Module Identifier |
GG26010 |
Module Title |
THE AMERICAS |
Academic Year |
2007/2008 |
Co-ordinator |
Dr Heidi V Scott |
Semester |
Semester 2 |
Other staff |
Matthew Hannah |
Course delivery |
Lecture | 20 Hours. 10 x 2 hours |
Assessment |
Assessment Type | Assessment Length/Details | Proportion |
Semester Exam | 2 Hours Seen examination - answer two questions from four. | 100% |
Supplementary Exam | 2 Hours Resit examination in same format. | 100% |
|
Learning outcomes
On succesful completion of this module students will have gained an appreciation of:-
-
the diversity of social formations in the Americas
-
Colonialism, independence and their legacy in the Americas
-
key moments in the development of select American states
-
key contemporary issues and concerns across the Americas.
Students will be able to:
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refer to and evaluate a range of interdisiplinary literature on the history of the Americas as well as particular case studies
-
further develop their own critical thought, writing and presentation skills.
Aims
The aim of this module is to introduce students to the varied social, economic, and cultural landscapes of the Americas.
Content
The purpose of this module is to introduce students to the varied social, economic, and cultural landscapes of the Americas. Focusing on several key themes, such as colonization and independence, nation building and modernization, the course will emphasize how and why diverse cultural formations have attempted to 'shape' New World social formations, as well as the aims and ideals of select groups who have worked to produce alternate visions of society. In-depth case studies ranging from Spanish colonialism in the New World to the making of the American West and from the civil rights movement to nation-building in Latin America will be used to draw out these themes. Students will read both theoretical works and empirical studies of particular peoples and places, and will explore how people and place have been represented in maps as well as diverse written texts. Themes:
Part I: Latin America
1. The Americas: an introduction
2. The Spanish American city
3. Independence and nation-building in Latin America
Part II: The United States
4. What's American about America?
5. Making The American West
6. Marginalization in the American West
7. The myth of the South
8. American mobilities
Part III: The USA an Latin America
9. Latin American-U.S. relations
10. The U.S.-Mexican border
Reading Lists
Books
** Recommended Text
Burkholder, Mark A. and Johnson, Lyman, L. (2003) Colonial Latin America
Oxford: Oxford Uni. Press
Burns, E. Bradford (2002) Latin America: A Concise Interpretive History
Eaglewood Cliffs, N.Y. : Prentice Hall
Cronon, William, Miles, George and Gitlin,Jay (eds) (1992) Under an Open Sky: Rethinking America's Western Past.
Norton. Classmark: F591.U5
Jackson, John Brinckerhoff (1994) A Sense of Place, A Sense of Time.
New Haven and London: Yale University Press. Classmark: GF90.I6
Nelson Limerick, Patricia (1987) The Legacy of Conquest.
Norton. Classmark: F591.T7
Swanson, P. (ed.) (2003) The Companion to Latin American Studies
London, Arnold
Notes
This module is at CQFW Level 5