Revolutions in World History module (HY11004)

Description

This module is specifically designed for students from a wide variety of educational backgrounds. You do not need to have prior knowledge of the topics covered by the module to pass and do well. Most students with prior knowledge quickly discover that History as taught in schools is markedly different from the History that you will be learning and exploring here.

What do we mean by the term 'revolution' and are there differing definitions of what is meant by revolution when applied to events taking place across Europe and North America during the period 1750 to 1850?

This module aims to address such questions by examining:

• the political and social impact of revolution in America and France,
• the causes and consequences of Industrial Revolution in Britain,
• the revolution in ideas during the Enlightenment, over the period 1750 and 1850, and
• debates and interpretations about this 'age of revolution'.

This module will also promote an awareness of a range of different approaches and sources which are available for the study of the past through a broad comparative survey of different peoples and different states.

This module includes Fieldwork or archive visits.

Pre-requisites

None - you do NOT need to have prior knowledge of the topics covered by this module.

Anti-requisites

EH11001 (evening version of this module)

Teaching

The course consists of a total 42 contact hours: 22 one-hour lectures (including introduction and revision session) and two-hour weekly seminars over ten weeks, including some excursions to local museums and sites where relevant.

Assessment

This module is assessed as follows:

• Module Portfolio (60%)
• Examination (40%)

Reading

The core reading for this module is:

• Wim Klooster, Revolutions in the Atlantic World. A Comparative History (New York University Press, 2009)
• Eric Hobsbawm, The Age of Revolution 1789 to 1848 (1962).

These publications will provide excellent background reading for the module and we strongly recommend them for purchase.

These books will be used in conjunction with:

• Martin Malia, History's Locomotives: Revolutions and the Making of the Modern World (Yale University Press, 2006),
• W. Simpson and M. Jones (eds), Europe 1783-1914 (Routledge, second edition, 2009).