Conflict and identity in modern Europe, c.1770-2000 HI1009-05

Credits

30 Credits

Topics covered

• The changing map of Europe
• Population movements
• The industrial transformation of Europe
• Enlightenment, religion and irreligion
• The French Revolution and beyond
• The transformation of rural society
• Liberalism and Democracy
• The triumph of the nation state
• Bourgeoisie and proletariat
• Labour movements and the rise of socialism
• Progress and its discontents
• Imperialism
• The modern city
• European society at war
• Revolution and counter-revolution
• The challenge of Communism
• The challenge of Fascism
• Planning and welfare
• World War II: occupation, collaboration and resistance
• Western Europe and Eastern Europe in the post-war period

Learning outcomes

Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:

• Show an informed understanding of the major changes impacting the lives of Europeans since the late 18th century
• Identify continuities as well as change and appreciate the roles of demography, economics and politics in effecting social and cultural transformations
• Make reasonable sense of the world we live in by knowing how and why it came about
• Evaluate critically different interpretations and debates in historical writing
• Produce coursework essays that are properly structured, cogently argued, fluently written in reasonable English and fully referenced
• Interact with other members of their tutorial class and with the course tutor on an appropriate level of academic discourse

Assessment

• Exam (80%)
• Essay (10%)
• Reflective journal and forum posts (10%)

Essential reading

• A History of Modern Europe: From the Renaissance to the Present by Merriman, John. History: A Very Short Introduction by Arnold, John.
• A History of Western Society, Volume 2: From the Age of Exploration to the Present by (McKay, Crowston, Wiesner-Hanks, Perry)
• Companion to Nineteenth-Century Europe by Beger, Stefan. (supplied as an e-book via the University of London Online Library).