HIS2306 : Famines in History
- Offered for Year: 2023/24
- Module Leader(s): Dr Fergus Campbell
- Lecturer: Professor Violetta Hionidou
- Teaching Assistant: Mr Rob Granger
- Owning School: History, Classics and Archaeology
- Teaching Location: Newcastle City Campus
Semesters
| Semester 1 Credit Value: | 20 |
| ECTS Credits: | 10.0 |
Aims
This module examines famines and hunger in history, focusing on nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Questions as to why famines happen; how do they start and how do they end; who dies and who survives; and what is their legacy are addressed. Malthus’ ideas of overpopulation and famine are discussed as those of Amartya Sen and his entitlements theory. Case studies will include the Irish famine, the Greek famine of the 1940s, the Ukrainian famine, the German post-war food crisis, food riots in Easter and Central Europe and the Great Leap Forward.
The aims of this module are:
•To acquire a sound knowledge of the subject of famines, reading widely and critically in the literature associated with it.
•To encourage the students to examine the subject from a variety of different perspectives.
•To encourage students to think about history comparatively and to draw parallels, connections and contrasts between different countries and populations.
•To provide an opportunity of investigating in some depth selected problems, including the appraisal of selected source material and the critical examination of current historiography.
Outline Of Syllabus
Outline syllabus, intended as a guide only; week-by-week topics may be slightly different to the following.
Defining famines; Causality of famines; Short-term effects of famines; Long-term effects; Role of relief; What do people die of in famines?; Sen's theory of 'Entitlements' or who is most likely to die in a famine; Who benefits from a famine?; case studies.
Teaching Methods
Teaching Activities
| Category | Activity | Number | Length | Student Hours | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 67 | 1:00 | 67:00 | N/A |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Lecture | 21 | 1:00 | 21:00 | N/A |
| Guided Independent Study | Directed research and reading | 67 | 1:00 | 67:00 | N/A |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Small group teaching | 9 | 1:00 | 9:00 | There will be a one hour seminar each week for 9 weeks |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Workshops | 3 | 1:00 | 3:00 | There will be 2 one hour essay surgeries and 1 one hour Q&A. |
| Guided Independent Study | Independent study | 33 | 1:00 | 33:00 | N/A |
| Total | 200:00 |
Teaching Rationale And Relationship
SEMINARS encourage independent study and promote improvements in oral presentation, interpersonal communication, problem-solving skills, research skills and adaptability.
LECTURES enable students to gain a wider sense of historical argument and debate and how such debates operate, which also allows them to develop comparisons between different historiographical debates.
SURGERY TIME: Essay surgeries will help students prepare for assessments.
Assessment Methods
The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners
Other Assessment
| Description | Semester | When Set | Percentage | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Written exercise | 1 | M | 25 | Document commentary (1,000 words) |
| Essay | 1 | A | 75 | Essay that addresses comparative issues (2,000 words) |
Formative Assessments
| Description | Semester | When Set | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Written exercise | 1 | M | document commentary (1000 words) |
Assessment Rationale And Relationship
1. Work submitted during the delivery of the module forms a means of determining the student’s progress.
2. Summative assessment tests knowledge outcomes and develops skills in research and reading.
A formative exercise - a document commentary - will be set for this module. This will be un-assessed, but will be discussed in the seminars and will feed into the assessed document commentary.
This will be followed by the assessed documentary commentary which will prepare students for stage three work with primary sources.
The major assessment for this module is an essay that will allow students to critically engage with the key concepts of the module by researching and exploring the politics and culture of famines.
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
- Timetable Website: www.ncl.ac.uk/timetable/
- HIS2306's Timetable