American Radicalism
| Code | School | Level | Credits | Semesters |
| AMCS2033 | American and Canadian Studies | 2 | 20 | Autumn UK |
- Code
- AMCS2033
- School
- American and Canadian Studies
- Level
- 2
- Credits
- 20
- Semesters
- Autumn UK
Summary
American radicals have been dismissed as impractical, wild-eyed, and subversive, even "un-American" although many of their most visionary aims have been realized. This module will consider these paradoxes, through the study of such topics as the American Revolution in the late eighteenth century, nineteenth-century abolitionists, early feminism, utopian socialism, anarchism, and farmer populism; and in the twentieth-century, the Socialist Party of the 1910s, the Communist Party and the anti-Stalinist left in the 1930s, opponents of the Cold War, the 1960s New Left, Black Power militancy, and more recent radicalisms, such as the gay liberation movement, women's liberation, Black Lives Matter, and resistance to corporate globalization.
Students who need to complete one or more components of assessment during the summer, due to extenuating circumstances or for progression purposes, will be required to submit one essay of 2,000 words. This form of assessment has been set in order to accommodate early submission deadlines for candidates undertaking a year of study abroad, who will not be resident in Nottingham during the usual summer examination period. The essay will be due on the third Wednesday in July.
Target Students
Available to SH and JH American and Canadian Studies students and Liberal Arts students.Available to exchange students hosted by the School of CLAS.
Classes
- One 1-hour lecture per week for 12 weeks
- One 2-hour seminar per week for 12 weeks
The School of Cultures, Languages and Area Studies operates an attendance policy. The details of this policy can be found in the student handbook on Workspace and in module handbooks.
Assessment
- 50% Coursework: Coursework - 2,500 word essay
- 20% Participation: Seminar Participation
- 30% Exam 1 (2-hour): Exam
Assessed by end of autumn semester
Educational Aims
1. To familiarise students with the complex history of American radical and reform movements2. To introduce students to recent scholarly debates concerning this history; and3. To give students a historical basis on which to consider the major problems in interpreting contemporary radical and reform movements in both the US and the rest of the worldLearning Outcomes
1. Enhanced skills of critical analysis in writing and oral discussion;
2. Enhanced understanding of competing historical arguments
3. Demonstrable comprehension of the history of modern American radical and reform movements.