Undergraduate Course: The American Civil War: History and Memory (HIST10334)
Course Outline
| School | School of History, Classics and Archaeology |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 4 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 40 |
ECTS Credits | 20 |
| Summary | This course examines the causes, course, and consequences of the American Civil War. It also examines the legacy of the Civil War in American memory and culture. |
| Course description |
The Civil War was America's crucible: a test of national survival that transformed life in the United States. Not only was slavery abolished and the nation reunited under a newly powerful central government but the meanings of American freedom and equality, of manhood and womanhood, of race and citizenship, were also redefined. These transformations are the main subject of the course. We will begin by investigating the background and causes of the Civil War and go on to explore topical aspects of the war itself, such as women's experiences, emancipation, and dissent. We will also examine how the consequences of the war remained contentious issues throughout Reconstruction.
The final part of the course considers how the war has been remembered over the past 150 years, highlighting connections between contested memories of the war and politics, culture, and racial struggles.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | A pass in 40 credits of third level historical courses or equivalent.
Students should only be enrolled on this course with approval from the History Honours Programme Administrator. |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2024/25, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
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Quota: 0 |
| Course Start |
Full Year |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
400
(
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 44,
Summative Assessment Hours 3,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 8,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
345 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
50 %,
Coursework
50 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Coursework:
Two 4,000 word essays (25% each)
Exam:
Three hour exam (50%) |
| Feedback |
Students will receive written feedback on their coursework, and will have the opportunity to discuss that feedback further with the Course Organiser during their published office hours or by appointment. |
| Exam Information |
| Exam Diet |
Paper Name |
Hours & Minutes |
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| Main Exam Diet S2 (April/May) | | 3:00 | |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Demonstrate command of the body of knowledge considered in the course;
- Read, analyse and reflect critically upon relevant scholarship;
- Understand, evaluate and utilise a variety of primary source material;
- Develop and sustain scholarly arguments in oral and written form, by formulating appropriate questions and utilising relevant evidence;
- Demonstrate independence of mind and initiative; intellectual integrity and maturity; an ability to evaluate the work of others, including peers.
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Reading List
Michael Perman and Amy Murrell Taylor, eds., Major Problems in the Civil War and Reconstruction, International Edition
Stephen Berry, ed., Weirding the War: Stories from the Civil War's Ragged Edges (2011).
Drew Gilpin Faust, 'A Southern Stewardship: The Intellectual and Proslavery Argument,' American Quarterly 31 (1979): 63-80.
Lacy K. Ford, Deliver us from Evil: The Slavery Question in the Old South (New York, 2009)
William Freehling, The Road to Disunion, vol. 1: Secessionists at Bay, 1776-1854 (New York, 1990).
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
The ability to develop and sustain historical arguments both in class discussions and in written work
Skills in research development and analysis
An ability to interrogate, read, analyse, and reflect critically and contextually upon historical writings
Oral communication skills, through seminar participation and leading discussions
Group working through seminar activities |
| Keywords | Am Civil War |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr James MacKay
Tel: (01316) 503774
Email: jmackay5@exseed.ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mrs Ksenia Gorlatova
Tel: (0131 6)50 8349
Email: Ksenia.Gorlatova@ed.ac.uk |
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