Module Identifier IPM0830  
Module Title HISTORY AND HISTORIOGRAPHY AND THE GLOBAL COLD WAR  
Academic Year 2007/2008  
Co-ordinator Mr James R Vaughan  
Semester Semester 2  
Course delivery Seminars / Tutorials   20 Hours. 10 x 2 hour weekly seminars  
Assessment
Assessment TypeAssessment Length/DetailsProportion
Semester Exam1.5 Hours  30%
Semester Assessment Essays: 2 x 3,000 word essays (70%)  70%
Supplementary Exam Students may, subject to Faculty approval, have the opportunity to resit this module, normally during the supplementary examination period. For further clarification please contact the Teaching Programme Administrator in the Department of International Politics. 

Learning outcomes

On successful completion of this module students should be able to:
By the end of this course students will:


Brief description

The module provides an introduction to a range of thematic concerns and methodological issues central to the work of Cold War historians. It encourages students to consider post-1945 international history through the conceptual framework of a 'global Cold War', a political and ideological power struggle which while superficially reflecting a superpower-dominated, bi-polar international system, was fought out by a multiplicity of actors from every continent of the world and which led to the politicization and militarization of cultures and societies in ways that went beyond even the total wars of the first half of the twentieth century. Within this framework, the module explores the global dimensions of the Cold War struggle and encourages students to reconceptualise the Cold War as part of contemporary international history.

Aims

The primary aims of the module are (i) to serve as an introduction to Cold War historiography and (ii) to provide specialist training in the use of historical sources. The module seeks to develop understanding of the relationship between the historian and the writing of history by concentrating upon some of the key historiographical debates pertaining to the Cold War and seeks to promote the ability of students to respond to and make effective critical use of primary and secondary source materials.

Transferable skills

Throughout the course, students will practise and enhance their reading, comprehension and thinking skills, as well as self-management skills. In seminars, students will enhance listening, explaining and debating skills, as well as oral presentational skills. Essay writing will encourage students to practise independent research skills, including data collection and retrieval, writing, IT and time management. The examination tests these skills under time constraint conditions.

15 ECTS Credits

Reading Lists

Books
** Should Be Purchased
Odd Arne Westad (2005) The Global Cold War CUO
** Recommended Text
Crockatt, Richard (1995) The Fifty Years War. The United States and the Soviet Union in World Politics, 1941-1991 Routledge
Gaddis, John Lewis. (1997) We now know : rethinking Cold War history /John Lewis Gaddis. 0198780710
Halle, Louis Joseph (1991.) The Cold War as history :with a new epilogue on the ending of the Cold War /Louis J. Halle. 0060968885
Hanhimaki, Jussi M. (Sept. 2004) The Cold War:A History in Documents and Eyewitness Accounts 0199272808
Hanhimaki, Jussi M. (Aug. 2003) The Cold War:A History in Documents and Eyewitness Accounts 0198208626
Keylor, William R. (April 2001) The Twentieth-Century World:An International History 0195136802
Larres, Klaus & Lane, Ann (eds.) (2001.) The Cold War :the essential readings /edited by Klaus Larres and Ann Lane. 0631207058
Odd Arne Westad (ed) (2000.) Reviewing the Cold War :approaches, interpretations, and theory /Nobel Symposium ; edited by Odd Arne Westad. 0714650722
Reynolds, David (2000.) One world divisible :a global history since 1945 /David Reynolds. 0713994614
Young, John & Kent, John (2004) International Relations Since 1945: A Global History Oxford: OUP

Notes

This module is at CQFW Level 7