Introductory description

This second year module will take a range of contemporary political issues/events/debates and bring a historical perspective to them, asking 'how did we get to where we are today'.
It will also address key aspects of how the past has become politicised/contested/weaponised in the present.
A political history of the contemporary world is not limited to studying modern history, mediaevalists and early modernists' expertise will also be brought to bear in understanding contemporary political issues.

Module aims

Outline syllabus

This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.

The module will consist of 4 thematic blocks comprising 4 weeks each, plus an introductory and concluding week.
The below themes and weekly topics are indicative examples and may not reflect the final curriculum and any changes that may need to be made year-on-year.

1. History as a weapon in the modern world
   a. Mediaevalism and the radical right
   b. Memorialising and forgetting the colonial past.
   c. Contesting the Holocaust
   d. Blitz Spirit? World War II and Brexit

2. Ecologies of Capitalism
   a. WfH or quiet quitting? Work under capitalism past, present and future.
   b. The industrial revolution, the Anthropocene and origins of environmentalism.
   c. Surveillance capitalism
   d. Capitalism and its discontents: the rise of populism on Left and Right

3. Race, Citizenship and Migration
   a. Migration before borders (early modern)
   b. The 'invention' of borders and the rise of the nation state (modern)
   c. Building 'The Wall': the US-Mexican border
   d. A global history of Black Lives Matter

4. Gender and Sexuality
   a. The crisis in care and the new servant class
   b. Abortion: the long view
   c. #MeToo: sexual violence and the fight against it
   d. Transfeminism, the TERF wars and the historical contingency of gender and sexuality

5. Wars and Peace
   a. A new Cold War? The rise of China
   b. Conflict in the Middle East: from the Ottoman Empire to petro-states
   c. Modern famines
   d. Ukraine and Russia: a long view

6. Health, Law and the State
   a. Pandemics and the globalisation of disease
   b. Intoxicants
   c. HIV/ AIDS
   d. The history (and future?) of the NHS

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

• Deploy enhanced study, writing and communication skills.
• Understand of the historical origins of some of the most pressing contemporary political issues.
• Identify how the past has become politicised/contested/weaponised in the present.
• Critically analyse political policy, journalism, rhetoric and analysis in the contemporary world.
• Identify the political motivations and implications (whether implicit and explicit) of history writing.

Indicative reading list

Robbie Shilliam, Race and the Undeserving Poor: from Abolition to Brexit (2018)
Ben Smith, Dope: the Real History of the Mexican Drug Trade (2021)
Roberta Bivins, Contagious Communities: Medicine, Migration and the NHS in Post-War Britain (2015)
Lucy Delap, Feminisms: a Global History (2020)
Katayoun Shafiee, Machineries of Oil: An Infrastructural History of BP in Iran (2017)
Anna Hajkova, The Last Ghetto: An Everyday History of Theresienstadt (2020)
N. Martin, T. Haughton, P. Purseigle, eds., Aftermath: Legacies and Memories of War in Europe, 1918-1945-1989 (2014)
Laura Schwartz, Feminism and the Servant Problem: Class and Domestic Labour in the Women's Suffrage Movement (2019)

Research element

See assessment

Interdisciplinary

Primarily history and politics, but also drawing on sociology, anthropology and other humanities subjects.

International

This module will not be limited to a particular region, but will draw on the wide-ranging expertise of historians in the Department, including the history of South and East Asia, North and Latin America, and Europe (including Britain). It will bring a global perspective to many of the topics under discussion.

Subject specific skills

See learning outcomes

Transferable skills

Work effectively with others in group tasks and in team; plan and manage time in producing assessed work; develop strong analytical skills; find, evaluate the news previous research, knowledge and skills at a level appropriate for a second year module; use a range of tools and resources effectively in the preparation of assessed work; use appropriate analytic methods to analyse research data on contemporary political events and their historical origins; read academic and journalistic papers effectively and critically; communicate clearly and effectively in discussions; communicate clearly and effectively in written form.