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30 credits, Semester one
Module leader 2022-23: Benjamin Ziemann | Module team 2022-23: Laura Almagor
Module summary
Module summary
This core module introduces students to the challenges of studying modern history at an advanced level. It explores the distinctiveness of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries as a period, the study of which raises particular questions about perspective and interpretation, about the relationship between academic history and public understandings of the recent past, and about the selection and treatment of sources across a wide range of media. Classes will focus on some of the key themes and developments in recent historiography, including an engagement with the use of interdisciplinary approaches, particularly in the study of contemporary history.
Learning outcomes
Learning outcomes
By the end of the module, you will be able to:
Understand the characteristics of ‘modernity’, interrogating the nineteenth and twentieth centuries as a distinct period of history, and identifying the forces and experiences that have shaped our understanding of it
Conceptualise an understanding of contemporary history, and so be able to evaluate critically scholarly writing on the very recent past
Demonstrate an awareness of the contribution made by other academic disciplines to our understanding of modern history
Explore the historiographical context for practice-based research, and identify and locate suitable sources for independent historical research on a chosen subject
Distinguish between and critically evaluate different schools of interpretation and historical debate on modern history, with an ability to demonstrate this both orally and in writing
Elaborate and defend an intellectual position to other members of the seminar group, précising complex arguments and methodological debates succinctly and accurately
Engage in group discussions of interpretative issues
Present their conclusions in a fluent written form, demonstrating a mastery of bibliographical materials (including electronic resources) referencing their sources appropriately
Learning and teaching methods
Learning and teaching methods
This module will be taught in ten two-hour seminar classes. This includes:
1. a series of content-specific seminars, looking at a range of historical topics, issues, and problems that take the student through a particular historical period, providing both an introduction to the advanced study of the period and the historical and historiographical context from which to undertake practice-based research.
2. a series of methodological seminars examining different approaches to the research and writing of modern history. Some seminars will look at specific problems, such as how archives store and structure knowledge, others will focus on a particular methodological debate, such as oral history or 'cinematic' knowledge. Students will therefore have a forum in which to explore problems and methods in the advanced study of modern history.
You will be set preparatory reading in advance for all seminars and will be expected to share your knowledge of historiographical developments, debate controversial topics and listen and respond to the views of others in a structured environment.
In addition, you will attend regular individual tutorials, in which you will identify topics for written papers, develop your reading around these topics, and discuss the structure and content of your written work. Feedback on submitted work is again given in individual tutorials.
Assessment methods
Assessment methods
Assessment type - % of final mark
Essay (4000 words) - 80%
Engagement and participation - 20%
You will complete a 4000 word essay and an engagement and participation exercise based on engagement in the learning activities and environment for the module. The essay will relate to at least one of the key concepts or themes of the module. It should demonstrate an advanced understanding of and critical engagement with current historiography, and advanced skills in the use of sources.
The engagement and participation exercise will be set by the module convenor and may assess your overall participation across the module (for example assessing your preparedness and participation) or may involve specific short tasks (for example presentations, reflective seminar diaries, contributions to discussion forums or collaborative documents).
You will also complete a formative assessment in advance of the final essay (LOs 1-5,8).
Additional learning and teaching information
Additional learning and teaching information
Selected reading:
For your own preparation, and as an introduction into some of the themes of the module, you can read standard textbooks on Modern European and US history. We recommend the following:
Christopher A. Bayly, Remaking the Modern World 1900-2015. Global Connections and Comparisons, New York 2018 (ebook)
Robert Gildea, Barricades and Borders: Europe 1800-1914, Oxford 2003
Eric Hobsbawm, Age of Extremes. The Short Twentieth Century, 1914-1991, London 1994
Harold James, Europe Reborn. A History, 1914-2000, Harlow 2003 (ebook)
Konrad Jarausch, Out of Ashes. A New History of Europe in the Twentieth Century, Princeton 2015 (ebook) (selected chapters)
Hartmut Kaelble, A Social History of Europe 1945-2000. Recovery and Transformation after Two World Wars, New York 2013
Ian Kershaw, To Hell and Back. Europe 1914-1949, London 2015
Ian Kershaw, Roller-Coaster. Europe 1950-2017, London 2018
Mark Mazower, Dark Continent. Europe’s Twentieth Century, London 1998
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