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Bases of the Modern World

Code: 100337 ECTS Credits: 6
2024/2025
Degree Type Year
2500501 History FB 1
2502758 Humanities FB 1

Contact

Name:
Pau Casanellas Peņalver
Email:
pau.casanellas@uab.cat

Teaching groups languages

You can view this information at the end of this document.


Prerequisites

Prerequisites are not considered necessary, but it is advisable for students to have some knowledge of foreign languages (especially English) and to have done some reading on late modern history.


Objectives and Contextualisation

This course aims to provide students with a basic understanding of the main events and historical processes of the late modern period, from the crisis of the Ancien Régime to the present. The syllabus integrates different geographical areas from a non-Eurocentric perspective and a gendered view. At the same time, it combines social, political, economic, and cultural history. Throughout the course, some introductory notions on the theory and methodology of history will also be provided


Competences

    History
  • Contextualizing the historical processes and analysing them from a critical perspective.
  • Developing critical thinking and reasoning and communicating them effectively both in your own and other languages.
  • Respecting the diversity and plurality of ideas, people and situations.
  • 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.
  • Students must have and understand knowledge of an area of study built on the basis of general secondary education, and while it relies on some advanced textbooks it also includes some aspects coming from the forefront of its field of study.
    Humanities
  • 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 have and understand knowledge of an area of study built on the basis of general secondary education, and while it relies on some advanced textbooks it also includes some aspects coming from the forefront of its field of study.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Analysing a contemporary fact and relating it to its historical background.
  2. Communicating in your mother tongue or other language both in oral and written form by using specific terminology and techniques of Historiography.
  3. Critically analysing the past, the nature of the historical speech and the social function of historical science.
  4. Developing the ability of historical analysis and synthesis.
  5. Engaging in debates about historical facts respecting the other participants' opinions.
  6. Enumerating historical facts that could have affected the scientific development.
  7. Explaining the specific notions of the Contemporary History.
  8. Identifying the context of the historical processes.
  9. Identifying the main and secondary ideas and expressing them with linguistic correctness.
  10. Identifying the relationships between science, philosophy, art, religion, and politics that derive from the sociocultural context.
  11. Identifying the specific methods of history and their relationship with the analysis of particular facts.
  12. Indicating political, artistic, literary, social and other movements that had an impact in an historic event.
  13. Interpreting the plurality and heterogeneity of the cultural development of Humanity.
  14. Organising and planning the search of historical information.
  15. Relating elements and factors involved in the development of historical processes.
  16. Solving problems autonomously.
  17. Using the characteristic computing resources of the field of History.
  18. Working in teams respecting the other's points of view.

Content

Syllabus

1. Capitalism and industrialization

2. Enlightenment and liberal revolutions

3. Resistance to capitalism and emancipatory projects

4. The era of imperialism

5. The world in conflict: from fascism to the Cold War

6. The neoliberal era


Activities and Methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Lecture, presentation and explanation by the teacher, encouragement to participate in classrooms debates. Theoretical or practical works. 60 2.4 3, 2, 4, 8, 11, 9, 13, 5, 18
Type: Supervised      
Tutorials, guidance, and correction of the exercises prepared by the students 15 0.6 3, 2, 4, 8, 11, 9, 14, 5, 18, 17
Type: Autonomous      
Study of class materials and the proposed readings, preparation of written exercises 75 3 3, 16, 4, 8, 11, 13

-Theoretical sessions with the support of various materials and discussion with students.

-Reading and discussion of papers.

-Personal study: integration of acquired knowledge.

-Writing of assignments and/or structured learning exercises.

-Tutorials: scheduled sessions for resolving doubts and discussing syllabus content or readings.

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.


Assessment

Continous Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Coursework 30% 0 0 3, 16, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 12, 13, 5, 15
Exams 70% (35% + 35%) 0 0 3, 1, 16, 2, 4, 6, 8, 11, 9, 12, 13, 14, 5, 18, 17, 10

Continuous assessment will consist of three tests:

-A first partial exam on the first half of the syllabus: 35% of the final grade.

-A second partial exam on the second half of the syllabus: 35% of the final grade.

-One or several practical assignments or exercises: 30% of the final grade.

 

Single assessment will consist of two tests:

-An exam covering the entire syllabus: 70% of the final grade.

-One practical assignment or exercise: 30% of the final grade.

 

Students (both under continuous and single assessment) who do not achieve at least a 5 in the final average grade will have the right to a recovery exam (covering the entire syllabus of the subject).

 

At the time of completion or submission of each assessment activity, the teacher will inform the students about the procedure and date for grade review.

If a student fails to submit at least 30% of the assessment activities, they will receive a grade of "not assessable".

If a student commits any irregularity that could significantly affect the grading of an assessment task, it will be graded as a 0.


Bibliography

ARTOLA, Miguel; PÉREZ LEDESMA, Manuel: Contemporánea. La historia desde 1776. Madrid: Alianza, 2005.

ARRUZZA, Cinzia; CIRILLO, Lidia: Dos siglos de feminismos. Los ejemplos más significativos, los problemas más actuales. Barcelona: Sylone, 2018.

BAYLY, Christopher A.: El nacimiento del mundo moderno. 1780-1914. Conexiones y comparaciones globales. Madrid: Siglo XXI, 2004.

BOSCH, Aurora: Historia de Estados Unidos. 1776-1945. Barcelona: Crítica, 2010.

BRIGGS, Asa; CLAVIN, Patricia: Historia contemporánea de Europa. 1789-1989. Barcelona: Crítica, 1997.

CANFORA, Luciano: La democracia. Historia de una ideología. Barcelona: Crítica, 2004.

CHOMSKY, Noam: El nuevo orden mundial (y el viejo). Barcelona: Crítica, 2003.

EICHENGREEN, Barry: La globalización del capital. Historia del Sistema Monetario Internacional. Barcelona: Antoni Bosch, 2000.

FONTANA, Josep: Europa ante el espejo. Barcelona: Crítica, 1994.

—: Por el bien del imperio. Una historia del mundo desde 1945. Barcelona: Pasado & Presente, 2011.

—: El siglo de la revolución. Una historia del mundo desde 1914. Barcelona: Crítica, 2017.

—: Capitalisme i democràcia. 1756-1848. Com va començar aquest engany. Barcelona: Edicions 62, 2018.

FREEDMAN, Estelle B.: No Turning Back. The History of Feminism and the Future of Women. New York: Ballantine, 2003.

GERGES, Fawaz A.: The Far Enemy. Why Jihad Went Global. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009.

GRAEBER, David: En deuda. Una historia alternativa de la economía. Barcelona: Ariel, 2012.

HOBSBAWM, Eric J.: La era de la revolución. 1789-1848. Barcelona: Crítica, 1997 [1962].

—: La era del capital. 1848-1875. Barcelona: Crítica, 1998 [1975]

—: La era del imperio. 1875-1914. Barcelona: Crítica, 1998 [1987].

—: Historia del siglo XX. 1914-1991. Barcelona: Crítica, 1995 [1994].

HUSTVEDT, Siri: Els miratges de la certesa. Reflexions sobre la relació entre el cos i la ment. Barcelona: Edicions 62, 2021.

KERSHAW, Ian: Descenso a los infiernos. Europa 1914-1949. Barcelona: Crítica, 2016.

—: Ascenso y crisis. Europa 1950-2017. Un camino incierto. Barcelona: Crítica, 2019.

LEWONTIN, R.C.; ROSE, Steven; KAMIN, Leon J.: No está en los genes. Crítica del racismo biológico. Barcelona: Grijalbo, 1996.

NASH, Mary: Mujeres en el mundo. Historia, retos y movimientos. Madrid: Alianza, 2012.

PRASHAD, Vijay. Las naciones oscuras. Una historia del Tercer Mundo. Barcelona: Península, 2012.

TRAVERSO, Enzo: Els usos del passat. Història, memòria, política. Valencia: PUV, 2006.

—: A sangre y fuego. De la guerra civil europea (1914-1945). Valencia: PUV, 2009.

ZINN, Howard: La otra historia de los Estados Unidos (Desde 1492 hasta hoy). Hondarribia: Hiru, 2005.


Software

None.


Language list

Name Group Language Semester Turn
(PAUL) Classroom practices 1 Catalan second semester morning-mixed
(PAUL) Classroom practices 2 Catalan second semester morning-mixed
(PAUL) Classroom practices 3 Catalan second semester morning-mixed
(PAUL) Classroom practices 4 Catalan second semester morning-mixed
(TE) Theory 1 Catalan second semester morning-mixed
(TE) Theory 2 Catalan second semester morning-mixed
(TE) Theory 3 Catalan second semester morning-mixed
(TE) Theory 4 Catalan second semester morning-mixed