Oversikt over USAs historie

Lågaregradsemne

Emnebeskrivelse

Mål og innhald

The course aims at giving a condensed introduction to the history of the United States of America from the first European settlement in 1607 to the present time.

The course is organized around three main themes.

The first, Democracy and Nation Building, is covering the status of the 13 colonies inside the British empire, their struggle for independence up to 1783, the development of a constitution and a federative state, and the consolidation of state and nation up to the crisis culminating by the Civil War 1861-65. The theme is then extended to the late 20th century, presenting the recent past with focus on political developments, social changes since World War II, civil rights and other reform movements.

The second theme, Immigration and Industrialization, is starting with a retrospective on colonial North America, but is mainly concerned with the exceptional development of the US economy during the 19th and early 20th century. Topics like agriculture, infrastructure, demography, social relations, education and science are included as well. The theme is rounded off by a description of the Depression and the New Deal of the 1930`s.

The third and last theme, USA in the World, is covering the 20th century and exploring the US as an actor on the global stage. Participation in the two world wars is examined, as well as the role of the US in international relations during the long Cold War period, and the redefinition of this role after 1989. Events are considered both from an American and from an outsider`s perspective. Finally particular attention is given to American influence on the world economy.

The course can be part of the direction of specialization in history.

Theme description:

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Læringsutbyte

At the end of the course the student should have the following learning outcomes:

Knowledge:

The student

  • possesses good knowledge of central events, institutions and processes in the evolution of American society.
  • has a fundamental insight into the methods of history.

Skills:

The student

  • is capable of discussing problems and interpretations of American history, and of reaching her/his own conclusions.

General competence:

The student

  • demonstrates the capacity to acquaint herself/himself with an extensive scientific literature, to impart facts and positions from it, and to argue in favor of her/his own conclusions in writing.

Studiepoeng, omfang

15 studiepoeng

Studienivå (studiesyklus)

Bachelor

Undervisningssemester

Spring

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Undervisningsstad

Bergen
Krav til forkunnskapar
Ingen
Tilrådde forkunnskapar
Good command in English, both written and spoken.
Krav til studierett
The course is open to students enrolled at the University of Bergen. The course is also open to students without enrollment, by application to The Faculty of Humanities.
Arbeids- og undervisningsformer
Undervisninga blir gitt i form av førelesingar (normalt 12 førelesingar).
Obligatorisk undervisningsaktivitet
None
Vurderingsformer
  • 6 hours written exam
  • An examination will also be held in the course-free term.

    The examination can be written in English or Norwegian.

    Karakterskala

    The grading scale used is A to F, where F is failed.

    Vurderingssemester
    Spring and autumn
    Litteraturliste

    The reading list is submitted by June 1th for the Autumn semester and by December 1th for the Spring semester.

    The Department prepares required reading lists consisting of approx. 1200 pages.

    Emneevaluering
    The course unit is evaluated regularly.
    Programansvarleg
    The programme committe is the course coordinator. The programme committee is responsible for the quality of the programme and all the courses in it.
    Administrativt ansvarleg
    The Faculty of Humanities by Department of Archaeology, History, Cultural studies and Religion is the course administrator.