| Unit name | Going Global: Writing Global History (Reflective History Unit) |
|---|---|
| Unit code | HIST30029 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | H/6 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Professor. Potter |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | Department of History (Historical Studies) |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
'Globalisation' is one of the banal and glib buzzwords that plague our lives today. Nevertheless, the idea of globalisation provokes strong emotional responses, from those who celebrate it as the pathway to a bright, new, peaceful and prosperous future, but also those who fear that it means the erosion of diverse cultures, the disempowerment of nations and individuals and the growing power of rootless and irresponsible capital. Historians have not been slow to engage in debates about globalisation, tracing the history of global interconnectedness, seeking out the historical origins of contemporary globalisation, and debating the consequences of globalisation for people around the world. This course will explore these issues, allowing participants to bring their own knowledge of different places and time periods to bear. We will think about how these case studies might be written into the history of globalisation, but also how they might challenge and subvert such histories. We might explore themes such as empires and globalisation, medieval and early modern global connectedness, cultural histories of globalisation, European and non-European responses to globalisation, Americanization, and the relationship between local, national and global histories.
On successful completion of this unit students will have developed:
1. A deep understanding of the development of globalisation as a concept and of how historians have approached the issue of globalisation.
2. the ability to critically analyse and generalise about issues of continuity and change;
3. the ability to select pertinent evidence/data in order to illustrate/demonstrate more general historical points;
4. the ability to identify a particular academic interpretation, evaluate it critically and form an individual viewpoint;
One 1-hour introductory session followed by five 2-hour classes.
24-hour written examination (summative, 100%)
The examination will assess ILOs 1-4 by assessing the student’s ability to reflect on the particular and unique skills that historians acquire, to reflect on the way in which they apply those skills to a specific task, to convey that understanding to others in their writing, to demonstrate an awareness of how those skills might be applied more generally.
Jürgen Osterhammel, The Transformation of the World: a Global History of the Nineteenth Century (Princeton and Oxford, 2014)
David Armitage. ‘Is there a Pre-history of Globalization?’ in Deborah Cohen and Maura O’Connor (eds.) Comparison and History: Europe in Cross-National Perspective (New York and London, 2004)
Frederick Cooper, ‘What is the Concept of Globalization Good For? An African Historian’s Perspective’, African Affairs, 100 (2001), 189-213
