HIS2212 : History and Memory in the United States (Inactive)

Semesters

Your programme is made up of credits, the total differs on programme to programme.

Semester 2 Credit Value: 20
ECTS Credits: 10.0
European Credit Transfer System

Aims

This course examines how Americans have thought about their past and how that is significant to our understanding of American history. Beginning soon after independence, Americans worked to shape the historical memory of the nation’s origins in order to help define a distinctively American identity. As divisive issues arose, so too did conflicting ideas about the national past. The course begins with a thorough consideration of the origins of the study of historical memory and the wealth of recent literature that provides a methodological and theoretical framework for these studies. Overviews of historical memory in the United States set out the major topics and issues and their interrelations. The course then gives special attention to how memory and identity have been mutually constituted by looking at case studies associated with particular regions, social groups, and events.

This course is intended:

•To familiarise students with the historiographical literature relating to the study of memory and history
•To develop an understanding of how historical memory has developed in the United States
•To develop an appreciation for the regional, ethnic, class, and racial variations in the development of historical memory in the United States

Outline Of Syllabus

The following is a guide only. Actual subjects may differ from those listed.

Lecture 1: Introduction to Historical Memory
Seminar 1: Historical Memory in the United States

Lecture 2: Theory and Methodology in Memory Studies
Seminar 2: Social Memory vs. Public Memory vs. Collective Memory vs. Historical Memory

Lecture 3: Overview of Historical Memory in the United States
Seminar 3: Non-U.S. Case Studies

Lecture 4: The American Revolution
Seminar 4: Memory of the Revolution in the Early Republic

Lecture 5: The Civil War
Seminar 5: Contested Memories of the Civil War

Lecture 6: The Great Depression
Seminar 6: Remembering the Great Depression

Lecture 7: The South
Seminar 7: Memory and Southern Culture

Lecture 8: New England
Seminar 8: Imagining New England

Lecture 9: The West
Seminar 9: The West as Symbol

Lecture 10: Immigrants
Seminar 10: Irish Identity in America

Lecture 11: Migrants
Seminar 11: The Great Migration and the Dust Bowl

Lecture 12: Occupational Groups
Seminar 12: A Miner’s Life

Teaching Methods

Teaching Activities
Category Activity Number Length Student Hours Comment
Guided Independent StudyAssessment preparation and completion651:0065:0040% of guided independent study
Scheduled Learning And Teaching ActivitiesLecture121:0012:00N/A
Guided Independent StudyDirected research and reading341:0034:0034% of independent study
Guided Independent StudyDirected research and reading651:0065:0040% of independent study
Scheduled Learning And Teaching ActivitiesSmall group teaching122:0024:00Seminars
Total200:00
Teaching Rationale And Relationship

Lectures impart core knowledge and an outline knowledge that students are expected to acquire and they stimulate development of listening and note-taking skills.

Seminars provide students with an opportunity to participate in discussion and thus to improve their oral communication skills.

Assessment Methods

The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners

Exams
Description Length Semester When Set Percentage Comment
Written Examination28801A5048 hour take home exam
Other Assessment
Description Semester When Set Percentage Comment
Written exercise1M252000 words (including footnotes but excluding bibliography)
Portfolio1M2510 weekly writing assignments totalling 2000 words
Assessment Rationale And Relationship

The 48hr take home exam tests acquisition of a clear general knowledge of the subject plus the ability to think and analyse a problem quickly, to select from and to apply both the general knowledge and detailed knowledge of aspects of the subject to new questions, problem-solving skills, adaptability, the ability to work unaided, and to write clearly and concisely. The essay tests acquisition of a clear general knowledge of the subject as well as the ability to develop an appropriate topic, gather and synthesize information relevant to the topic, and express complex ideas clearly in written form using appropriate scholarly apparatus.

No variation of the deadlines will be allowed except on production of medical or equivalent evidence.
All Erasmus students at Newcastle University are expected to do the same assessment as students registered for a degree.
Study-abroad, non-Erasmus exchange and Loyola students spending semester 1 only are required to finish their assessment while in Newcastle. This will take the form of an alternative assessment, as outlined in the formats below:

Modules assessed by Coursework and Exam:
The normal alternative form of assessment for all semester 1 non-EU study abroad students will be one essay in addition to the other coursework assessment (the length of the essay should be adjusted in order to comply with the assessment tariff); to be submitted no later than 12pm Friday of week 12. The essays should be set so as to assure coverage of the course content to date.

Modules assessed by Exam only:
The normal alternative form of assessment for all semester 1 non-EU study abroad students will be two 2,000 word written exercises; to be submitted no later than 12pm Friday of week 12. The essays should be set so as to assure coverage of the course content to date.

Modules assessed by Coursework only:
All semester 1 non-EU study abroad students will be expected to complete the standard assessment for the module; to be submitted no later than 12pm Friday of week 12. The essays should be set so as to assure coverage of the course content to date.

Study-abroad, non-Erasmus exchange and Loyola students spending the whole academic year or semester 2 are required to complete the standard assessment as set out in the MOF under all circumstances.

Reading Lists

Timetable