MO3359 The United States in the Cold War and the Cold War in the United States

Academic year

2024 to 2025 Semester 1

Further information on which modules are specific to your programme.

Key module information

SCOTCAT credits

30

The Scottish Credit Accumulation and Transfer (SCOTCAT) system allows credits gained in Scotland to be transferred between institutions. The number of credits associated with a module gives an indication of the amount of learning effort required by the learner. European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) credits are half the value of SCOTCAT credits.

SCQF level

SCQF level 9

The Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) provides an indication of the complexity of award qualifications and associated learning and operates on an ascending numeric scale from Levels 1-12 with SCQF Level 10 equating to a Scottish undergraduate Honours degree.

Planned timetable

To be confirmed

This information is given as indicative. Timetable may change at short notice depending on room availability.

Module Staff

TBC

This information is given as indicative. Staff involved in a module may change at short notice depending on availability and circumstances.

Module description

This course covers the history of the United States and the Cold War in both international and domestic contexts. First, we will examine the Cold War as Washington’s guiding foreign-policy framework for nearly a half-century after World War II, a diplomatic and ideological standoff that fomented hot wars on three continents and economic and cultural policies designed to “win hearts and minds” around the world. Second, we will consider how the Cold War both propelled and constrained changes in American politics, culture, and society. Case studies will include the Red Scare and the Lavender Scare, the domestic gender politics of containment, and the impact of U.S.-Soviet tensions on the American civil-rights movement.

Assessment pattern

Coursework = 100%

Re-assessment

Coursework = 100%

Learning and teaching methods and delivery

Weekly contact

1 x 2-hour seminar (x 10 weeks) and 1 office hour (x 10 weeks)

Scheduled learning hours

20

The number of compulsory student:staff contact hours over the period of the module.

Guided independent study hours

280

The number of hours that students are expected to invest in independent study over the period of the module.

Intended learning outcomes

  • By the end of the module, students will be able to demonstrate a command of the key events and transformations in the history of the Cold War.
  • By the end of the module, students will be able to analyze a range of scholarly arguments about and approaches to Cold War history.
  • By the end of the module, students will be able to demonstrate effective written and oral communication skills, as measured by class performance and assignments.
  • By the end of the module, students will be able to demonstrate a conceptual understanding of how diplomatic policy can produce unintended consequences at the levels of both politics and society.