AMS-20063 - History of the United States in the Twentieth Century

Coordinator: David T Ballantyne Tel: +44 1782 7 34409

Lecture Time: See Timetable...

Level: Level 5

Credits: 15

Study Hours: 150

School Office: 01782 733147

Programme/Approved Electives for 2020/21

None

Available as a Free Standing Elective

Yes

Co-requisites

None

Prerequisites

None

Barred Combinations

None

Description for 2020/21

The module seeks to engage students in a critical and analytical look at the central themes of America's domestic development in the twentieth century. It offers a diversity of social, economic, political and cultural perspectives and will equip students with the basic historical tools for more detailed investigation. The module examines general political, social, and cultural developments since World War I. It also takes a closer look at some of the key events and developments in that period that left a long-term imprint on American society.

Aims

This module seeks to engage students in a critical discussion of crucial issues in twentieth-century US history. We will examine selected developments in American society and culture using primary and secondary source materials. This will give students a sense of how people thought about themselves and their society in various decades, and provide a backdrop for understanding current affairs in the US.

Talis Aspire Reading List
Any reading lists will be provided by the start of the course.
http://lists.lib.keele.ac.uk/modules/ams-20063/lists

Intended Learning Outcomes

Describe and analyze the main developments in US history from the turn-of-the century to the 1990s and engage with differing interpretations of important events in this time period: 1,2
Discuss and interpret texts and present findings in appropriate oral and/or written form: 1,2
Evaluate evidence critically, argue logically, and challenge taken-for-granted assumptions: 1,2
Apply their critical understanding of historical processes through the analysis of a range of primary and secondary texts relating to the development of the United States in the twentieth century: 1,2

Study hours

10 one-hour lectures: 10 hour
10 one-hour seminars: 10 hours
Required readings and seminar preparation: 40 hours
Short paper preparation: 30 hours
Long essay preparation: 60 hours

School Rules

None

Description of Module Assessment

1: Short Paper weighted 35%
Short paper (c. 1500 words)
Short paper of 1500 words (+/- 10%, excluding notes and bibliography). Students will analyse and contextualise a primary source relating to a topic area covered in this module.

2: Essay weighted 65%
Long essay (c. 2,000 words)
Submitted essay of 2,000 words (+/-10%, excluding notes and bibliography). Students will either choose from a choice of questions, or create a question in consultation with the seminar tutor. This assessment will develop the ability to engage with relevant scholarship and to construct a persuasive argument concerning a topic or theme addressed in the module. It tests all of the module ILOs.

AMS-20063 - Module Specification School of Humanities Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

AMS-20063 - Module Specification
School of Humanities
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences