HS1S032 - The Atlantic and the Making of the Modern World: Old and New Worlds 01 Sep 2021 - 31 Aug 2027 | Version 1

Associated Module Information

Module Code: HS1S032
Module Title: The Atlantic and the Making of the Modern World: Old and New Worlds
Faculty: Faculty of Business and Creative Industries
Faculty Group: Culture and Animation
Faculty Sub Group: Culture
Module Leader: Chris Evans
Module Team: Christopher Hill, Andy Croll, Jonathan Durrant
First Intended Intake: SEP 2021 Final Year of Intake: 2026
Date Closed:
Credit Value: 20 Credit Level: 4
Language: English
Percentage of Module Taught in Welsh: 0
Equivalent Module:
HECOS codes:
HECOS Code Weighting:

Document Version Information

Version 1
Valid From 01 Sep 2021
Valid To 31 Aug 2027

Module Aims

This module introduces students to Atlantic history. Students will gain an awareness of the distinctiveness of the Atlantic world between the first Iberian forays across the ocean in the fifteenth century and the revolutions against European imperialism that erupted in the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. This module focuses on early encounters between Europeans and non-Europeans.

The module also aims to introduce students to a range of primary sources as well as to foster an understanding of key theories and historiographical debates.

Content Summary

Students will focus on the Atlantic as an area of exploration and empire, the scene of racialised slavery, and a source of new foodstuffs (like sugar and cocoa) and materials (like mahogany and ivory) for European consumption.

Learning and Teaching Methods

Activity Type Hours
Lecture 12
Seminar 26
Tutorial 2
Independent Study 80
Directed Study 72
Formative Assessment - Scheduled 8
Total Hours Selected 200

Learning Outcomes

# Learning Outcome
LO1 Identify and explain some of the main developments in, and distinguishing features of Atlantic history
LO2 Discuss primary sources (such as biographical records, trade inventories and visual images) and secondary material related to such issues, clearly presented with supporting evidence.

Module Requisites

N/A

Assessment Criteria

Assessment Category Assessment Type Description Duration Word Count Weight (%) Best of? Pass Mark
Asynchronous Assessment Portfolio 1 The Portfolio consists of two elements: 1. literature review 2. literature review 0 N/A 75 No 40
Asynchronous Assessment Document analysis 1 Analysis of a primary source 0 1000 25 No 40

Assessment Matrix

Assessment Type Learning Outcomes
LO1 LO2
Portfolio 1
Document analysis 1

Reading List

J.H. Elliott, Empires of the Atlantic world: Britain and Spain in America 1492-1830 (2006)
Jack P. Greene and Philip D. Morgan (eds), Atlantic History: A Critical Appraisal (2009)
Karen Ordahl Kupperman, The Atlantic in World History (2012)

Journals:

Itinerario: International Journal on the History of European Expansion and Global Interaction

Slavery and Abolition

William and Mary Quarterly


Online resources:

'Carolina Lowcountry and the Atlantic world' (https://claw.cofc.edu/)
'The Geography of Slavery in Virginia' (http://www.vcdh.virginia.edu/gos/index.html)
'H-Atlantic' (http://www.h-net.org/~atlantic/)
'Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture' (https://oieahc.wm.edu/)