ATS1321 - Nations at war: The twentieth century - 2017

Although World War I pronounced the death of the nineteenth-century world, the constitutive elements of that period lived on. This unit explores how wars, revolutions, and empires continued to shape the making and re-making of nations - but under new conditions. In particular, we will examine how the interwar crisis of capitalism, decolonization, the Cold War, and our present age of globalization affected the ways in which historical actors reconceived nations and nationalism. Themes covered include the Russian Revolution; Fascism and Nazism; nationalism and revolution in postwar Africa and Asia; religious and market fundamentalisms in the late 20th century. No background knowledge is assumed and students need not have taken Nations at War I.

Students successfully completing this unit will be able to demonstrate:

1. The ability to discuss in an informed way the relationship between revolution and social change;
2. An understanding of the distinctions between political and social revolutions;
3. An appreciation of the difference between total war, civil war, cold war and revolution;
4. An awareness of how ideas about race, ethnicity, identity, nationalism and freedom informed; revolutionary movement in the twentieth century;
5. The ability to assess critically visual sources and their contributions to historical memory;
6. The ability to analyse a variety of written historical sources;
7. The development of skills for collaborative learning and group work;
8. The acquisition of solid writing and oral presentation skills;

Within semester assessment: 100%

Minimum total expected workload to achieve the learning outcomes for this unit is 144 hours per semester typically comprising a mixture of scheduled learning activities and independent study. A unit requires on average three/four hours of scheduled activities per week. Scheduled activities may include a combination of teacher directed learning, peer directed learning and online engagement.

See also Unit timetable information

Professor Christina Twomey

History