This version of the course guide is provisional until the period for editing the new course guides ends.

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Modern History II, the Age of Imperialism

Code: 100346 ECTS Credits: 6
2025/2026
Degree Type Year
History OB 3
Contemporary History, Politics and Economics OT 3
Contemporary History, Politics and Economics OT 4

Contact

Name:
David Martinez Fiol
Email:
david.martinez.fiol@uab.cat

Teachers

Andreu Espasa De la Fuente
Oriol Luján Feliu

Teaching groups languages

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


Prerequisites

None


Objectives and Contextualisation

According to the Degree Program of History, the subject "Universal Contemporary History" aims to train students by giving them the necessary resources and tools to acquire a solid knowledge of the political, institutional, economic-social and cultural changes in the world, and the factors that explain them, from the late eighteenth century to the end of the twentieth, taking into account the different interpretations and historiographical debates that they generate. The matter is structured in three broad periods: the era of the liberal revolution, which includes the unification of Germany and Italy, that of imperialism, which includes the colonial expansion of the late nineteenth century, the two world wars and the rise of fascism in the period between the wars, and the stage of division into blocks and of decolonization ".
 
The subject "Universal Contemporary History II: The Age of Imperialism", within the objectives set for the subject Universal Contemporary History, will analyze, among others, the following questions: The liberal states and imperialist expansion, the cultural crisis of the turn of the century , the Great War, the Russian Revolution, the establishment of liberal-democratic regimes in the interwar period -and its crisis-, international relations in the interwar period, the emergence of fascism, the Great Depression, the political crisis, diplomatic and the military of the thirties and the Second World War.The European dynamics will be analyzed fundamentally, but without leaving aside various extra-European areas, among others, the United States, China and Japan, etc.

Competences

    History
  • 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.
    Contemporary History, Politics and Economics
  • Analyse the sociodemographic, geoeconomic and environmental dynamics at different territorial scales.
  • Contrast the main contemporary political theories.
  • Explain and summarise knowledge acquired in English language at an advanced level.
  • Identify the main actors, structure and functioning of political systems in the internal and international sphere from a theoretical or applied perspective.
  • Manage and apply data to solve problems.
  • Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
  • Students must develop the necessary learning skills to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.
  • Work cooperatively in multidisciplinary and multicultural teams implementing new projects.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Apply quantitative and qualitative analysis techniques in research processes.
  2. Arguing about the contrast between communitarianism and libertarianism.
  3. Arguing about the rebirth of republicanism.
  4. Arguing from different theoretical perspectives.
  5. Assessing the contribution of movements like feminism, environmentalism or various identity movements.
  6. Communicating in your mother tongue or other language both in oral and written form by using specific terminology and techniques of Historiography.
  7. Critically analysing and assessing the alternatives to liberalism.
  8. Critically analysing and assessing the appearance of the inter-war fascisms and the reconstruction of the liberal democrat thought after WW II.
  9. Critically analysing and assessing the emergence of liberalism.
  10. Critically evaluate the impacts of globalisation in different areas: security, environment, human rights, migrations and peace.
  11. Critically summarise the different historiographical explanation for the rise of political regimes in the Contemporary Era.
  12. Decribe and comment evaluatively on new proposals for demoliberal thought, such as its individualist basis or the neutrality of institutional designs.
  13. Demonstrate the capacity to continue working in the future autonomously gaining a deeper understanding of the knowledge acquired or embarking on new areas of knowledge.
  14. Demonstrating good writing skills in different contexts.
  15. Describe the emergence of the State in the modern sense and explaining the theoretical contributions of Machiavelli, Bodino, Hobbes.
  16. Designing data collection techniques, coordinating the information processing and meticulously applying hypothesis verification methods.
  17. Developing the ability of historical analysis and synthesis.
  18. Engaging in debates about historical facts respecting the other participants' opinions.
  19. Explaining political, individual and collective attitudes and behaviours, as well as the education process and expression of political preferences.
  20. Explaining the contribution of John Rawls and the distributive justice, and assessing its impact on the debate of contemporary politic theory.
  21. Explaining the impact of the emergence of Christianity on the political thought.
  22. Explaining the several approaches of the socialist tradition, specially the 1917 breakup and the emergence of communism.
  23. Exposing key elements of political thought in the Graeco-Roman past: the individual and the community from Socrates to Aristotle.
  24. Identify the main actors in the political system, examine their interactions and evaluate their behaviour in their environment and in the political system from a theoretical and applied perspective.
  25. Identifying and connecting main contemporary political theories, interpreting classical and current political texts, and arguing from different theoretical positions.
  26. Identifying and distinguishing the functioning of the electoral processes.
  27. Identifying sources of data and conducting bibliographic and documentary searches.
  28. Identifying the main and secondary ideas and expressing them with linguistic correctness.
  29. Identifying the social, economic and political structures of the contemporary world.
  30. Interpreting and applying English texts in an academic way.
  31. Managing contemporary political theories and understanding its analytical value in internal or international concrete cases.
  32. Managing the available time in order to accomplish the established objectives and fulfil the intended task.
  33. Organising and planning the search of historical information.
  34. Present works in formats tailored to the needs and personal styles, both individual and small group.
  35. Producing and preparing presentations of reports and intervention proposals.
  36. Properly using the specific vocabulary of History.
  37. Realising effective oral presentations that are suited to the audience.
  38. Recognising diversity and multiculturalism.
  39. Recognising the historical processes that led to the contemporary society.
  40. Relating elements and factors involved in the development of historical processes.
  41. Showing a good capacity for transmitting information, distinguishing key messages for their different recipients.
  42. Solving problems autonomously.
  43. Synthesizing and critically analysing information.
  44. Use different theoretical contributions on actors and networks of actors as well as the characteristics of collective action.
  45. Use metatheoretical data to argue and establish plausible relation of causality and establish ways of validating or rejecting them.
  46. Use the working methods of the field of contemporary history.
  47. Using computing resources of the area of study of history.
  48. Using the characteristic computing resources of the field of History.
  49. Using the main information and documentation techniques (ICT) as an essential tool for the analysis.
  50. Using the specific work methods of Contemporary History.
  51. Work in teams respecting all points of view. Use the specific vocabulary of history correctly.
  52. Working autonomously.
  53. Working by using quantitative and qualitative analysis techniques in order to apply them to research processes.
  54. Working in teams and networking, particularly in interdisciplinary conditions.
  55. Working in teams respecting the other's points of view.

Content

  1. The consolidation of the liberal states since 1870. Possible case studies: The Kaiserreich, the Third French Republic, the Anglo-Saxon world in the late nineteenth century, the emergence of modern Japan
  2. The economic and social transformation of the last third of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century
  3. The crisis of bourgeois culture at the end of the nineteenth century. Nationalism, populism, decadentism, social Darwinism
  4. The imperialist expansion: the distribution of Africa and the colonial dynamics in Asia
  5. The debates of the labour and socialist movement until 1914
  6. The Great War and its aftermath
  7. The Russian Revolution and the construction of the Soviet Union (1905-1939)
  8. Expansion and crisis of democracy. Possible case studies: The Weimar Republic, The Third French Republic since 1918…
  9. The rise and consolidation of fascism and nazism
  10. The Great Depression and the crises of the ‘30s
  11. The United States and the Japanese imperialism in the Interwar Years
  12. The Second World War

Activities and Methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Classroom practices 8 0.32 6, 17, 29, 28, 18, 39, 38, 40, 50
Theory classes 37 1.48 6, 17, 29, 28, 18, 39, 38, 40
Type: Autonomous      
Reading historiographic texts and working with diverse documentary material; search for information, and its organization and exploitation; study of the contents of the subject; preparation of a written assignment, perhaps in a group. 95 3.8 42, 17, 29, 28, 39, 40, 50
Search of bibliography and other materials for the realization of the different tasks 5 0.2 42, 33, 40, 50, 48

The directed activities consist of theoretical classes and classroom practices. The organized activities in the classroom encourage the participation of the students. These activities may include work on texts, graphics and visual materials, as well as debates and discussion on readings.

The autonomous activities mainly consist in reading historiographic texts and working on various materials, searching for bibliographic information and other documentation, organizing the information collected, studying the contents of the subject and, in the case of carrying out a group task, the discussion about its content and organization with classmates.

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
Various activities such as, among others possible, practical exercises in the classroom, questionnaire on facts and concepts, oral tests, public group presentations... 40% 2 0.08 9, 8, 7, 42, 4, 3, 2, 5, 6, 13, 12, 15, 17, 16, 35, 31, 19, 22, 23, 20, 21, 37, 44, 32, 24, 27, 26, 29, 28, 25, 41, 33, 18, 34, 39, 38, 40, 11, 43, 53, 52, 55, 36, 50, 46, 47, 48, 49, 10
Written exams (2) 60% (30% + 30%) 3 0.12 1, 42, 4, 45, 6, 14, 17, 31, 29, 28, 25, 30, 18, 39, 38, 40, 54, 55, 51, 50, 47, 10

CONTINUOUS ASSESSMENT

The final grade of the course will respond to the qualification of the following activities:

60% of 2 exams on the subject explained in class and the required readings.

40% of various activities carried out during classes throughout the course. In the first session of the course, information on the specific activities that constitute the evaluation of course will be given.

In the exams and tasks of the course, the following items and areas will be evaluated: knowledge acquired; the mastery of the concepts and of the vocabulary specific to the discipline; the maturity, the structure and the formal correction of the texts written in exams, the practical exercises and assignments; and, in the case of oral presentations, the fluency of the speech, its adaptation to the topic presented, the structure of the presentation, the materials used, and the correct time management.

Evaluation activities will be scheduled throughout the academic year. The dates for carrying out the tasks in the classroom and, where appropriate, for submitting assignments will be communicated to the students with sufficient advance notice. At the time of completion/delivery of each evaluative activity, the teaching staff will inform of the procedure and date for reviewing the grades.

If tasks or exams cannot be taken onsite, they will be adapted to an online format made available through the UAB’s virtual tools (original weighting of the scores will be maintained). Homework, activities and class participation will be carried out through forums, wikis and/or discussion on Teams, etc.  The teaching staff will ensure that students are able to access these virtual tools; otherwise, they will offer the students feasible alternatives.

Conditions to pass the subject

The subject is passed if a minimum of 5 points (out of 10) is obtained with the addition of the grades of all the evaluation activities carried out,provided that at least one of the two exams has been passed and none has been failed with less than 3 points (out of 10)

In the event of a student committing any irregularity that may lead to a significant variation in the grade awarded to an assessment activity, the student will be given a zero for this activity, regardless of any disciplinary process that may take place. In the event of several irregularities in assessment activities of the same subject, the student will be given a zero as the final grade for this subject.

Reassessment of the course

To participate in the reassessment of the course, students must obtain, at least, 3.5 points (out of 10) in the addition of all the activities of the continuous assessment, and must not have failed the two exams with less than 3 points (out of 10)

The reassessment will consist of a global exam of the subject matter and will be held on the official dates established by the Faculty. In no case may the reassessment be considered as a means of improving the grade of students who have already passed the course in the normal continuous assessment process. The maximum grade that can be obtained in the reassessment is 5.0 (Pass)

Students will be graded as "Not evaluable" if they have not carried out/delivered activities that represent more than one third of the maximum possible score in the entire evaluation (10 points).

 

SINGLE EVALUATION (no continuous assessment)

Students who opt for the single evaluation must demonstrate that they have acquired the same skills as students who have opted for continuous evaluation.

The single evaluation will be carried out on a single date, which may coincide with dates reserved for the continuous evaluation.

The evaluation will consist of (a) a written exam worth 60% of the grade; and (b) one or more activities such as an oral test, a questionnaire with questions of a factual and/or conceptual nature,commenting a text, maps, election results or other materials, a thematic presentation, etc., with the value of the other 40% of the grade.

The course is passed if a minimum of 5 points (out of 10) is obtained with the addition of the grades of all the evaluation activities carried out, as long as the exam grade is not less than 3 points (out of 10).

To be able to access the reassessment, the student must obtain a minimum of 3.5 points (out of 10) in the set of tasks for the single evaluation and a minimum of 3 (out of 10) in the exam.

Students will be graded as "Not evaluable" if they have not delivered activities that represent more than one third of the maximum possible score in the entire evaluation (10 points).

This subject entirely prohibits the use of AI technologies in all of its activities. Any submitted work that contains content generated using AI will be considered academic dishonesty; the corresponding grade will be awarded a zero, without the possibility of reassessment. In cases of greater infringement, more serious action may be taken.
 
 
 
 

Bibliography

GENERAL BIBLIOGRAPHY

David ALEGRE, Miguel ALONSO y Javier RODRIGO (coords.), Europa desgarrada. Guerra, ocupación y violencia, 1900-1950. Zaragoza, Prensas de la Universidad de Zaragoza, 2018.

Derek ALDCROFT, Historia de la economía europea, 1914-2000. Barcelona, Crítica, 2003.

Philipp BLOM, Años de vértigo. Cultura y cambio en Occidente, 1900-1914. Barcelona, Anagrama, 2010.

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

Joanna BOURKE, La Segunda Guerra Mundial. Una historia de las víctimas. Barcelona, Paidós, 2002.

Patrizia DOGLIANI, El fascismo de los italianos. Una historia social. València, Publicacions de la Universitat de València, 2017.

Ferran GALLEGO, De Múnich a Auschwitz. Una historia del nazismo, 1919-1945, Barcelona, Plaza Janés, 2001.

Emilio GENTILE, Fascismo. Historia e interpretación, Madrid, Alianza Editorial, 2004.

Eric HOBSBAWM, La era del Imperio (1875-1914), Barcelona, Labor, 1990.

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

Margaret MCMILLAN, 1914. De la paz a la guerra. Barcelona, Turner, 2013

Moshe LEWIN, El siglo soviético, Barcelona, Crítica, 2006.

María Jesús MATILLA QUIZA, Sufragismo y feminismo en América y Europa (1789-1948). Madrid, Síntesis, 2018.

Francisco MORENTE y Javier RODRIGO (eds.), Tierras de nadie. La Primera Guerra Mundial y sus consecuencias. Granada, Comares, 2014.

R[obert] A[lexander] C[larke] Parker, Historia de la segunda guerra mundial. Zaragoza, Prensas Universitarias de Zaragoza, 1998.

David STEVENSON, 1914-1918:Historia de la Primera GuerraMundial. Barcelona, Debate, 2013.

Norman STONE, La Europa transformada, 1878-1919. Madrid, 2019.

Adam Tooze, El diluvio. La Gran Guerra y la reconstrucción del orden mundial (1916-1931). Barcelona, Crítica, 2016.

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

Francisco VEIGA, Pablo MARTÍN y Juan SÁNCHEZ MONROE, Entre dos octubres. Revoluciones y contrarrevoluciones en Rusia (1905-1917) y guerra civil en Eurasia, Madrid, Alianza Editorial, 2017.

Henri L. WESSELING, Divide y vencerás. El reparto de África (1880-1914), Barcelona, Península, 1999.

 

The specific bibliography on each subject will be provided throughout the course. Compulsory readings will be communicated at the beginning of the course.


Software

There are no items.


Groups and Languages

Please note that this information is provisional until 30 November 2025. You can check it through this link. To consult the language you will need to enter the CODE of the subject.

Name Group Language Semester Turn
(PAUL) Classroom practices 1 Spanish first semester morning-mixed
(PAUL) Classroom practices 2 Catalan first semester morning-mixed
(TE) Theory 1 Spanish first semester morning-mixed
(TE) Theory 2 Catalan first semester morning-mixed