Postgraduate Course: Themes in the Historiography of the Americas (PGHC11490)
Course Outline
| School | School of History, Classics and Archaeology |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | A core course for the MSc in American History, Themes in the Historiography of the Americas offers students an overview of the major debates, schools, and methodologies associated with history of the Caribbean, of Latin America, and of North America. Given the vastness of the subject and the richness of the literature, students will sample the historiography of the Americas by reading a series of designated texts, focusing on one key work each week. |
| Course description |
Chronologically and thematically diverse in scope, this course uses a series of prominent works in the history of the Americas to introduce you to some to of the major topics, issues, and debates in the hemisphere's historiography. Rather than providing a comprehensive survey of the field, the course offers the opportunity to discuss and to analyse in depth a number of key contributions to this historiography. Each week, the course focuses in particular on one book, which not only explores a significant theme but which is also representative of an important approach to the study of history. A core course for students taking the MSc in American History programme, it is also available as an optional course for other MSc students. As a result of taking the course, students will gain an enhanced understanding of important themes in the historiography of the Americas. Through detailed analysis of significant works, students will develop critical awareness of how historians engage in historical debates and an understanding of the connections that exist between historical argument and a historian's use of methodology and sources. Students will also develop their skills as a participant in discussion, and they will write an essay that demonstrates critical skills of historiographical awareness and analysis.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2019/20, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: 12 |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 22,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
174 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
One essay (4000-5000 words in length) - 100% |
| Feedback |
Students are expected to discuss their coursework with one of the course tutors at least once prior to submission, and are encouraged to do so more often. Meetings can take place during the course tutor's published office hours or by appointment. Students will also receive feedback on their coursework, and will have the opportunity to discuss that feedback further with the course organiser. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- demonstrate a detailed and critical command of the body of knowledge concerning the historiography of the Americas;
- demonstrate an ability to analyse, and reflect critically on, relevant scholarship concerning the historiography of the Americas;
- demonstrate the ability to develop and sustain original scholarly arguments, by independently formulating appropriate questions and by utilising relevant evidence considered in the course;
- demonstrate in seminar discussions originality and independence of mind and initiative, intellectual integrity and maturity, and ability to evaluate the work of others, including peers, and a considerable degree of autonomy.
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Reading List
Alejandro de la Fuente, Havana and the Atlantic in the Sixteenth Century (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2008)
John Mack Faragher, Women and Men on the Overland Trail (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1979)
Pablo F. Goméz, The Experiential Caribbean: Creating Knowledge and Healing in the Early Modern Atlantic (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2017)
Lillian Guerra, Visions of Power in Cuba: Revolution, Redemption, and Resistance, 1959-1971 (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2012)
Susanna B. Hecht, The Scramble for the Amazon and the 'Lost Paradise' of Euclides da Cunha (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2013)
Thomas C. Holt, The Problem of Freedom: Race, Labor, and Politics in Jamaica and Britain, 1832-1938 (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1992)
C.L.R. James, The Black Jacobins: Toussaint L'Ouverture and the San Domingo Revolution (New York: Vintage, 1963)
Lisa McGirr, Suburban Warriors: The Origins of the New American Right (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2001)
Lara Putnam, Radical Moves: Caribbean Migrants and the Politics of Race in the Jazz Age (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2013)
Daniel K. Richter, Facing East from Indian Country: A Native History of Early America (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2001)
Steve J. Stern, Battling for Hearts and Minds: Memory Struggles in Pinochet's Chile, 1973-1988 (Durham: Duke University Press)
Sinclair Thomson, We Alone Will Rule: Native Andean Politics in the Age of Insurgency (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 2003) |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Prof Frank Cogliano
Tel: (0131 6)50 3774
Email: F.Cogliano@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Ms Cristina Roman
Tel: (0131 6)50 4577
Email: Cristina.Roman@ed.ac.uk |
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