Module code: HST5350
Teaching Staff: Mark White
Credits: 30 Semester: YEAR
Module Convenor: Professor Mark White
This module examines the major developments in United States history in the twentieth century. The general issues to be explored will include the cycles of conservatism and liberalism in America on the domestic front, and on the world stage, the rise of the United States to superpower status. Specific topics to be covered include World Wars I and II, the Jazz Age, the New Deal, civil rights and Vietnam. The roles played by key individuals, such as Theodore Roosevelt, Martin Luther King and Bill Clinton, will also be evaluated. On this module, students will develop an ability to analyse both broad historical themes as well as specific episodes and issues. The use of documents throughout the module, particularly in the second-semester Detailed Study on the Cuban missile crisis, constitutes preparation for the more concentrated use of primary sources in students' final year, in the Special Subject and Dissertation. This module enhances students' international awareness by fostering their knowledge of and interest in American political history, and developing their understanding of the global impact of American politics and America's changing relationship with the rest of the world throughout the twentieth century.
Assessment: Essay 1 (2,000 words) 25%, Essay 2 (2,000 words) 25% and Take Home Exam 50% Level: 5