Unit information: Picturing the Twentieth Century in 2020/21

Unit name	Picturing the Twentieth Century
Unit code	HIST30114
Credit points	20
Level of study	H/6
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12)
Unit director	Professor. McLellan
Open unit status	Not open
Pre-requisites	None
Co-requisites	None
School/department	Department of History (Historical Studies)
Faculty	Faculty of Arts

Description including Unit Aims

This unit explores the history of the twentieth century through its visual artefacts. What can art, photographs, political posters, cartoons, documentaries and feature films tell us about this turbulent century? Does looking at visual sources reveal new or unexpected insights into histories that may seem familiar?

The unit begins by introducing students to a range of analytical approaches to visual sources. What use are visual sources to the historian, and how are they different to written or oral sources? How can we read these images, and what tools and frameworks do we need to make sense of them?

We will then engage with a series of visual case studies, in which we will use visual sources to explore some of the big themes of twentieth-century history: democracy, fascism, capitalism and communism, migration, globalisation, changes in the family, gender and sexuality, the birth of new social movements, humans’ relationship with the environment and nature. We might, for example, think about Nazism by examining the films of Leni Riefenstahl, or approach poverty post-1945 through the lens of documentary photographers. What can Hollywood film tell us about the rise of consumerism, or newspaper cartoons about changing attitudes towards the LGBT+ community? Students will have the opportunity to engage in-depth with visual history collections, and to significantly expand both their visual analysis skills and their knowledge of twentieth century history.

Unit Aims:

• To provide students with an in-depth knowledge of the visual histories of the twentieth century, and the historiographies of this topic
• To allow students to explore the different perspectives offered by visual sources.
• To enable an in-depth comparative discussion of the major themes of twentieth-century history.
• To develop students’ ability to read and analyse visual sources, including art, posters, photography and film. v

Intended Learning Outcomes

By the end of this unit, successful students will be able to:

1. Demonstrate knowledge of the themes and key developments in the visual histories of the twentieth century.
2. Discuss and evaluate key historiographical debates relating to themes in twentieth century history,
3. Understand and interpret primary sources, particularly visual, and select pertinent evidence in order to illustrate specific and more general historical points.
4. Present their research and judgements in oral and written forms and styles appropriate to the discipline and to level H/6.

Teaching Information

Classes will involve a combination of long- and short-form lectures, class discussion, investigative activities, and practical activities. Students will be expected to engage with readings and participate on a weekly basis. This will be further supported with drop-in sessions and self-directed exercises with tutor and peer feedback.

Assessment Information

1 x Individual Presentation (25%) [ILOs 1-4]

1 x Timed Assessment (75%) [ILOs 1-4]

Reading and References

Roberta Bivens, ‘Picturing Race in the British National Health Service, 1948-1988', Twentieth' Century British History, Vol 28, 1, (March 2017) P. Burke, Eyewitnessing': the uses of images as historical evidence (London, 2001)

Ludmilla Jordanova, ‘Approaching Visual Materials’ in Simon Gunn and Lucy Faire (eds), Research Methods for History (Edinburgh, 2011), pp. 30-47.

Carlo Ginzburg, '”Your Country Needs You”’: A Case Study in Political Iconography History Workshop Journal, No. 52 (Autumn, 2001),

Gillian Rose, Visual Methodologies (London, 2016)