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AM-117
Introduction to American Studies
This module provides an introduction to the discipline of American Studies, with a particular focus on the interdisciplinary scope of the subject. In addition to encouraging students¿ critical engagement with music, film, literature, visual culture, and history, it establishes a theoretical framework that will form the basis for more specialised study of the United States at levels 5 and 6. The module focuses on significant spaces in U.S. culture and history, from the ship and the plantation to the suburbs and the shopping mall, which are explored using various disciplinary lens and theoretical approaches.
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HI-M39
Research Folder
This module is designed to help students to identify a dissertation topic appropriate to their interests and expertise, and to tackle the problems of methodology, develop the research techniques, and undertake the project planning which are the necessary preliminaries to researching and writing a 20,000 word dissertation.
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HI-M94
The American Revolution On Film & Television, 1754-1815
At a time when most people draw their ideas of the past from streaming series such as THE CROWN and BRIDGERTON, and award-winning movies like OPPENHEIMER, it has never been more important for historians to engage with what has been termed an `alternative¿ historiography. This course does just that, using films, TV dramas and documentaries as a lens through which to explore the founding moment of the USA, the American Revolution. It does so in two ways. Firstly, it examines the revolution in its broadest sense, from the outbreak of the French and Indian War that reconfigured the continent to the end of the conflict many considered a Second War of Independence, the War of 1812. Secondly, it places the film and TV materials that have depicted this period in conversation with the written texts, both primary and secondary sources. The questions it confronts are: How has the American Revolution been interpreted and communicated on-screen to mass audiences over the past century? What has been the relationship between that material and the written historiography? And to what extent do films and TV series whilst visualising the past also engage with its voices found in primary sources? The course embraces the themes of colonialism, imperialism, slavery, gender, liberty, constitutionalism, and continentalism and examines the French and Indian War, the extension of British North America that followed, the shift to revolution, the War of Independence, creation of the constitution and national government, the first two party system, the USA in the Atlantic World, and the War of 1812.
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HI-M94W
Y Chwyldro Americanaidd ar Ffilm a Theledu, 1754-1815
Ar adeg pan mae¿r rhan fwyaf o bobl yn tynnu eu syniadau am y gorffennol o gyfresi arlein fel THE CROWN a BRIDGERTON, a ffilmiau arobryn fel OPPENHEIMER, ni fu erioed yn bwysicach i haneswyr ymgysylltu â¿r hyn a elwir yn hanesyddiaeth 'amgen'. Mae'r cwrs hwn yn gwneud hynny, gan ddefnyddio ffilmiau, dramâu teledu a rhaglenni dogfen fel lens i archwilio y digwyddiad a sefydlodd UDA, sef y Chwyldro Americanaidd. Mae'n gwneud hynny mewn dwy ffordd. Yn gyntaf, mae'n archwilio'r chwyldro yn ei ystyr ehangaf, o ddechrau'r Rhyfel Ffrengig ac Indiaidd a ad-drefnodd cyfandir Gogeldd America i ddiwedd y gwrthdaro a ystyriwyd gan lawer fel Ail Ryfel Annibyniaeth, sef Rhyfel 1812. Yn ail, mae'n gosod y ffilm a deunyddiau teledu sydd wedi darlunio'r cyfnod hwn mewn sgwrs â'r testunau ysgrifenedig, y ffynonellau gwreiddiol ac eilaidd. Y cwestiynau y mae'n eu hwynebu yw: Sut mae'r Chwyldro Americanaidd wedi'i ddehongli a'i gyfleu ar y sgrin i gynulleidfaoedd torfol dros y ganrif ddiwethaf? Beth yw¿r berthynas rhwng y deunydd hwnnw a¿r hanesyddiaeth ysgrifenedig? Ac i ba raddau y mae ffilmiau a chyfresi teledu wrth ddelweddu'r gorffennol hefyd yn ymgysylltu â'r lleisiau a geir mewn ffynonellau gwreiddiol? Mae¿r cwrs yn cwmpasu themâu gwladychiaeth, imperialaeth, caethwasiaeth, rhywedd, rhyddid, cyfansoddiadol, a chyfandiriaeth ac yn archwilio y Rhyfel Ffrengig ac Indiaidd, yr estyniad o Ogledd America Brydeinig a ddilynodd, y symudiad i chwyldro, y Rhyfel Annibyniaeth, creadigaeth y cyfansoddiad a llywodraeth genedlaethol, y system ddwy blaid gyntaf, UDA yn y Byd Iwerydd, a Rhyfel 1812.
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HIH118
The Early Modern World, 1500-1800
In 1500, European exploration and colonisation of the rest of the world was only in its infancy. America, two continents North and South, had been unknown to Europeans until just eight years previously. Most of it was still unmapped by Europeans, as were large parts of the rest of the world. By 1800, on the other hand, it was possible to construct a recognisable modern version of a world map. Europeans had explored, colonised, and resettled huge swathes of America in the first instances. They had killed or displaced millions of Native Americans in the process, wiping out whole civilisations, and they had enslaved 12 million or more Africans in that same process, inflicting immense damage on African societies. Europeans were in the early stages of colonising large parts of Africa and Asia too by 1800.
And yet, advances in science had transformed human understanding of the universe, of the world, and indeed of ourselves. This was connected through the Renaissance in art, culture, and politics as well as science, to enormous changes in the structure of polities and societies. The early modern era perhaps saw the invention not only of modern empires, but of large, centralised modern states. Also, the Renaissance and then Enlightenment changed the way people and states interacted. Arguably, the early modern period represents the transition period between an era of medieval hierarchy and the origins of modern social and political democracy.
Essentially, the aim of the module, through your lectures, seminars, and independent reading and thinking, is to give you a sense of the connections between these places and their histories, highlighting that the increasing inter-connection between them is itself a feature of the early modern period. You¿ll also get a broad sense of how the world as a whole changed between 1500 and 1800.
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HIH122
Making History
How do historians study the past? Why do their accounts of the past differ, and why do they change over time? This module will help you to understand the various concepts, methods, and approaches that academic historians use when writing history and generating historical explanations. By the end of it, you will understand how and why professional historians disagree on many topics, and you will be equipped to evaluate competing interpretations of the same past events and processes.
The module also trains you in the fundamental skills required to study history as an undergraduate, and gives you an opportunity to learn more about the interests and expertise of the history staff you¿ll be working with at Swansea. It will help you make the transition from being taught history at school or college to studying history at university, and it will introduce you to the many different kinds of history you can explore in the course of your degree.
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HIH122W
Creu Hanes
Sut mae haneswyr yn astudio'r gorffennol? Pam bod eu fersiynau o'r gorffennol yn amrywio a pham ydynt yn newid dros amser? Bydd y modiwl hwn yn eich helpu i ddeall y cysyniadau, y dulliau a'r ymagweddau gwahanol y mae haneswyr academaidd yn eu defnyddio wrth ysgrifennu hanes a chreu esboniadau hanesyddol. Erbyn diwedd y modiwl, bydd gennych ddealltwriaeth o sut a pham bod haneswyr proffesiynol yn anghytuno ar lawer o bynciau a bydd modd i chi werthuso dehongliadau cyferbyniol o'r un digwyddiadau a phrosesau o'r gorffennol.
Mae'r modiwl hefyd yn eich addysgu am y sgiliau sylfaenol angenrheidiol i astudio hanes fel myfyriwr israddedig ac mae'n rhoi cyfle i chi ddysgu mwy am ddiddordebau ac arbenigedd y staff hanes y byddwch chi'n gweithio gyda nhw yn Abertawe. Bydd yn eich helpu i bontio o bwnc sy'n cael ei addysgu yn yr ysgol neu'r coleg i astudio hanes yn y brifysgol a bydd yn eich cyflwyno i'r mathau gwahanol o hanes y gallwch chi eu harchwilio yn ystod eich cwrs gradd.
How do historians study the past? Why do their accounts of the past differ, and why do they change over time? This module will help you to understand the various concepts, methods, and approaches that academic historians use when writing history and generating historical explanations. By the end of it, you will understand how and why professional historians disagree on many topics, and you will be equipped to evaluate competing interpretations of the same past events and processes.
The module also trains you in the fundamental skills required to study history as an undergraduate, and gives you an opportunity to learn more about the interests and expertise of the history staff you¿ll be working with at Swansea. It will help you make the transition from being taught history at school or college to studying history at university, and it will introduce you to the many different kinds of history you can explore in the course of your degree.
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HIH283W
Stori America Ar Ffilm a Theledu, 1607-1867
Mae cyfresi ar alw fel THE CROWN a ffilmiau poblogaidd fel LITTLE WOMEN a 1917, yn tystio nid yn unig i gyseinedd parhaus hanes fel pwnc sy¿n taro tant gyda gwylwyr yn y sinema, o flaen y teledu neu ar-lein, ond i bwysigrwydd cyfryngau gweledol fel pwynt mynediad allweddol ar gyfer ein hadeiladwaith a¿n dealltwriaeth o¿r gorffenol. Mae¿r cwrs hwn yn archwilio eblygiad Gogledd America ac mae¿n gwneud hynny mewn dwy ffordd. Yn gyntaf, mae¿n dilyn y digwyddiadau a sifftiau mawr yn y stori honno o sefydlu¿r trefedigaethau Seisnig a Ffrengig cyntaf i ddiwedd y Rhyfel Cartref Americanaidd a genedigaeth Canada. Yn ail, mae¿n archwilio sut mae¿r newdidadau hynny wedi cael eu cyfleu mewn sinema ac ar y teledu i gynulleidfaoedd torfol dros y ganrif ddiwethaf. Y cwestiynau y mae¿n eu hwynebu yw: beth fu effaith newid ar brofiad America a Chanada? Sut mae¿r newid hwnnw wedi¿i ddehongli ar gyfer cynulleidfaoedd poblogaidd ar y sgrin? A sut mae ffilmiau a chyfresi teledu wedi gweithredu fel testunau hanesyddol? Mae¿r cwrs yn cynnwys themâu trefedigaethedd, imperialaeth, caethwasiaeth, rhyw, rhyddid, a thwf democratiaeth trwy lens y berthynas a phobloedd brodorol y cyfandir, gwrthdaro Ewropeaidd yng Ngogledd America, y Chwyldro Americanaidd, ehangu i¿r Gorllewin, Chwyldro¿r Farchnad, twf Diddymiad, y Rhyfel Cartref a chreadigaeth Canada.
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HIH3300
History Dissertation
The History dissertation is a free-standing, 40-credit module that runs across both semesters of Level Three. Candidates conduct research upon a subject of their choice, devised in consultation with a member of staff teaching for the degrees in History, and concerning a topic that falls within staff research and teaching interests.
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HIH3378
The Story of the USA on Film and Television, 1865-2008
Hit movies such as OPPENHEIMER, and award-winning on-demand series like Netflix¿s THE CROWN and BRIDGERTON testify not only to the continuing resonance of history as a popular subject with moviegoers, television, and online viewers, but to the importance of visual media as a key access point for our construction and understanding of the past. This course explores how film and television has told The American Story, and it does so in two ways. Firstly, it examines major events and shifts in that story between the end of the Civil War in 1865 and the election of Barack Obama in 2008. Secondly, it explores how those changes have been communicated in cinema and on television to mass audiences over the past century. The questions it confronts are: what has been the impact of change upon the American experience? How has that change been interpreted for popular audiences on screen? And how have movies and television serials functioned as historiographic texts? The course explores the themes of freedom, democracy, imperialism, politics, race, class, gender and sexuality, and the Presidency. It examines these through the lens of Reconstruction, the closing of the West and fate of native Americans, Populism and Progressivism, the Depression and 1950s, the Cold War, the battle for Civil Rights, Vietnam, Watergate, and the sexual and gender revolutions of the 1960s onwards.
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HIH3378W
Stori yr Unol Daleithiau ar Ffilm a Theledu, 1865-2008
Mae ffilmiau arobryn fel OPPENHEIMER, a chyfresi ar alw fel THE CROWN a BRIDGERTON ar Netflix yn tystio nid yn unig i gyseinedd parhaus hanes fel pwnc poblogaidd gyda gwylwyr yn y sinema, o flaen y teledu neu ar-lein, ond i bwysigrwydd cyfryngau gweledol fel pwynt mynediad allweddol ar gyfer ein hadeiladwaith a¿n dealltwriaeth o¿r gorffenol. Mae¿r modiwl hwn yn archwilio Stori yr Unol Daleithiau, ac mae¿n gwneud hynny mewn dwy ffordd. Yn gyntaf, mae¿n dilyn y digwyddiadau a sifftiau mawr yn y stori honno o ddiwedd y Rhyfel Cartref yn 1865 i ethol Barack Obama yn 2008. Yn ail, mae¿n archwilio sut mae¿r newdidadau hynny wedi cael eu cyfleu mewn sinema ac ar y teledu i gynulleidfaoedd torfol dros y ganrif ddiwethaf. Y cwestiynau y mae¿n eu hwynebu yw: beth fu effaith newid ar brofiad America? Sut mae¿r newid hwnnw wedi¿i ddehongli ar gyfer cynulleidfaoedd poblogaidd ar y sgrin? A sut mae ffilmiau a chyfresi teledu wedi gweithredu fel testunau hanesyddol? Mae¿r cwrs yn archwilio themâu rhyddid, democratiaeth, imperialaeth, hil, dosbarth, rhywedd a rhywioldeb, a¿r Arlywyddiaeth. Mae¿n gwneud hyn drwy drafod Adluniad, cau¿r Gorllewin a ffawd Americaniaid brodorol, Poblyddiaeth a Blaengariaeth, y Dirwasgiad a¿r 1950au, y Rhyfel Oer, y brwydr dros Hawliau Sifi, Fietnam, Watergate, a¿r chwyldroadau rhywiol a rhywedd o¿r 1960au ymlaen.