Programme/Approved Electives for 2021/22
None
Available as a Free Standing Elective
Yes
In this module, you will explore the causes, course and consequences of the American Civil War. You will study themes and issues related to slavery and emancipation; class conflict; nationalism; crises of gender; and failures in political and military leadership. Through an investigation of archival materials and wider primary sources from the Union and Confederacy, you will consider the connections between the front lines and the home front. From the Richmond bread riot to Lincoln¿s Emancipation Proclamation, you will put social and cultural history into dialogue with political and intellectual history. You will also examine the memory of the Confederacy and the Civil War in not only the nineteenth century, but in contemporary American society.At its core, this module seeks to answer a fundamental and hotly debated question in nineteenth-century American history: To what extent did the United States remain divided after the Civil War?
Aims
- To explore the ways in which America became reliant upon control and political power - To explore how individuals expressed agency and resistance within institutions of power during the period- To explore the role violence played in the formation of an American national identity
Talis Aspire Reading ListAny reading lists will be provided by the start of the course.http://lists.lib.keele.ac.uk/modules/ams-30042/lists
Intended Learning Outcomes
discuss and analyse the importance of violence in the Civil War period: 1,2analyse the ways in which the politics of race, gender and sex were manipulated to justify the use of violence in antebellum America: 1,2assess the relative merits of conflicting interpretations of significant events and phenomena, recognising the complexity and diversity of historical situations, events and belief systems: 1,2conduct sophisticated analysis of primary source material with due regard to provenance, content, and interpretation: 1,2use source materials constructively both in evaluating primary and secondary accounts and in developing original interpretations fostering competence in the handling and analysis of evidence: 1,2gauge the relative importance of violence in the formation of an early American national identity: 1,2
12 x 2-hour seminars 12 x 1-hour workshops44 hours seminar preparation;20 hours presentation preparation;50 hours essay research and writing
Description of Module Assessment
1: Group Presentation weighted 35%15-20 group minute presentation at start of seminarIn small groups, students will give 15-20 minute presentations at the start of every seminar to introduce the day¿s material. Presenters should use a Powerpoint presentation or provide a hard copy handout to the class outlining the major points in their presentations.
5 minutes: Background information on the seminar topic
5 minutes: Key points in primary and secondary readings
5 minutes: Connections to the wider module themes (i.e. violence, power, gender, race, identity, etc.), offer questions for discussion.
2: Essay weighted 65%2,500-word essay related to topics and texts studied on the moduleStudents will write 2,500-word essays on a topic of their choice.