Admission requirements
This course is only available for students in the BA International Studies.
Limited places are also open for exchange students. Please note: this course takes place in The Hague.
Description
This lecture course introduces students to both an overview of the main historical developments in North America from 1945 to the present, and ways in which historical method allows us to interpret the past in different ways. Attention will be given to both domestic and foreign policy to cover the major developments with the United States during the Cold War and beyond. Although Canada and Mexico will be discussed, the emphasis of the course falls upon the United States.
The course begins with an overview of some of the central themes that are present in any consideration of US history: Freedom, Manifest Destiny, and American Exceptionalism. The course is thereafter loosely framed around two themes which are used to consider different periods and events from the 1950s to the 2000s: Freedom and Fear. Freedom is widely seen as the defining character of American life – the wish, if not the right, to live as a free individual. Yet this is always closely associated with the fear that something (e.g. the government) or somebody (e.g. the communists) is going to take this freedom away. Freedom and Fear are therefore two defining features of American life, and they provide the basic structure for this course.
Course objectives
Students will be able to understand the most important historical developments in North America since 1945 and place them in their correct context. The course focuses on the recent history of the United States, but also highlights details of the relations between Mexico, Canada, and the United States, and how these relations have changed over time.
Students will learn to make connections between politics, economics, international relations, and society/culture, and to understand how the United States of today has been formed by various forces for change through history.
Students will attain a basic understanding of historical methods and their application in interpreting and understanding the past from different perspectives. This will involve encouraging students to investigate the historical background to today’s events, and to appreciate the value of history for making sense of the present.
Specific objectives are the following:
1. To familiarize students with the fundamental trends and developments in the history of the United States since 1945
2. To familiarize students with historical methods, to enable them to conduct basic research
3. To familiarize students with the connections between the United States, Mexico, and Canada, and how to conceive of a history of North America in political, economic, and social terms.
Timetable
The timetable is available on the BA International Studies website
Mode of instruction
One two hour lecture per week; bi-weekly tutorials. Lectures are held every week, with the exception of the midterm exam week. Weekly lectures will cover both issues discussed in the readings, and issues outside of the readings.
Attending all tutorial sessions is compulsory. If you are unable to attend a session, please inform the tutor of the course in advance, providing a valid reason for your absence. Being absent without notification and valid reason or not being present at half or more of the tutorial sessions will mean your assignments will not be assessed, and result in a 1.0 for the tutorial (30% of the final grade).
Course Load
Total course load for this course is 5 EC (1 EC = 28 hours), this equals 140 hours, broken down by:
Atending lectures: 2 hours per week x 12 weeks: 24 hrs
Atending attending tutorials 2 hours per two weeks: 12 hrs
Assessment hours (midterms and final exam): 4 hrs
Time for studying the compulsory literature: 64 hrs
Time for completing assignments, preparation classes and exams: 36 hrs
Assessment method
Assessment
Midterm Exam:
- Written examination with short open questions
Final exam:
- Written examination with short open questions
Weighing
Tutorials 30%
Midterm Exam 30%
Final Exam 40 %
To complete the final mark, please take notice of the following: the final mark for the course is established by determining the weighted average.
To pass the course, the average of mid- and end term exams (70%) has to be 5.5 at least.
Resit
If the final grade is insufficient (lower than a 6), there is the possibility of retaking the full 70% of the exam material, replacing both the earlier mid- and endterm grades. No resit for the tutorials is possible.
Blackboard
Blackboard will be used. For tutorial groups: please enroll in blackboard after your enrolment in uSis
Students are requested to register on Blackboard for this course.
Reading list
Main Text:
H.W. Brands, American Dreams: The United States since 1945 (2011)
The course broadly follows the chapters of this book. Together with the lectures, the book provides the material that will be tested for the exams.
Registration
Enrolment through uSis is mandatory.
General information about uSis is available in English and Dutch
Registration Studeren à la carte and Contractonderwijs
Not applicable