The number of credits which the module represents.
20
9.
Which term(s) the module is to be taught in (or other teaching pattern).
Spring
10.
Prerequisite and co-requisite modules.
None
11.
The programmes of study to which the module contributes.
The module is most relevant to the MA programme in International Conflict
and Security Studies and International Relations, but it will be open to all MA
students at the BSIS.
12.
The intended subject specific learning outcomes and, as appropriate,
their relationship to the programme learning outcomes of the MA in
International Relations.
On successful completion of the module, students will be able to

SLO1: Provide a firm historical grounding for understanding the origins,
intensity, length, and impact of the Cold War;
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
SLO2: Illustrate through the use of cases and examples the complex
causes and dynamics of Cold War related crises and armed conflicts;
SLO3: Critically identify key debates in the discipline of history relating to
the study of the Cold War;
SLO4: Outline and understand the main social scientific concepts in the
study of the Cold War;
SLO5: Highlight those areas where comparisons between different
scholarly approaches to the study of the Cold War will be most fruitful;
SLO6: Appreciate how political scientists (especially those in International
Relations and International Conflict Analysis) and historians of international
relations and conflict have understood the significance of the Cold War by
writing an essay on a specific subject where comparisons of scholarship
can be made.
These specific learning outcomes contribute to achieving the learning
outcomes of our post-graduate programmes by demonstrating knowledge
of the following:




13.
demonstrate specialised knowledge of, and critical insight into, the key
historical and theoretical issues in their programme area, together
with familiarity with appropriate bibliographical sources;
apply theoretical and conceptual frameworks to the analysis of Cold
War elated crises and conflicts;
use a variety of research methods and evaluate critically their
application in the scholarly literature;
conduct research in history and international relations demonstrating
awareness of epistemological, methodological and ethical principles.
The intended generic learning outcomes (GLO) and, as appropriate,
their relationship to programme learning outcomes.
Students who successfully complete this module
GLO1: will be able to appreciate scholarly debates at the forefront of the
discipline of history;
GLO2: will engage critically with the vocabulary, concepts, theories and
methods of historical analysis;
GLO3: will have a comprehensive understanding of methods and
methodologies of related disciplines;
GLO4: will develop reasoned arguments, supported by relevant information,
and exercise critical thinking;
GLO5: will have a level of conceptual understanding that will allow them to
critically evaluate research, advanced scholarship and methodologies and
argue alternative approaches;
GLO6: will describe, evaluate, and apply different approaches involved in
collecting, analysing, and presenting social scientific and historical
information;
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GLO7: will be able to engage in academic and professional communication
orally and in writing;
GLO8: will have independent learning ability required for continuing
professional study;
GLO9: collaborate with others and contribute effectively to the achievement of
common goals.
By helping students to progress towards these generic learning outcomes,
the module contributes to achieving the general aims of our postgraduate
programmes, which aim to:
 provide students with an advanced training in their relevant programmes of
study;
 develop the students’ transferable skills emphasizing research skills,
analytical and conceptual skills, independent work and self-organisation;
 develop reasoned arguments, synthesise relevant information and exercise
critical judgement;
 work independently, demonstrating initiative, self-organization and time-
management.
14.
A synopsis of the curriculum.
The chronological period covered by this module is from 1941, when Hitler
invaded the Soviet Union, Churchill met Roosevelt to sign the Atlantic
Charter, and the United States entered the wars in Europe and the Pacific, to
1991, when the Soviet Union collapsed. However, concepts and vocabulary
will be analyzed in the first lecture, the long-range and short-term origins of
the Cold War will be dealt with in the second lecture, while the legacy of the
Cold War will be examined in the last lecture. The specific lecture titles
follow:
Lecture I: The Cold War as a Subject of Scholarly Investigation, Interpretive
Debate, and Ideological Polemics. (split between weeks 1 and 2).
Lecture II: The Long-Range and Immediate Origins of the Cold War.
Lecture III: The Division of Europe, 1945-1949: Reasons and Responsibilities
Lecture IV: The Cold War Widens and Turns Hot, 1949-1953.
Lecture V: Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Khrushchev: American-Soviet Rivalry
at Its Zenith, 1954-1963.
Lecture VI: Holding Back the Dominoes in Southeast Asia: America’s Descent
into the Quagmire and Its Ignominious Exit, 1954-1975.
Lecture: VII: The Cold War and the Middle East, 1948-1991.
Lecture VIII: U.S.-Soviet Relations from the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty to the
Demise of Détente, 1963-1980.
Lecture IX: China’s Cold War: From Revolution to Tiananmen, 1949-1989.
Lecture X: Reagan, Gorbachev, and the End of the Cold War, 1981-1991.
Lecture XI: The Cold War: Lessons and Legacies.
The aim is to:
 Provide a firm historical grounding for understanding why the Cold
War occurred and why it ended as it did;
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
Highlight those events where comparisons can be made in order to
enhance respect for the complexity of the interaction between
ideological aims and political outcomes;
And enable students to:
 Acquire, through empirical analysis, a basis on which to make
comparisons and draw inferences;
 Understand how the history of the Cold War has been used by
scholars in IR and ICA to test hypotheses and theories;
 Appreciate why political scientists and historians of international
relations and conflict differ in their analyses and interpretations of
events related to the Cold War through diversified readings and writing
critical essays.
The mark in this module is based on a Topic Proposal Essay of +/- 1000
words, which counts for 15%, and a Final Essay of 4500-5000 words, which
counts for 85%.
The major requirement for this module is a 4500-5000-word analytical essay
on a subject related to the Cold War. The topic may be one that focuses on
the problem of the origins of the Cold War, on some aspect of the Cold War
itself, or on why and how the Cold War ended. Students may prefer to
concentrate on interstate relations or on specific Cold War crises and armed
conflicts. However, students are permitted to focus on questions of policy
formation as well as on domestic issues such as the phenomenon of
McCarthyism in the United States. The roles played by the arms’ race, the
military-industrial complex, and the politics of arms’ procurement as factors
influencing American and Soviet policies during the Cold War are particularly
interesting. Espionage and intelligence are also interesting subjects that can
be examined in the context of the Cold War. Needless to say, students may
want to focus on key personalities, who played important roles during the
Cold War.
The research for the essay should include studies by both historians and
specialists (political scientists) in International Relations (IR) and International
Conflict and Security Studies (ICS). It is essential that students be aware of
the level-of-analysis problem inherent in the analysis that they undertake.
They should demonstrate wide reading in the relevant historical and
theoretical literature. Hence, the bibliography should include books and
scholarly articles by historians, social scientists, and professional journalists
writing on the subject. The ultimate objective of the essay is to provide the
reader with an in-depth and comparative analysis of the chosen topic. In the
end, the reader should be able to appreciate how well the student researcher
and writer understands the complexity of arriving at historical interpretations
and why scholars draw sometimes very contrasting conclusions on the basis
of similar, if not identical, factual material.
The final essay will be evaluated according to the Assessment Criteria
adopted by the Department of History at the University of Kent. Especially
important are: structure and presentation; extent and quality of research;
quality of analysis and content; and quality of writing.
Each student must submit to Dr. Palo a +/- 1000-word (double-spaced) topic
proposal plus a preliminary bibliography. The proposal must include (1) a
statement as to why you chose the topic you did; (2) how you propose to
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focus your essay in terms of what points of comparison you are going to use
to analyze the works you have selected; and (3) a detailed outline. The
preliminary bibliography can include the textbooks and works excerpted in the
Reader, but it must also include at least six books and/or articles that you
have found yourself. A short annotation explaining why you chose them
should accompany these additional works. The remarks on the topic
proposal are aimed at helping the student orient his/her research project.
15. Indicative Reading List
Books:
Allison, Graham T., and Philip Zelikow. Essence of Decision: Explaining the
Cuban Missile
Crisis 2nd edition (1999).
Bill, James A. The Eagle and the Lion: The Tragedy of American-Iranian
Relations (1988).
Brzezinski, Zbigniew K. Game Plan: A Geostrategic Framework for the
Conduct of the U.S.Soviet Contest (1986).
Burk, Kathleen, and Melvyn Stokes. The United States and the European
Alliance since 1945
(1999).
Chen Jian. Mao’s China and the Cold War (2001).
Cockatt, Richard. The Fifty Years’ War, 1941-1991 (1995).
Costigliola, Frank. France and the United States: The Cold Alliance Since
World War II
(1992).
Cronin, James E. The World the Cold War Made: Order, Chaos and the
Return of History
(1996).
Dockrill, Saki R., and Geraint Hughes, eds. Cold War History (2006).
Ellison, James. The United States, Britain and the Transatlantic Crisis: Rising
to the Gaullist
Challenge, 1963-68 (2007).
Feis, Herbert. From Trust to Terror: The Onset of the Cold War, 1945-1950
(1970).
Foglesong, David S. The American Mission and the “Evil Empire”: The
Crusade for a “Free
Russia” Since 1881 (2007).
Foot, Rosemary. The Practice of Power: US Relations With China since 1949
(1995).
Freedman, Lawrence. Kennedy’s Wars: Berlin, Laos, and Vietnam (2000).
Fursenko, Aleksandr, and Timothy Naftali, Khrushchev’s Cold War: The
Inside Story of an
American Adversary (2006).
Gaddis, John Lewis. We Now Know: Rethinking Cold War History (1997).
Gardner, Lloyd C. The Long Road to Baghdad: A History of U.S. Foreign
Policy from the
1970s to the Present (2008).
Garthoff, Raymond. Détente and Confrontation: American-Soviet Relations
Nixon to Reagan
(1985).
Halliday, Jon, and Bruce Cumings. Korea: The Unknown War (1988).
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Hanhimäki, Jussi M., and Odd Arne Westad, eds., The Cold War: A History in
Documents
and Eyewitness Accounts (2003).
Heiss, Mary Ann. Empire and Nationhood: The United States, Great Britain,
and Iranian Oil,
1950-1954 (1997).
Heller, Francis Howard, and John R. Gillingham, NATO: The Founding of the
Atlantic
Alliance and the Integration of Europe (1992).
Herring, George C. America’s Longest War: The United States and Vietnam
1950-1975 2nd
edition (1986).
Hogan, Michael J. The Marshall Plan: America, Britain, and the
Reconstruction of Western
Europe, 1947-1952 (1987).
Hogan, Michael J. A Cross of Iron: Harry S. Truman and the Origins of the
National
Security State, 1945-1954 (1998).
Holloway, David. Stalin and the Bomb: The Soviet Union and Atomic Energy
1939-1956
(1994).
Hunt, Michael H. The American Ascendancy: How the United States Gained
& Wielded
Global Dominance (2007).
Iriye, Akira. The Cold War in Asia: A Historical Introduction (1974).
Keddie, Nikki R., and Mark J. Gasiorowski, eds. Neither East nor West: Iran,
the Soviet
Union, and the United States (1990).
Kolko, Gabriel. Confronting the Third World: United States Foreign Policy,
1945-1980
(1988).
Larson, Deborah Welch. Anatomy of Mistrust: U.S.-Soviet Relations During
the Cold War
(1997).
Leffler, Melvyn P. A Preponderance of Power: National Security, the Truman
Administration, and the Cold War (1992).
Leffler, Melvyn P. For the Soul of Mankind: The United States, the Soviet
Union, and the
Cold War (2007).
McCormick, Thomas J. America’s Half-Century: United States Foreign Policy
in the Cold
War (1995)).
McCauley, Martin. Origins of the Cold War Revised 3rd edition (2008).
McCauley, Martin. Russia, America, and the Cold War, 1949-1991 Revised
2nd edition
(2008).
Miscamble, Wilson D. From Roosevelt to Truman: Potsdam, Hiroshima, and
the Cold War
(2007).
Moyar, Mark. Triumph Forsaken: The Vietnam War, 1954-1965 (2006).
Naimark, Norman M. The Russians in Germany: A History of the Soviet Zone
of Occupation,
1945-1949 (1996).
Osgood, Kenneth. Total Cold War: Eisenhower’s Secret Propaganda Battle at
Home and
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Abroad (2006).
Painter, David S., and Melvyn P. Leffler. Origins of the Cold War: An
International History
(1994).
Paterson, Thomas G. On Every Front: The Making and Unmaking of the Cold
War, Revised
edition (1992).
Pons, Silvio, and Federico Romero, eds. Reinterpreting the End of the Cold
War: Issues,
Interpretations, Periodizations (2005).
Powaski, Ronald E. The Cold War: The United States and the Soviet Union,
1917-1991
(1998).
Roberts, Geoffrey. The Soviet Union in World Politics: Coexistence,
Revolution and Cold
War, 1945-1991 (1999).
Roberts, Geoffrey. Stalin’s Wars. From World War to Cold War 1939-1953
(2007).
Schulzinger, Robert D. A Time for War: The United States and Vietnam,
1941-1975 (1997).
Statler, Kathryn C., and Andrew L. Johns, eds. The Eisenhower
Administration, the Third
World, and the Globalization of the Cold War (2006);
Suri, Jeremi. Power and Protest: Global Revolution and the Rise of Détente
(2003).
Wagnleitner, Reinhold. Coca-colonization and the Cold War: The Cultural
Mission of the
United States in Austria After the Second World War (1994).
Westad, Odd Arne. The Fall of Détente: Soviet-American Relations During
the Carter Years
(1997).
Westad, Odd Arne. Reviewing the Cold War: Approaches, Interpretations,
Theory (2000).
Westad, Odd Arne. The Global Cold War: Third World Interventions and the
Making of Our
Times (2005).
Zubok, Vladislav M. A Failed Empire: The Soviet Union in the Cold War from
Stalin to
Gorbachev (2007).
Zubok, Vladislav, and Constantine Pleshakov. Inside the Kremlin's Cold War:
From Stalin to
Khrushchev (1996).
Articles
Berghahn, Volker R. Historiographical Review: “The Debate on ‘Americanization’
Among Economic
and Cultural Historians.” Cold War History 10, no. 1 (February 2010), 107-130.
Boyle, Peter G. “The Hungarian Revolution and the Suez Crisis.” History 90, no. 4
(2005), 550-565.
Boyle, Ryan. “A Red Moon over the Mall: The Sputnik Panic and Domestic America.”
The Journal of
American Culture 31, no. 4 (December 2008), 373-382.
Brown, Scott. “Prelude to a Divorce? The Prague Spring as Dress Rehearsal for
Czechoslovakia’s
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‘Velvet Divorce’.” Europe-Asia Studies 60, no. 10 (December 2008), 1783–
1804.
Chen Jian. “The Myth of America’s ‘Lost Chance’ in China: A Chinese Perspective in
Light of New
Evidence.” Diplomatic History 21, no. (Winter 1997), 77-86.
Costigliola, Frank. “‘Unceasing Pressure for Penetration’: Gender, Pathology, and
Emotion in George
Kennan’s Formation of the Cold War.” The Journal of American History 83, no.
4 (Mar., 1997), 1309-1339.
Costigliola, Frank. “After Roosevelt’s Death: Dangerous Emotions, Divisive
Discourses, and the
Abandoned Alliance.” Diplomatic History 34, no. 1 (January 2010), 1-23.
Cox, Michael. “Why did We Get the End of the Cold War Wrong?” The British Journal
of Politics and
International Relations 11 (2009), 161-176.
Cuddy, Edward. “Vietnam: Mr. Johnson’s War—Or Mr. Eisenhower’s?” Review of
Politics 65, no. 4
(2003), 351-374.
Del Pero, Mario. “American Pressures and Their Containment in Italy during the
Ambassadorship of
Claire Boothe Luce, 1953-1956.” Diplomatic History 28, no. 3 (June 2004),
407-439.
Deletant, Dennis. “‘Taunting the Bear’: Romania and the Warsaw Pact, 1963-89.”
Cold War History 7,
no. 4 (November 2007), 495-507.
Gaddis, John Lewis. “International Relations Theory and the End of the Cold War.”
International
Security 17, no. 3 (Winter 1992/93), 5-58.
Gleijeses, Piero. “Cuba and the Independence of Namibia.” Cold War History 7, no. 2
(May 2007),
285-303.
Goldman, Zachary K. “Ties That Bind: John F. Kennedy and the Foundation of the
American-Israeli
Alliance.” Cold War History 9, no. 1 (February 2009), 23-58.
Husain, Aiyaz. “Covert Action and US Cold War Strategy in Cuba, 1961-62.” Cold
War History 5, no.
1 (February 2005), 23-53.
Jones, Matthew. “Targeting China: U.S. Nuclear Planning and ‘Massive Retaliation’ in
East Asia,
1953-1955.” Journal of Cold War Studies 10, no. 4 (Fall 2008), 37-65.
Kalinovsky, Artemy. “Decision-Making and the Soviet War in Afghanistan: From
Intervention to
Withdrawal.” Journal of Cold War Studies 11, no. 4 (Fall 2009), 46-73.
Kearn, David W., Jr. “The Baruch Plan and the Quest for Atomic Disarmament.”
Diplomacy &
Statecraft 21, no. 1 (March 2010), 41-67.
Kim, Donggil. “Stalin and the Chinese Civil War.” Cold War History 10, no. 2 (May
2010), 185-202.
Laron, Guy. “Playing With Fire: The Soviet-Syrian-Israeli Triangle, 1965-1967.” Cold
War History
10, no. 2 (May 2010), 163-184.
Leffler, Melvyn. Review Essay: “The Cold War: What Do ‘We Now Know’?” American
Historical
Review 104, no. 2 (April 1999), 501-524.
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Loth, Wilfried. “The German Question from Stalin to Khrushchev: The Meaning of
New
Documents.” Cold War History 10, no. 2 (May 2010), 229-245.
MacDonald, Douglas J. “Communist Bloc Expansion in the Early Cold War:
Challenging
Realism, Refuting Revisionism,” International Security 20, no. 3 (Winter
1995/96), 152-188.
Mark, Eduard. “The War Scare of 1946 and Its Consequences.” Diplomatic History
21, no. 3
(Summer 1997), 383-415.
Mastny, Vojtech. “The 1963 Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.” Journal of Cold War Studies
10, no. 1
(Winter 2008), 3-25.
Mastny, Vojtech. “How Able Was ‘Able Archer?’ Nuclear Trigger and Intelligence in
Perspective.”
Journal of Cold War Studies 11, no. 1 (Winter 2009), 108-123.
Moore, Will H., and David J. Lanoue. “Domestic Politics and U.S. Foreign Policy: A
Study of
Cold War Conflict Behavior,” Journal of Politics 65, no. 2 (May 2003), 376-396.
Muehlenbeck, Philip E. “Kennedy and Touré: A Success in Personal Diplomacy.”
Diplomacy &
Statecraft 19, no. 1 (March 2008): 69-95.
Nichols, Thomas M. “Carter and the Soviets: The Origins of the US Return to a
Strategy of
Confrontation,” Diplomacy & Statecraft 13, no. 2 (June 2002), 21-42.
Protheroe, Gerald J. “Limiting America’s Engagement: Roger Hilsman’s Vietnam War,
1961-1963.”
Diplomacy & Statecraft 19, no. 2 (June 2008), 263-288.
Sayle, Timothy Andrews. “Andropov’s Hungarian Complex.” Cold War History 9, no. 3
(August
2009), 427-439.
Scott, Len, and Steve Smith. “Lessons of October: Historians, Political Scientists,
Policy-Makers and
the Cuban Missile Crisis.” International Affairs 70, no. 4 (1994), 659-684.
Sigelman, Lee. “Disarming the Opposition: The President, the Public, and the INF
Treaty.” The
Public Opinion Quarterly 54, no. 1 (Spring 1990), 37-47.
Stueck, William, and Boram Yi. “‘An Alliance Forged in Blood’: The American
Occupation of
Korea, the Korean War, and the US-South Korean Alliance.” Journal of
Strategic Studies 33,
no. 2 (April 2010), 177-209.
Tal, David. “Eisenhower’s Disarmament Dilemma: From Chance for Peace to Open
Skies Proposal,”
Diplomacy & Statecraft 12, no. 2 (June 2001): 175-196.
Tierney, Dominic. “‘Pearl Harbor in Reverse’: Moral Analogies in the Cuban Missile
Crisis.” Journal
of Cold War Studies 9, no. 3 (Summer 2007), 49-77.
Usdin, Steven T. “The Rosenberg Ring Revealed: Industrial-Scale Conventional and
Nuclear
Espionage.” Journal of Cold War Studies 11, no. 3 (Summer 2009), 91-143.
Van Alstein, Maarten. “The Meaning of Hostile Bipolarization: Interpreting the Origins
of the Cold
War.” Cold War History 9, no. 3 (August 2009), 301-319.
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Wilson, James Graham. “How Grand Was Reagan’s Strategy.” Diplomacy &
Statecraft 18, no. 4
(December 2007): 773-803.
Winokur, Talia. “‘The Soviets Were Just an Excuse’: Why Israel Did Not Destroy the
Egyptian Third
Army.” Cold War History 9, no. 1 (February 2009), 59-78.
Wohlforth, William C. “Realism and the End of the Cold War.” International Security
19, no. 3
(Winter 1994/95), 91-129.
16. Learning and Teaching Methods, including the nature and number of
contact hours and the total study hours which will be expected of students,
and how these relate to achievement of the intended learning outcomes
Lectures
There will be twelve one-hour lectures on the topics listed above. Each
lecture will focus on one or more of the main subjects indicated in the title. As
a supplement to each oral lecture, students will have access on Moodle to the
complete written texts of each lecture, which vary in length. These are in
essence a form of textbook, which the students should read before the oral
lecture. PowerPoint slides will accompany each lecture. In addition, students
will have a number of required readings, including the books by McCauley
listed above as well as many of the articles listed. Some readings listed in the
syllabus will be recommended or optional. Students will also be required to
consult key primary documents available online. The objective of each lecture
will be to highlight important events and interpretations as well as to raise
questions for further analysis.
Seminars
One-hour seminars will follow each lecture. In order to insure that the
discussions will not be random affairs, questions on both the lectures and the
readings will be made available in advance via Moodle. Students are
encouraged to look the questions over before they start the relevant readings
each week. The expectation is that in this way the discussions will be fruitful.
Independent Study
Students will be expected to read the stipulated texts for each lecture and
seminar session, as well as delving more widely into the recommended texts
pertinent to the module. Additionally, students will be expected to conduct
independent research for their coursework essay, which is explained above.
It is estimated that students will spend 15 to 18 hours per week reading and
researching to meet the requirements for the module outside of class.
17. Assessment methods and how these relate to testing achievement of the
intended learning outcomes.
As explained in detail above, the mark in this module is based on a Topic
Proposal Essay of +/- 1000 words, which counts for 15%, and a Final Essay
of 4500-5000 words, which counts for 85%.
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18. Implications for learning resources, including staff, library, IT and space.
a. Staff: No additional resources required.
b. Library: The library resources of the University of Kent library and the
libraries in Belgium are more than adequate for the research needs of
students enrolled in this module.
c. IT: No additional resources required
d. Space: No additional resources required
19.
20.
A statement confirming that as far as can be reasonably anticipated the
curriculum, learning and teaching methods, and forms of assessment do
not present any non-justifiable disadvantage to students with disabilities.
This is the case to best knowledge of the module convenor.
University Department (for cognate programmes) or Faculty (for noncognate programmes) responsible for the programme:
Brussels School of International Studies; Faculty of History.
Statement by the Director of Graduate Studies: “I confirm I have been consulted on
the above module proposal and have given advice on the correct procedures and
required content of module proposals.”
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