| Unit name | Global Histories: Possible Pasts, Alternative Futures |
|---|---|
| Unit code | AFAC10020 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | C/4 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Dr. Koole |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
none |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
none |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
none |
| School/department | Arts Faculty Office |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
Why is this unit important?
This unit enables students to place pressing contemporary global issues in historical context. Through exploring key themes in global history, students learn how the past shapes current ways of thinking on urgent topics such as migration, gender and sexuality, and environmental crisis. By focusing on histories of Asia, Africa, and Latin America, students learn how contemporary issues have varied culturally and historically, and explore histories which have, until recently, been underrepresented. Ultimately, Global Histories encourages students to recognize the historical and cultural contingency of the present, and so imagine alternative possible pasts and futures.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study?
This unit introduces students to the interdisciplinary study of history. By doing so, it provides a historical basis for themes explored in later core units of the programme and complements those units by considering histories beyond Europe and North America. Along the way, students will develop foundational skills in secondary source analysis which will be useful throughout their degree, and begin to recognize the contemporary, ethical relevance of Liberal Arts for engaged citizenship.
An overview of the content
This unit introduces key themes in modern global history such as migration and colonialism, gender and sexuality, and capitalism and the environment. It explores these histories through comparative case studies ranging across Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Through these case studies, students will develop a historical perspective on contemporary topics such as refugee rights, queer and trans identities, and fossil fuel dependency. The unit takes a decolonial approach: students will consider which histories have been told and ignored, and their subject position in relation to these histories. Besides historical scholarship, Global Histories uses feature films produced by global majority filmmakers to expand our historical imagination when reconstructing occluded pasts. Students will be supported, through skills workshops and discussion of decolonial methodology, to produce feature film screenplays as ‘speculative histories’ (Hartman) of topics explored in the unit.
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit?
The unit aims to introduce students to key themes in modern global history and to the method of decolonial history. It will develop skills of historical analysis and creative methods for the presentation of the past. Students will develop a critical perspective on their subject position in relation to the past, and an understanding of the contingency of present ways of thinking.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:
How you will learn
Teaching will be delivered through a combination of synchronous and asynchronous activities, including lectures, group discussion, and writing tasks. Students will be expected to complete the mandatory weekly readings and participate on a weekly basis. There will be opportunities for tutor and peer feedback.
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
Film pitch, 500 words (20%) [ILOs 1, 2, 3]
Film screenplay, 2,500 words (80%) [ILOs 1, 4]
Students will write a pitch for a fiction film which tells an untold story of a history addressed by this unit, and a screenplay for the first scene(s) of the film. The screenplay takes the form of a ‘critical fabulation’ (Hartman): a fiction which imagines a possible past which has been untold or is difficult to tell because of a lack of historical sources.
When assessment does not go to plan
When required by the Board of Examiners, you will normally complete reassessments in the same formats as those outlined above. However, the Board reserves the right to modify the form or number of reassessments required. Details of reassessments are normally confirmed by the School shortly after the notification of your results at the end of the academic year.
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. AFAC10020).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The assessment methods listed in this unit specification are designed to enable students to demonstrate the named learning outcomes (LOs). Where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, schools will make reasonable adjustments to support a student to demonstrate the LO by an alternative method or with additional resources.
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
