AMS-30045 - Module Specification
School of Humanities
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

Programme/Approved Electives for 2020/21

Available as a Free Standing Elective

Co-requisites

None

Prerequisites

None

Barred Combinations

None

Description for 2020/21

This module is suitable for students who have already taken history modules and acquired a solid grounding in the methods of historical research, analysis, and writing. It allows students to scrutinise the achievements and limitations of Civil Rights and Black Power activism in the United States.
Following on from AMS-30035, this module provides a closer examination of activism and resistance from the 1960s onwards, with particular focuses on Black Power, the roles women played in activism, the economic dimensions of the struggle, and the periodisation and achievements of the Civil Rights and Black Power movements.

This module aims:
to introduce students to the role of civil rights conflict in the shaping of the contemporary United States;
to assess the aims, achievements, and limitations of civil rights and Black Power activism;
to document and evaluate the contribution of protest and activism by ordinary men and women, black and white, northern and southern, in reshaping American society;
to document and evaluate the broader African-American contribution to American society and culture.

Intended Learning Outcomes

recognise and explain the particular issues and debates associated with the struggle for Civil Rights and racial equality in the United States: 1,2
gauge the relative importance of leadership and grass roots momentum in the Civil Rights and Black Power movements: 1,2
analyse the politics of power relations and protest movements in a mature and liberal democracy: 1,2
assess the relative merits of conflicting interpretations of significant events and phenomena, recognising the complexity and diversity of historical situations, events and belief systems: 1,2
conduct sophisticated analysis of primary source material with due regard to provenance, content, and interpretation: 1,2
use constructively source materials both in evaluating primary and secondary accounts and in developing original interpretations fostering competence in the handling and analysis of evidence: 1,2

Study hours

11 x 2-hour seminars = 22 hours
11 x 4- hours seminar preparation = 44 hours
Short Paper preparation and writing = 30 hours
Essay preparation and writing = 54 hours

School Rules

None

Description of Module Assessment