UNDERGRADUATE MODULE OFFERINGS 2012-13
School of History and Anthropology
Module code HIS 3035
Module title
The American Civil War & Reconstruction
MODULE CONVENOR: Brian Kelly
ESTIMATED COURSE SIZE: 20
COURSE CONTENTS (max 500 characters)
Against the backdrop of increasing tensions over slavery, Abraham Lincoln posed the
question in 1855 of whether the United States could “as a nation, continue together
permanently—forever—half slave and half free.” The answer came in 1861, when
war broke out between the federal government at Washington and the newly seceded
Confederacy. The American Civil War and the period of Reconstruction that followed
are sometimes referred to by historians as a “Second American Revolution”: together
they constitute one of the most dramatic social upheavals of the nineteenth century
world, and their outcome established the foundations upon which—for better or
worse—the modern United States would be built.
Making use of a range of primary sources and some of the best recent scholarship in
the vibrant field of Civil War & Reconstruction historiography, we will approach the
events through close examination of four specific historical problems: 1) Sectionalism
and the Causes of War; 2) Abraham Lincoln, the Republican Party and Emancipation;
3) Slavery & Grand Strategy, North and South; and 4) Reconstruction & the Limits of
Black Freedom.
REQUIREMENTS: [Tutorial attendance and approximately 75-100 pages of core
reading per week—SUBSTITUTE YOUR OWN….
Regular lecture, seminar attendance; approximately 100 pages of core reading per
week.
Compulsory elements (MAX. 500 CHARACTERS)
[Students will write one research essay for this module, take an examination and
complete at least five short responses to tutorial readings…again substitute your
own.]
There will be no written exam in this module. Instead you will be
required to submit two essays over the course of the semester: a 2500-3000
word assessed essay on an assigned topic, and a second paper (3500-4000
words) on a research topic chosen by you in consultation with the module
convener. Each student will be required to present at least one reading summary to
the weekly seminar.
GOALS & SKILLS: (300 WORDS)
By the end of the semester those of you who undertake the assigned coursework
conscientiously should be able to:

evaluate the quality of a range of online resources and make use of them in an
historical essay;

speak and write with fluency about the chronology of and major problems in
southern labour history during the period between 1862 and 1920;

critically evaluate primary documents and understand their importance for
reconstructing the past;

recognize and evaluate interpretive differences in historical writing on the
subject;

plan and implement a research project on a centrally related theme.
TEACHING CONTACT HOURS: (i.e. two hour lectures and one hour tutorial, or
one and one half hour lecture, one and one half hour tutorial, etc.)
One hour lecture, two-hour seminar weekly
MODULE ASSESSMENT
Assessment Profile:
Element type
Essay Question (2500-3000 words)
Research Project (3500-4000 words)
Seminar Participation
Seminar Presentation
Element weight(%)
30
50
10
10
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: (OPTIONAL)
Preview classroom materials at http://www.afterslavery.com