Newcastle University

Pre Requisite Comment

N/A

Co Requisite Comment

N/A

Aims

This module analysis British foreign policy since the Suez Crisis of 1956.

The module aims to explain British foreign policy since the Suez crisis of 1956, after which point Britain’s reduced global status was finally undeniable, and the country was infamously accused of having “lost an empire, but not yet found a role”. It considers Churchill’s conception of Britain at the centre of three concentric circles – the US, Europe, and Commonwealth – and the determinants of foreign policy, both external and internal. Case studies will serve as a means of assessing whether British foreign policy was tied to coherent national interests, or was prone to “delusions of grandeur”.

Original Summary:

Outline Of Syllabus

The following is a guide to the topics covered; actual topics may differ from those listed: the UK-US ‘special relationship’; European integration; decolonisation; ‘East of Suez’; the Cold War; the Falklands; Gulf War; Iraq; ‘Liberal Interventionism’; overseas development; the Foreign Office and central government.

Intended Knowledge Outcomes

Students will gain knowledge of the range of sources available for the study of the British foreign policy, their advantages and limitations. They will have a critical awareness of the historiography surrounding the subject, and be able to relate it to other relevant debates in British history.

Intended Skill Outcomes

The students will develop the following intellectual skills: the capacity for independent study and critical judgement and of the ability to respond promptly, cogently and clearly to new and unexpected questions arising from this study; Reading, understanding, critiquing, and comparing historical arguments; Analysing and evaluating historians’ use of evidence; Interpreting and contextualizing primary sources.

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

N/A

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

Exams test 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.

Documentary commentary exercises and examinations test knowledge and understanding of the texts set for the module. The ability to compare and contrast related source texts on a common subject. The ability to expound and criticize a textual extract lucidly, succinctly and with relevance in a relatively brief space, and, in an exam, under pressure of time.

Work submitted during the delivery of the module forms a means of determining student progress. Submitted work tests knowledge outcomes and develops skills in research, reading and writing.
CAB

This module can be made available to Erasmus students only with the agreement of the Head of Subject and of the Module Leader. This option must be discussed in person at the beginning of your exchange period. No restrictions apply to study-abroad, exchange and Loyola students.

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.

General Notes

Original Handbook text: