America and the world, 1945-2000: technology, conflict and the lives of others (Part 2)

Learning Outcomes

Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• analyse critically a variety of official government, Hollywood, and news-based sources
• engage with secondary literature and primary source material related to the use of force and engage in related debates covering the laws and ethics of war
• structure your ideas and research findings into well-ordered essays

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

• Knowledge and understanding of the impacts of American war-making upon other societies
• Knowledge and understanding of the changing technologies of American warfare from 1963-2000
• Knowledge and understanding of the ethical issues surrounding modern warfare

Transferable and Generic Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• utilise and develop your time-management skills
• research historical questions and communicate your findings convincingly and concisely in written essays and reports
• make connections between historical policies and contemporary events

This module will focus on two particular themes: the role played by humanitarian concerns in American national security policy since the Second World War; and the actual impact of American national security policy and practices on the 'lives of others'. These themes will be explored with particular reference to the Vietnam War, US national security policy after Vietnam, and US policy in the immediate post-Cold War era. Indicative topics include: the attrition strategy in Vietnam; strategic bombing in Vietnam; the US and the 1973 coup in Chile; Jimmy Carter and human rights; the Reagan Doctrine; the first Gulf War; the Battle of Mogadishu; and the US and the Rwandan genocide

2 x 2-hour face-to-face seminars per week, encompassing a blend of plenary class and small group discussion, document analysis, and class exercises.

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.

Referral

This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.

Repeat

An internal repeat is where you take all of your modules again, including any you passed. An external repeat is where you only re-take the modules you failed.