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An examination into the origins of popular government, the genius of American revolutionary politics, and the Civil War which ended slavery.
History 377 narrates one of the great episodes in the history of the West. It details the emergence of the United States as the first new democratic nation in the world. Undertaking the first revolution in the modern world, the Americans defeated Britain, created a new nation and composed the world's oldest extant written Constitution. Several generations later that same democracy fought the first modern war. From 1861-65 Americans engaged in a bloody struggle that threatened the existence of the nation. This course seeks to explore in the history of the United States our origins as moderns and democrats.
L1: A broad knowledge of origins of American political culture. L2: Ability to discuss and write about history at a sophisticated undergraduate level. Undergraduate mastery of the written word. L3: Ability to analyse the history covered by 377 with a view to answering questions about the causes, development and consequences of events. L4: Genuine insight into primary source materials and reading of cultural artefacts. L5: Ability to compare and contrast historians’ approaches to their discipline. L6: Demonstrated ability to exhibit independent learning. L7: Ability to apply the past to the present with some sophistication.
This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attributes specified below:
Critically competent in a core academic discipline of their award
Students know and can critically evaluate and, where applicable, apply this knowledge to topics/issues within their majoring subject.
Employable, innovative and enterprising
Students will develop key skills and attributes sought by employers that can be used in a range of applications.
Globally aware
Students will comprehend the influence of global conditions on their discipline and will be competent in engaging with global and multi-cultural contexts.
Any 30 points at 200 level from HIST, orany 60 points at 200 level from the Schedule V of the BA.
HIST257
Students must attend one activity from each section.
Peter Field
Please check the course Learn page for further details and updates.
Allan Guelzo; Fateful Lightning: A New History of the Civil War Era ;
Darren Staloff; Hamilton, Adams, Jefferson: The Politics of Enlightenment and the American Founding ;
Edmund Morgan; The Birth of the Republic 1763-1789 ;
Additional (online) Texts:Bernard Mandeville, “The Grumbling Hive”Thomas Jefferson et al, Declaration of IndependenceUnited States Constitution and AmendmentsThe United States Bill of Rights (first ten amendments)Jefferson, Notes on the State of Virginia (selections)William Lloyd Garrison, “The Liberator” (selections)Henry David Thoreau, “Essay on Civil Disobedience”Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom’s Cabin (selections) Abraham Lincoln, “Gettysburg Address” and “Second Inaugural Address”
Domestic fee $1,687.00
International fee $7,900.00
* All fees are inclusive of NZ GST or any equivalent overseas tax, and do not include any programme level discount or additional course-related expenses.
For further information see Humanities .