This is a School-wide undergraduate module which provides the opportunity to explore and study the basic elements and theoretical framework of various cultural and political aspects of the 1960s in a wider global context. This was a time of considerable political upheaval around the world with civil rights activism and anti-war protest in the US, the cultural revolution China, and worker and student protests against aspects of economic and social modernisation and consumerism in countries as diverse as Japan and France. The legacy of the 1960s  is still with us today, and many of the debates raised at the time are still pertinent today; the nature of the State and its relationship to capitalism, the nature and functioning of capitalist liberal democracy, social and gender equality etc, The module will focus on the cultural ‘break’ represented by the ‘long sixties’ [the late 1950s to the mid- 1970s], of which May 68 is not only a description of ‘iconic’ French events, but also a shorthand and metaphor for ‘the Global Revolutions of 1968’.  Covering Brazil, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and Spain/Hispanic countries, the teaching and learning in the module will highlight national specificities while enabling comparisons to be drawn about the major paradigm shifts in the late 1960s in protest politics and culture around the world.

• Demonstrate the capacity to evaluate critically the political and cultural events in the post-1945 world;
• Evaluate and assess the key concepts associated with the development of politics and culture in the period, and employ relevant critical approaches to these concepts;
• Understand and analyse a range of happenings in global protest cultures.

• Use appropriate registers and grammatically correct language when communicating knowledge and understanding of the course material.

• Lectures and seminars to total approximately 20 hours in one semester (10 weeks)
• Use of Learning Central to supplement and extend class-based activity
• Homework preparation and research tasks on topics prescribed by the course-leader
• Feedback and feed-forward sessions to provide guidance and help with student performance

Academic: intellectually-advanced skills centred on the ability to build a convincing argument, using a variety of sources relevant to the themes and topics of the module content.

Subject-specific: ability to read and assess, and to engage critically with historical, political and cultural texts. Ability to understand how economic development, politics and culture interact.

Generic: transferable skills of information gathering; critical thinking; evaluation of materials; intercultural awareness; time management; high-level written communication and word-processing/visual presentation skills.

Essay (100%): Choice of country-specific titles

2000 words

THE OPPORTUNITY FOR REASSESSMENT IN THIS MODULE:

In the event of failure, students will be permitted to resubmit an essay during the August resit examination period, for a maximum mark of 40%. Please note, that under University regulations only three attempts at this module are permitted, except under certain extenuating circumstances.

As well as an essay workshop and introductory lectures on the Post War World and Challenges of the 60s, four of the following will be studied;

The Cuban Revolution

The Chinese Cultural Revolution

May 68 in France

Culture and Protest in Italy

Protest and the Legacy of Nazism in Germany

Nationalist revolts in the 1960s

Music and Protest under Dictatorship in Brazil          

Modernisation and Protest in Japan

Horn, G-R (2007) The Spirit of ’68. Rebellion in Western Europe and N America, 1956-1976

Klimke, M (2009) The Other Alliance: Student Protest in W Germany and the US in the Global Sixties

Klimke, M. & Scharloth, J. Eds (2008) 1968 in Europe. A History of Protest & Activism, 1956-1977

(Palgrave Macmillan)

Kurlansky, M  (2005) 1968. The year that rocked the world

Huyssen. A (2003) Present Pasts: Urban Palimpsests and the Politics of Memory

Marwick, A (1998) The Sixties. Cultural Revolution in Britain, France, Italy & the US

Ness, I (2009) International Encyclopaedia of Revolution and Protest

Ross, K. (2004) May '68 and Its Afterlives (University of Chicago Press)

Country-specific bibliographies and resources lists will be given out at the start of the module.