Course Details in 2025/26 Session


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Module Title LM Option: The United States South: From Plantations to NASCAR
SchoolHistory and Cultures
Department History
Module Code 09 38781
Module Lead Nathan Cardon
Level Masters 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 In the eyes of many the United States' southern region stands apart from the rest of the nation. Its institutions' have been described as \"peculiar,\" its culture lacking, and its people a \"problem.\" At the same time, \"the South\" is not an easily definable place. This Advanced Option Module examines southern identity and history from the antebellum period (1820-1861) to contemporary debates over the \"Global U.S. South.\" Using the insights of cultural, social, political, and economic history it will ask students to think of the South as a specific place as well as a national construction. Using traditional primary sources alongside works of fiction, film, and music, students will explore the often-complicated relationship between the U.S. South, nation, and world. Each week students will use the assigned readings and primary documents to evaluate the ways white southerners, African Americans, and recent immigrants shaped the region's history. Topics covered will include capitalism and slavery; the Civil War; Reconstruction; The New South; Dixie and commodification; Jim Crow; the Civil Rights Movement; southern food; the \"southernization\" of American life; and the Global U.S. South. Students will leave the module with a greater understanding of the complicated history and culture of the U.S. South and how it continues to shape national questions about race, citizenship, and belonging in America.
Learning Outcomes By the end of the module students should be able to:
  • analyse and critically appraise key events and historical processes relevant to the subject under scrutiny
  • analyse and critically evaluate a wide range of relevant primary source material
  • critically evaluate the historiographical context and trends of the subject under exploration
  • summarise, synthesise and evaluate the subject material in a sophisticated written form
Assessment
Assessment Methods & Exceptions Assessment:
1 x 3,000 word assignment (100%)

Reassessment:
Resubmission of failed component(s)
Other
Reading List