Module Catalogue 2024/25

HCA1001 : Slavery

HCA1001 : Slavery

  • Offered for Year: 2024/25
  • Module Leader(s): Dr Christina Mobley
  • Lecturer: Dr Eric Tourigny, Professor Bruce Baker, Professor Susan-Mary Grant, Dr Scott Ashley
  • Owning School: History, Classics and Archaeology
  • Teaching Location: Newcastle City Campus
Semesters

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

Semester 1 Credit Value: 20
ECTS Credits: 10.0
European Credit Transfer System
Pre-requisite

Modules you must have done previously to study this module

Pre Requisite Comment

N/A

Co-Requisite

Modules you need to take at the same time

Co Requisite Comment

N/A

Aims

This module explores slavery in the ancient, modern and early modern and modern periods. It is global in scope, introducing students to the experience and practise of slavery in Europe, Africa and the Americas. It will provide insight into the ideologies, practises and social structures that helped constitute the many different forms of slavery in these multiple eras and regions, and explore as far as is possible the lived experiences of slaves themselves.

Outline Of Syllabus

Will include some of the following:

Slavery in Classical Rome
Slavery in Africa
The Transatlantic Slave Trade
Caribbean Slavery
Slavery in Brazil
Slavery in the United States
Plantation Slavery: History and Archaeology
Abolitionism in Europe and the Americas

Learning Outcomes

Intended Knowledge Outcomes

Students will on completion of the module be equipped to adopt a comparative approach to different forms of slavery across a range of historical eras. They will be able to grasp complex debates about the definition of slavery, and to understand how ideas of race and gender informed the practise of slavery. Students will also develop an awareness of the different ways of studying slavery. They will come to understand how archaeology can serve as a tool to recover slave experiences and chart the slave trade, as well as coming to appreciate comparative methodologies and the merits of Diachronic analysis.

Intended Skill Outcomes

Development of students’ critical skills in research, critical reading and reasoning, sustained discussion and appropriate presentation of the results.

Teaching Methods

Teaching Activities
Category Activity Number Length Student Hours Comment
Scheduled Learning And Teaching ActivitiesLecture221:0022:002 hrs per week
Guided Independent StudyAssessment preparation and completion301:0030:00N/A
Guided Independent StudyAssessment preparation and completion501:0050:00N/A
Guided Independent StudyDirected research and reading331:0033:00Formative practice - 3 hrs a week of required seminar reading.
Guided Independent StudyDirected research and reading541:0054:00N/A
Scheduled Learning And Teaching ActivitiesSmall group teaching111:0011:001 hr per week
Total200:00
Teaching Rationale And Relationship

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

SEMINARS encourage independent study and promote improvements in oral presentation, interpersonal communication, problem-solving skills, research skills and adaptability.

Reading Lists

Assessment Methods

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

Other Assessment
Description Semester When Set Percentage Comment
Essay1A602000-word essay answering one of a pre-set list of questions.
Portfolio1M401,500 word log for critical reflection on first 6 weeks content, with in-class prompts and guidance.
Formative Assessments

Formative Assessment is an assessment which develops your skills in being assessed, allows for you to receive feedback, and prepares you for being assessed. However, it does not count to your final mark.

Description Semester When Set Comment
Computer assessment1MWeekly Canvas Quiz (no word count)
Assessment Rationale And Relationship

Both of the assessment components are intended to assess progress against the module’s intended learning outcomes. The essay (a 2,000-word piece of work responding to a question chosen by the student from a pre-circulated set of options), is intended to allow the student to demonstrate the entire range of the knowledge and skills outcomes, while the portfolio (1,500 words, reflecting on certain weekly content) more specifically gives the opportunity to practise attainment against the skills outcomes. The computer assessment (weekly Canvas tests) is a formative component that helps to establish understanding of key topics in the module in a way that supports completion of the two summative components.

Study-abroad, non-Erasmus exchange and Loyola students spending semester 1 only are required to finish their assessment while in Newcastle. Where an exam is present, an alternative form of assessment will be set and where coursework is present, an alternative deadline will be set. Details of the alternative assessment will be provided by the module leader.

Timetable

Past Exam Papers

General Notes

N/A

Welcome to Newcastle University Module Catalogue

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Disclaimer

The information contained within the Module Catalogue relates to the 2024 academic year.

In accordance with University Terms and Conditions, the University makes all reasonable efforts to deliver the modules as described.

Modules may be amended on an annual basis to take account of changing staff expertise, developments in the discipline, the requirements of external bodies and partners, and student feedback. Module information for the 2025/26 entry will be published here in early-April 2025. Queries about information in the Module Catalogue should in the first instance be addressed to your School Office.