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2022/2023

Modern History III, the Age of Cold War

Code: 100347 ECTS Credits: 6
Degree Type Year Semester
2500501 History OB 3 2

Contact

Name:
Francisco José Veiga Rodriguez
Email:
francesc.veiga@uab.cat

Use of Languages

Principal working language:
spanish (spa)
Some groups entirely in English:
No
Some groups entirely in Catalan:
Yes
Some groups entirely in Spanish:
Yes

Teachers

Josep Puigsech Farrās

Prerequisites

Knowledge of international modern history prior to 1945 and basic reading proficiency in English are absolutely necessary for the class.

Objectives and Contextualisation

The goals to be achieved are the following: knowing and understanding the events of the so-called Cold War, in order to be able to extract the keys to explain its afthermaths. In fact, this subject is linked to current history. Thus, it seeks to get students used to argue professionally, as historians, and break the separation between their every-day and historiographic perception.
 
At the end of the course, students should have sufficient knowledge of the causes that led to the Cold War and the specificity of this phenomenon, as well as its phases, periods and actors on global scale. The processes of decolonization also be part of the curriculum, although they would need a specific subject. Other issues addressed are: economic and social evolution in the Western world and the Eastern bloc, economic and social transition in the USSR and the People's Republic of China, and armed conflicts during the Cold War.
 

Depending on the time available, specific issues such as the terrorism of the 1970s, the years of youth rebellion in the 1960s, or the early post-cold war years from 1991, will be addressed.

 

Competences

  • Critically assessing the fonts and theoretical models in order to analyse the different historical periods.
  • Developing critical thinking and reasoning and communicating them effectively both in your own and other languages.
  • Mastering the basic diachronic and thematic concepts of the historical science.
  • Respecting the diversity and plurality of ideas, people and situations.
  • Students must be capable of applying their knowledge to their work or vocation in a professional way and they should have building arguments and problem resolution skills within their area of study.
  • Students must be capable of collecting and interpreting relevant data (usually within their area of study) in order to make statements that reflect social, scientific or ethical relevant issues.
  • Students must develop the necessary learning skills in order to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Communicating in your mother tongue or other language both in oral and written form by using specific terminology and techniques of Historiography.
  2. Developing the ability of historical analysis and synthesis.
  3. Engaging in debates about historical facts respecting the other participants' opinions.
  4. Identifying the main and secondary ideas and expressing them with linguistic correctness.
  5. Identifying the social, economic and political structures of the contemporary world.
  6. Organising and planning the search of historical information.
  7. Recognising diversity and multiculturalism.
  8. Recognising the historical processes that led to the contemporary society.
  9. Relating elements and factors involved in the development of historical processes.
  10. Solving problems autonomously.
  11. Using the characteristic computing resources of the field of History.
  12. Using the specific work methods of Contemporary History.
  13. Working in teams respecting the other's points of view.

Content

Each teacher will modulate the contents of the program according to their specific criteria, but always attending to the general scheme specified here:
 
 
1.- The origins of the Cold War since the Second World War. The consolidation of the blocks
 
2.- Phases of the Cold War until 1956 in Europe and Asia.
 
3.- Peaceful coexistence, decolonization and the birth of the Third World
 
3.- From bipolarity to multipolarity.
 
4.- Final confrontation and outcome
 
5.- The Post-Cold War and the roots of the Globalized World

 

Methodology

Attendance to the lectures.
Attendance to guided seminars and mentoring sessions.
Comprehensive text reading.
Writing papers and analytical comments.
Presentations and oral analysis.
Self-study.

Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Activities

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Lectures 40 1.6 2, 5, 8, 7, 9, 12
Seminars and guided practical exercises 10 0.4 10, 2, 3, 7, 13, 11
Type: Supervised      
Mentoring sessions 10 0.4 13
Modelled learning exercises 5 0.2 2, 5, 8, 12
Type: Autonomous      
Reading texts. Writing papers. Commenting on texts. Preparation of oral presentations and seminars. Search for bibliographic information 30 1.2 10, 2, 11
Self-study 45 1.8 10, 2, 11

Assessment

Standard regulations for a course without incidents

 

In accordance with what is dictated in the Degree Report, the subject will be evaluated according to the following points:

a) Exams. Written tests (both partial and final), with a cumulative mark that means up to 40% of the total of the maximum grade; 

b) Papers, take homes, inside or outside the classroom, with a cumulative mark that means up to 40% of the maximum grade;

c) Practices: research and analysis techniques that means up to 20% of the maximum grade;

 As a whole, to pass the subject the student must obtain a grade of 5 out of 10. On the other hand, each teacher may mark, if they deem it useful, a minimum to be achieved in each of the items a), b) and c) here exposed

 This is specified in:

• Two written tests (20 + 20 points) spaced throughout the course. TOTAL: 40 points

• Written works (20 + 20 poitns) spaced throughout the course  (TOTAL:40 points)

• Practices (20 points)

COURSE TOTAL MAXIMUM: 100 POINTS; APPROVED: 50 POINTS)

The scoring system will be cumulative, without applying percentages or arithmetic averages

A final re-evaluation exam will be carried out, on the date set by the administration of the center, for students who have failed in the tests carried out during the course. To do this, students must have submitted to a minimum of tasks included in the teaching guide (three tasks), excluding practice exercises.

Warnings:

Only the activities carried out (exams or practices) are reevaluated. The reevaluation will be held on the official dates established by the Faculty. In no case, may reevaluation be considered as a means of improving the grade of students who have already passed the subject in the normal continuous assessment process. The maximum mark that can be obtained in the reevaluation is 5.0 (Pass)

Plagiarism from written sources (internet, books, papers, etc.) or copying in the exam, supposes a zero in the grade for the exercise. Self-plagiarism by the student himself or take home plagiarism by others falls into this category as long as the percentage of plagiarism is high. Plagiarism control scanners are used in this subject

The students will have the right to review the results of the tests carried out. The professor will establish the mechanisms to do so, during office hours.

No type of individual special exam will be established outside of the dates established for common students. Any imponderable that may affect a specific student, with duly documented justification, will be resolved within the framework of the dates and calls set for all and with the arbitration of the Coordination of Studies, if necessary. No favorable treatment will be granted to one another based on personal or professional circumstances.

 

Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Papers and exercises 40 4 0.16 10, 1, 4, 6, 7, 13, 12
Practical exercises 20 2 0.08 1, 2, 6, 3, 12, 11
Written tests 40 4 0.16 2, 5, 4, 8, 9

Bibliography

ANDERSON, Perry, Imperium et Consilium. La política exterior norteamericana y sus teóricos, Akal, Madrid, 2014.

BOUKARI-YABARA, Amzat, Africa Unite! Une Histoire du Panafricanisme, La Découverte, Paris, 2014.

BURLEIGH, Michael, Pequeñas guerras, lugares remotos, Taurus, Madrid, 2014.

CALVOCORESSI, Peter, Historia política del mundo contemporáneo. De 1945 a nuestros días, trad. Susana Sueiro Seone, Akal, Madrid, 1999.

CRANKSHAW, Edward, The New Cold War, Moscow v. Pekín, Penguin Books, 1963.

ESCALANTE GONZALBO, Fernando, Neoliberalismo. Una historia económica, cultural e intelectual de nuestro mundo, de 1975 a hoy, Turner, Madrid, 2016.

ESTEFANÍA, Joaquín, Estos años bárbaros, Galaxia Gutenberg, Barcelona, 2015

FONTANA, Josep, Por el bien del imperio, Eds. del Pasado y Presente, Barcelona, 2011

FULBROOK, Mary, Europa desde 1945, Crítica - Oxford University Press (Historia de Europa Oxford), Barcelona, 2002.

GADDIS, John Lewis, La Guera Fría, trad. Catalina Martínez Muñoz, RBA, Barcelona, 2008.

HARVEY, David, Breve historia del neoliberalismo, trad. Ana Varela Mateos, Akal, Madrid, 2007.

HEFFER, Jean & LAUNAY, Michel, La guerra fría, 1945-1972, trad. Yago Barja de Quirog & Mar Llinares, Akal, Madrid, 1992.

HOBSBAWM, Eric J., Historia del siglo XX, 1914-1991, trad. Juan Faci, Jordi Ainaud y Carme Castells, Crítica, Barcelona, 2000.

JAMES, Leslie & LEAKE, Elisabeth (eds.), Decolonization & Cold War. Negotiating Independence, Bloomsbury, London, 2015.

JIAN, Chen, La China de Mao y la Guerra Fría, Paidós, Barcelona, 2005.

JUDT, Tony, Posguerra. Una historiade Europa desde 1945, Taurus, Madrid, 2006.

KEPEL, Gilles, La revancha deDios: Cristianos, judíos y musulmanes a la reconquista del mundo, 2.a ed., Anaya, Madrid, 1995.

KHANA, Parag, El segundo mundo. Imperios e influencia en el nuevo orden mundial, Paidós, Barcelona, 2008.

LAQUEUR, Walter, Una historia del terrorismo, Paidós Ibérica, Barcelona, 2003.

LEFFLER, Melvyn P., La guerra después de la guerra. Estados Unidos, la Unión Soviética y la Guerra Fría, Crítica, Barcelona, 2008.

LEFFLER, Melvyn P. & WESTAD, Odd A. (eds.), The Cambrigde History of the Cold War, 3 vols., Cambrigde University Press, Cambridge, 2010.

LELLOUCHE, Pierre, Le Nouveau Monde. De l'ordre de Yalta au désordre des nations. Grasset, Paris, 1992.

LOWE, Keith, Continente salvaje. Europa después de la Segunda Guerra Mundial, Galaxia Gutenberg, Madrid, 2012.

MAMMARELLA, Giuseppe, Historia de Europa contemporánea (1945-1990), trad. Juan Bignozzi, Barcelona, Ariel, 1990.

MURILLO BONVEHÍ, David, De Walmart a Al Qaeda. Una lectura interdisciplinar de la globalización, Libros de Cabecera, Barcelona, 2015.

NITZE, Paul H., De Hiroshima a la Glasnost, G.E.L.A., Buenos Aires, 1991.

NOUSCHI, Marc, Historia del siglo XX. Todos los mundos, el mundo. Cátedra, Madrid, 1996.

PALMER, R. & COLTON, J., Historia contemporánea, trad. Marcial Suárez, Madrid, Akal, 1980.

PLOKHY, Serhii, El último imperio. Los días finales de la Unión Soviética, Turner, Madrid, 2015.

POWASKI, Ronald E., La guerra fría. Estados Unidos y la Unión Soviética, 1917-1991. Crítica, Barcelona, 2000.

PROCACCI, Giulano, Historia general del siglo XX,Crítica, Barcelona, 2001.

VEIGA, Francisco; DA CAL, Enrique U.; DUARTE, Ángel,La paz simulada. Una historia de la Guerra Fría. Alianza Universidad, Madrid, 1997.

VEIGA, Francisco, El desequilibrio como orden. Una historia de la Posguerra Fría, 1990-2008, Alianza, Madrid, 2009.

WALKER, Martin, The Cold War and the Making of Modern World, Vintage, London, 1994.

WASSERSTEIN, Bernard, Barbarie y civilización. Una historia de la Europa de nuestro tiempo, Ariel, Barcelona, 2010.

WATSON, Peter, Historia intelectual del siglo XX, Crítica, Barcelona, 2006.

WESTAD, Odd Arne, La Guerra Fría. Una historia mundial, Galaxia Gutenberg, Barcelona, 2018

ZUBOK, Vladislav M., Un imperio fallido. La Unión Soviética durante la Guerra Fría, Crítica, Barcelona, 2008.

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