Module: HIS4100-20 Atlantic Histories

Level: 4

Credit Value: 20

Module Tutor: Professor Iftikhar Malik

Module Tutor Contact Details: I.Malik@bathspa.ac.uk

1. Brief description and aims of module:

This module enables you to learn about pre-Columbian and post-Columbian developments in Western Hemisphere and their impact on the rest of the world. The idea is to obtain a fuller and multi-disciplinary grasp of the U.S. history during its colonial, national and post-Civil War phases without ignoring complex cultural, ethnic, social and economic developments and their imprints on a growing society along with its extra-regional interface.

2.Outline syllabus:

This module is equally concerned with American History and the contemporary European and African developments that played a crucial role in the formation of North American republic. It raises a number of contested issues, such as those relating to colonialism, creed, colour and class. Comparisons with the other Atlantic regions allow us to study the U.S. within a larger global context. Topics may include:

Native communities and cultures

European colonisation of North and South America

The Puritans, growth of the thirteen colonies, the American Enlightenment, colonial wars, and the War of Independence

The U. S. Constitution

The War of 1812, Monroe Doctrine, Westward Movement,

Slavery and Abolitionism, the Civil War, Reconstruction

Industrialisation, gender empowerment and a global/imperial role of the US

3.Teaching and learning activities:

Lectures, seminar presentations allowing wider participation, written work in the form of an essay and similar other formative and summative assignments will determine a progressive form of teaching and learning.

Assessment Item 1:

• Assessment Type: CW
• Description: Seminar Presentation (2000 word)
• % Weighting: 50%

Assessment Item 2:

• Assessment Type: CW
• Description: Critique of a historical film or documentary (2000 word)
• % Weighting: 50%