Module HIST2941: THE EARLY MODERN ATLANTIC WORLD, 1450-1750

Department: HISTORY

HIST2941: THE EARLY MODERN ATLANTIC WORLD, 1450-1750

Prerequisites

• None.

Corequisites

• None.

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None.

Aims

• To introduce students to the concept of Atlantic history.
• To provide students with a solid knowledge of the history of the Atlantic world in the early modern period.

Content

• The histories of the peoples of western Europe, West Africa, and the Americas became inextricably linked together after Christopher Columbus first crossed the Atlantic ocean in 1492. But the vast majority of historians still make the nation-state the essential, often unquestioned framework of analysis.
• The premise of this module, however, is that we can better understand the encounters, exchanges, and clashes between Native Americans, Europeans, and Africans in the New World if we study them in their Atlantic context. This will help us reconstruct the early modern Atlantic world as it then existed.
• The emphasis will be on the interaction of peoples and cultures, away from the older "expansion of Europe" model that tended to portray European nations as the active forces and the people of other regions, such as Africa and the Americas, as the objects of those actions.
• Some of the topics include ideologies and systems of conquest and colonization; imperial rivalries; the movement of peoples both free and unfree; the mixing of peoples, plants, animals, and microbes; the relevance of race and slavery in the Atlantic world;; religious transformations; the persistence of native cultures after the conquest; the role played by Africans in the creation of the Atlantic world; and the emergence of an Atlantic economy.

Learning Outcomes

• Students will be able to conceptualize the relatively new notion of the "Atlantic World" in history.
• They will reach an understanding of the complex system of political, economic, and cultural exchanges created between both sides of the Atlantic by the European conquest and colonization of the Americas.

• Subject specific skills for this module can be viewed at: http://www.dur.ac.uk/History/ugrads/ModuleProformaMap/

• Key skills for this module can be viewed at: http://www.dur.ac.uk/History/ugrads/ModuleProformaMap/

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• Student learning is facilitated by a combination of the following teaching methods:
• lectures to set the foundations for further study and to provide the basis for the acquisition of subject specific knowledge. Lectures provide a broad framework which defines individual module content, introducing students to themes, debates and interpretations. In this environment, students are given the opportunity to develop skills in listening, selective note-taking and reflection;
• seminars to allow students to present and critically reflect upon the acquired subject-specific knowledge, methodologies and theories, and to identify and debate a range of issues and differing opinions. The seminar is the forum in which students are given the opportunity to communicate ideas, jointly exploring themes and arguments. Seminars are structured to develop understanding and designed to maximise student participation related to prior independent preparation. Seminars give students the opportunity to develop oral communication skills, encourage critical and tolerant approaches to reasoned argument and historical discussion, build the students' ability to marshal historical evidence, and facilitate the development of the ability to summarise historical arguments, think in a rapidly changing environment and communicate in a persuasive and articulate manner, whilst recognising the value of working with others and, occasionally, towards shared goals.
• Assessment:
• Unseen Examinations test students' ability to work under pressure under timed conditions, to prepare for examinations and direct their own programme of revision and learning, and develop key time management skills. The unseen examination gives students the opportunity to develop relevant life skills such as the ability to produce coherent, reasoned and supported arguments under pressure. Students will be examined on subject specific knowledge.
• Summative essays remain a central component of assessment in history, due to the integrative high-order skills they develop. Essays allow students the opportunity to recognise, represent and critically reflect upon ideas, concepts and problems; students can demonstrate awareness of, and the ability to use and evaluate, a diverse range of resources and identify, represent and debate a range of subject-specific issues and opinions. Through the essay, students can synthesise information, adopt critical appraisals and develop reasoned argument based on individual research; they should be able to communicate ideas in writing, with clarity and coherence; and to show the ability to integrate and critically assess material from a wide range of sources.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

One or more short assignments submitted in writing or delivered orally and discussed either 1:1 or in a group context.

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University