Module Information

Module Identifier

HY21720

Module Title

The Modern World

Academic Year

2017/2018

Co-ordinator

Dr Alastair Kocho-Williams

Semester

Semester 1

Other Staff

Course Delivery

Delivery Type	Delivery length / details
Lecture	20 x 1 Hour Lectures
Seminar	2 x 2 Hour Seminars

Assessment

Assessment Type	Assessment length / details	Proportion
Semester Assessment	1 x 2,500 word essay	50%
Semester Exam	2 Hours 1 x 2 hour exam	50%
Supplementary Assessment	1 x 2,500 word essay	50%
Supplementary Assessment	1 x 2 hour exam	50%

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this module students should be able to:

Demonstrate an understanding of a body of historical knowledge relating to the Modern World, c. 1789-

Demonstrate an understanding of the concept of ‘modernity’ and how it has been interpreted.

Demonstrate an understanding of the range of primary and secondary sources which may be utilised by historians to study Modern World History.

Demonstrate an understanding of key themes in the historiography of the Modern World in broad compass.

Content

The module addresses a number of themes in the Modern World, underpinned with an understanding of modernity. An introductory lecture will address the concept of modernity, and lectures and seminars then address a series of themes (in one or more lectures each). The areas covered will include:

Towns and Cities
Work and Leisure
Travel and Movement
Nation-States and Borders
Industrialisation
War and Violence
Ideologies and Social Movements
Class, Race, and Gender.

Students will be expected to attend two two-hour seminars. The aim of these seminars is to provide an opportunity for intensive discussion, which explores both the direct subject matter of the lectures, but also offers ways of thinking across lecture boundaries.

Seminars will engage with the themes of the lectures, drawing them together such that students can link themes in ways that transcend the confines of the lectures. Seminar topics will include discussion of the links between industrialization, urbanization, and social movements; the relationship of war to social change; the development of the nation-state, the rise of nationalism, militarism, and the path to war; and ideologies and how they shaped concepts of society including class, race and gender.

Aims

Survey modules aim to provide students with a broad lecture-based introduction to an historical period and/or theme and this particular module introduces the issues raised by the concept of modernity in modern world history and historians understanding of it. It addresses key aspects of modern world history, while also surveying what makes these distinctly modern and allowing for comparisons within different societies and periods. The structure is intended to provide for the analysis of themes within a thematic framework.

Brief description

With the concept of modernity at its centre, this module addresses the Modern World, its shaping, and the historical understanding of it. Taking a global, rather than Euro-centric perspective and addressing themes rather than a narrative, aspects of modernity and the development of the modern world are considered in the period c. 1789 to the present day.

Module Skills

Skills Type	Skills details
Application of Number	NA
Communication	Written communication skills will be developed through the coursework and written examination; skills in oral presentation will be developed in seminars but are not formally assessed.
Improving own Learning and Performance	Students will be advised on how to improve research and communication skills through the individual tutorial providing feedback on submitted coursework.
Information Technology	Students will be encouraged to locate suitable material on the web and to apply it appropriately to their own work. Students will also be expected to word-process their work and make use of Blackboard. These skills will not be formally assessed.
Personal Development and Career planning	Students will develop a range of transferable skills, including time management and communication skills, which may help them identify their personal strengths as they consider potential career paths
Problem solving	Students are expected to note and respond to historical problems which arise as part of the study of this subject area and to undertake suitable research for seminars and essays.
Research skills	Students will develop their research skills by reading a range of texts and evaluating their usefulness in preparation for the coursework and the written examination
Subject Specific Skills	An ability to identify and analyze modern primary sources.
Team work	Students will be expected to play an active part in group activities (e.g. short group presentations in seminars) and to learn to evaluate their own contribution to such activities.

Notes

This module is at CQFW Level 5