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Overview

The period 1877–1945 saw the United States transformed from a predominantly rural nation to a dynamic, diverse and industrialised world power. During this era, the U.S. became overtly active in foreign policy; the character of its population changed dramatically as new immigrant groups came from Eastern and Southern Europe and beyond; many strong challenges were mounted to the status quo as disadvantaged, marginal and minority groups – including working people, black Americans, and women – pressurised for rights and recognition; and the nation involved itself in two world wars and survived a crippling economic depression. The first half of the twentieth century saw the making of ‘modern America’, and many of the changes undergone by the country in this era continue to have repercussions today. This module will provide students with an in-depth understanding of the events and themes of this eventful era, introduce them to competing historical interpretations, and encourage them to study specific aspects of the era in which they take particular interest.

Assessment Strategy

Threshold students (40% to D+) will have done only a minimum of reading, and their work will often be based partly on lecture notes and/or basic textbooks. They will demonstrate in their written assessments some knowledge of at least parts of the relevant field, and will make at least partially-successful attempts to frame an argument which engages with historical controversies, but they will fail to discuss some large and vital aspects of a topic; and/or deploy only some relevant material but partly fail to combine it into a coherent whole; and/or deploy some evidence to support individual points but often fail to do so and/or show difficulty weighing evidence (thereby relying on unsuitable or irrelevant evidence when making a point). Alternatively, or additionally, the presentation of the work might also be poor, with bad grammar and/or punctuation, careless typos and spelling errors, and a lack of effective and correct referencing.

Students in this band (C- to C+) will demonstrate a satisfactory range of achievement or depth of knowledge of most parts of the module, and will make successful, if occasionally inconsistent, attempts to develop those skills appropriate to the study of History at undergraduate level. In the case of the written assessments, the answers will attempt to focus on the question, although might drift into narrative, and will show some evidence of solid reading and research. The argument might lose direction and might not be adequately clear at the bottom of this category. Written work will be presented reasonably well with only limited errors in grammar, punctuation, and referencing, and not to the extent that they obscure meaning.

Good students (B- to B+) will demonstrate a solid level of achievement and depth of knowledge in all the criteria in the C- to C+ range and will in addition exhibit constructive engagement with different types of historical writing and historiographical interpretation. Ideas will be communicated effectively, and written work will include a good range of sources/reading and demonstrate a clear understanding of the issues and of the existing interpretations expressed in a well-structured, relevant, and focused argument. Students at the top end of this band will engage with and critique the ideas that they come across and synthesise the various interpretations they find to reach their own considered conclusions. Written work will be correctly presented with references and bibliography where appropriate.

Excellent students (A- and above) will show strong achievement across all the criteria combined with particularly impressive depths of knowledge and/or subtlety of analysis. In written work, they will support their arguments with a wealth of relevant detail/examples. They will also demonstrate an acute awareness of the relevant historiography and give an account of why the conclusions reached are important within a particular historical debate. They may show a particularly subtle approach to possible objections, nuancing their argument in the light of counter-examples, or producing an interesting synthesis of various contrasting positions. Overall, the standards of content, argument, and analysis expected will be consistently superior to top upper-second work. Standards of presentation will also be high.

Learning Outcomes

• Demonstrate a wide-ranging knowledge of the overall development of the USA in the period 1877-1945.

• Illustrate a detailed knowledge of specific aspects of the period.

• Judge between alternative historical interpretations of the period, including current historiographical positions.

• Synthesize historical arguments about broader developments in the United States, and present detailed historical arguments about specific issues.

• Use primary sources as an integral part of historical argument.