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2011/2012 BA-IVK_AMH2 Major Issues in the Social History of the Americas 2
| English Title | |
| Major Issues in the Social History of the Americas 2 |
Course Information | |
| Language | English |
| Point | 10 ECTS (300 SAT) |
| Type | Mandatory |
| Level | Bachelor |
| Duration | One Semester |
| Course Period |
Spring
2nd semester |
| Time Table | Please see course schedule at e-Campus |
| Study Board |
Study Board for BA in International Business Communication |
| Course Coordinator | |
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| Course coordinator for American studies | |
| Main Category of the Course | |
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| Last updated on 29 maj 2012 | |
| Learning Objectives | |||||||||||||||||
| The course will introduce the students to the history of the western hemisphere, from the economic depression of the 1930s to today. The students will acquire a basic knowledge and understanding of the main events and processes in the social, economic and political development of the Americas during the period. This knowledge will give them an historical framework of understanding for further studies of American society. At the same time, particular emphasis is placed on understanding the continent as a whole as well as the unique regional, cultural and social traits of this process. As in Major Issues in the Social History of the Americas 1, the students will become familiar with key sources for understanding the period as well as some of the source-critical and methodological considerations that may be included in an historical analysis. | |||||||||||||||||
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| Examination | |||||||||||||||||
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At the exam, the student must be able to: - Demonstrate basic knowledge about - and understanding of - the history of the USA and the Latin American countries during the period from 1929 to the present. - Use this knowledge to account for, compare and detect general perspectives in the development of these countries. - Identify the main themes in the history of the Americas,discuss the interrelationship between long term developments and specific events, and account for the significance of socio-economic factors, political changes and international developments. - Demonstrate understanding of historical method and various theoretical approaches to the empirical data, and reflect on the quality of various forms of explanatory models. | |||||||||||||||||
| Course Content | |||||||||||||||||
The main content of the course is an introduction to a number of basic issues in the history of the United States and the Latin American countries from circa 1930 to today. Among the issues covered in relation to the USA are “The New Deal” and the establishment of the American welfare state, World War II, the establishment of the USA as a global superpower, the Cold War and its domestic consequences, the struggle for black Americans’ civil rights, the development of immigration patterns, the Vietnam War, the Watergate scandal and the American crisis of trust, the Reagan revolution, the end of the Cold War, and the changes in domestic and foreign policy after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. Among the subjects and themes in Latin American history dealt with in the teaching are economic inequality and its political consequences, popular movements such a Peronism in Argentina, neoliberalism and the role of the military in a number of Latin American countries, democratic movements, the struggle against narcotics production, the Cuban Revolution, the Bay of Pigs affair and the Cuban crisis, the relationship between the USA and Latin America during the Cold War, civil wars and conflicts in Central America, especially in the 1970s and 1980s, the military regimes in South America during the same period, the process of democratization in the 1980s and 1990s , the debt crises and other economic problems in the same period, as well as the relationship to the USA after 2001. | |||||||||||||||||
| Teaching Methods | |||||||||||||||||
| Major Issues in the Social History of the Americas after 1930 combines class teaching, group work, and oral presentations and active student participation is emphasized. In addition, films and documentaries on themes in the history of the United States and Latin America will be regularly incorporated in the teaching. | |||||||||||||||||
| Student Workload | |||||||||||||||||
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| Literature | |||||||||||||||||
Goldfield, D. et al. The American Journey.Combined/Concise ed. (New York: Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2008) Further literature will be listed in the semester plan | |||||||||||||||||