- UCAS course code
- VV30
- UCAS institution code
- M20
Course unit details:
A Transnational History of Europe in the Short Twentieth Century, c.1917-1991
Unit code | HIST21211 |
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Credit rating | 20 |
Unit level | Level 2 |
Teaching period(s) | Semester 1 |
Available as a free choice unit? | Yes |
Overview
A Transnational History of Europe in the Short Twentieth Century explores the devastations of the short twentieth century in Europe and asks how Europeans experienced this rollercoaster century. The course’s chronology is framed by events including the Russian revolution, the emergence of totalitarian dictatorships, the Second World War, post-war reconstruction, the Cold War, European integration and the fall of the Iron Curtain. Instead of simply offering a conventional narrative, the course highlights overarching themes in the history of Europe that cut across national boundaries, including migration, decolonisation, and globalisation. Exploring the close links between political ideas and social developments, the course surveys how changing and conflicting political ideologies – fascism, state socialism or the welfare state – and population movements caused by armed conflict have shaped European society at different times.
Aims
The aims of this course are:
To introduce students to a broad range of relevant themes and historiographical debates associated with the political and social history of twentieth century Europe;
To introduce students to critical concepts relating to contemporary social history;
To encourage students to adopt a critical perspective to their own understanding of European political and social history;
Provide students with a range of background knowledge and tools that can be deployed at levels 3 and 4.
Teaching and learning methods
Teaching is delivered via 2 hours of lecture, one hour of seminar instruction, and an additional office hour on a weekly basis.
All the support materials for the course will be on BB, and the written assessment will be submitted and returned via this medium.
Knowledge and understanding
demonstrate an increased capacity to examine and evaluate the interactions between social, political and economic processes
demonstrate deeper and more accurate comprehension of key events, structures, and processes in the history of twentieth-century Europe
Intellectual skills
evaluate the ways in which historians choose and use their sources
hone skills of analysis and critical reasoning via a range of forms of written assessment
understand ways in which theoretical perspectives influence historical research
Analyse the relationship between politics, economics and society in twentieth-century Europe
Practical skills
extend and apply oral and group skills by participating in and leading seminar discussions
write reflective, considered, and well-structured pieces of assessed work applicable to analytic and persuasive communication in a range of professional venues
Construct an argument in a closed on-campus exam under time pressure
Transferable skills and personal qualities
work independently, both within seminars and through individual research
experience and training in teamwork, argument and debate, as well as time management
Employability skills
- Other
- As a second-year History course unit, the course provides expert training in - analysis and critical reasoning. - developing important transferable skills in communication and presentation; argument and debate; teamwork; research and time management. - developing concise and critical written analysis.
Assessment methods
Method | Weight |
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Written exam | 70% |
Written assignment (inc essay) | 30% |
Feedback methods
Feedback method | Formative or Summative |
Written feedback and individual discussion (by appointment) for written assessment | Summative |
Written feedback for exam | Summative |
Recommended reading
Eley, Geoff, Forging Democracy: The History of the Left in Europe (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002).
Hobsbawm, Eric, The Age of Extremes: The Short Twentieth Century, 1914–1991 (London: Penguin, 1994).
Jarausch, K. H., Out of Ashes: A New History of Europe in the Twentieth Century (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2015).
Judt, Tony, Postwar: A History of Europe since 1945 (London: Penguin, 2005).
Kershaw, I., To Hell and Back: Europe 1914-1949 (London: Allen Lane, 2015).
Kershaw, I., Rollercoaster: Europe, 1950-2017 (London: Allen Lane, 2018).
Mazower, M., Dark Continent: Europe’s Twentieth Century (London: Penguin, 1999).
Study hours
Scheduled activity hours | |
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Lectures | 22 |
Seminars | 11 |
Independent study hours | |
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Independent study | 167 |
Teaching staff
Staff member | Role |
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Joanne Laycock | Unit coordinator |
Christian Goeschel | Unit coordinator |