Course Details in 2026/27 Session

Module Title	LH Advanced Option: America at War: From the Civil War to the War on Terror
School	History and Cultures
Department	History
Module Code	09 38799
Module Lead	Steve Morewood
Level	Honours Level
Credits	20
Semester	Semester 1
Pre-requisites
Co-requisites
Restrictions	None
Contact Hours	Lecture-10 hours Seminar-20 hours Guided independent study-170 hours Total: 200 hours
Exclusions
Description	The United States' latent potential to become a global power had been realised by 1917 when it entered the First World War. Thereafter it engaged in a succession of conflicts. Where involvement in the Second World War was applauded as 'the good war', subsequent interventions were more controversial from Vietnam to the War on Iraq. Conflict avoidance is another theme explored, not least the Cold War era and its greatest crisis, the Cuban Missile Crisis. The causes of intervention, their impact and the ways in which wars were fought and what determined their outcome are considered in relation to the literature and original documents providing insights into decision-making.
Learning Outcomes	By the end of the module students should be able to: analyse and explain key events and historical processes relevant to the subject under scrutiny, analyse and explain reasons for and implications of these events and processes (including analysis of primary evidence where appropriate) compare and evaluate the main scholarly views on the subject under investigation, critically evaluate the historiographical context and trends of the subject under exploration work with an appropriate degree of learner independence to explain and analyse the material under scrutiny summarise, analyse and evaluate the subject material clearly and effectively in writing, synthesise and evaluate themes across a wide range of diverse material
Assessment
Assessment Methods & Exceptions	Assessment: S1 = 1 x 3,000 word essay (100%)
Other
Reading List