| Unit name | Aftermath: The Wake of War, 1945-1950 |
|---|---|
| Unit code | HIST30161 |
| Credit points | 40 |
| Level of study | H/6 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 4 (weeks 1-24) |
| Unit director | Dr. Grace Huxford |
| 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 | Department of History (Historical Studies) |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts, Law and Social Sciences |
Why is this unit important?
Our Special Subjects give you the opportunity to work at an advanced level alongside a single academic and a specialist area of research. Intensively taught through seminars only, they are designed to provide you with hands-on experience of how knowledge is produced in the discipline of History.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study?
Our Special Subjects involve the application of the full spectrum of core historical competencies within a narrower field of study. In this sense, they are designed to prepare you to undertake independent research for yourself by showing you how practicing historians work with sources, historiographies, methodologies, and concepts within a particular specialism.
An overview of content
1945-1950 was a particularly fraught period in modern world history, marked by mass population movement, economic strife, political uncertainty, and personal loss. But it was also a period which saw the establishment of new welfare states, humanitarian organisations, architectural and artistic approaches, and political movements. This unit analyses the social history of this troubled yet hopeful postwar world. Through the eyes of grieving families, displaced children, returning service women and men, and occupied nations, students will use of a range of written, oral, audio, and visual sources to explore the immediate aftermath of the Second World War. Our approach will be informed by a range of historical methodologies and different case studies including Britain, Germany, Korea, Japan, and transnational settings.
How will you be different as a result of this unit?
Special Subject units will enhance your capacity to build arguments with primary sources, properly located within appropriate theories, concepts, methods, and historiographies. The assessment for this unit is designed to support your development as an independent researcher in history.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:
Classes will involve a combination of class discussion, investigative activities, and practical activities. Students will be expected to engage with readings and participate on a weekly basis. This will be further supported with drop-in sessions.
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
Essay 1, from best of three, 2,500 words (30%) [ILOs 1-4]
Essay 2, from best of three, 2,500 words (30%) [ILOs 1-4]
Timed Assessment (40%) [ILOs 1-5]
Tasks which do not count towards your unit mark but are required for credit (zero-weighted):
Essay 3, from best of three, 2,500 words (0% Summative) [ILOs 1-4]
All three essays are required to gain credit for the unit, but only the two essays receiving the highest moderated marks will contribute to the final unit mark, as shown above. A reasonable attempt at Essay 3 must be made in order for credit to be awarded. The first essay will be submitted in TB1 and will be about sources and methods in the field of study. The second and third, submitted in TB2, will be linked to other parts of the unit. The Timed Assessment, held in the summer assessment period, completes your research journey. It will be a synoptic assessment designed to tie the whole unit together and will address deeper questions of meaning, significance, and impact.
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 format or number of reassessments required. Details of reassessments are confirmed by the School/Centre 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. HIST30161).
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.
