History of Contemporary Europe

Code:

HISTO023

Acronym:

HECONT

Instance: 2016/2017 - 1S

Active?	Yes
Responsible unit:	Department of History, Political and International Studies
Course/CS Responsible:	Bachelor in History

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
HISTO	14	HISTO - Study Plan	2	-	6	52	162
			3
LA	58	LA - Study Plan	2	-	6	52	162
			3
LRI	42	Plano Oficial do ano letivo 2013_2014	3	-	6	52	162

Teaching language

Portuguese

Objectives

In the end of the semester, the students must be capable of: - Know and understand the connection of the events that occurred between 1914 and 1945, the so-called Civil European war, that ended with European supremacy and the ascension of the two super-powers; the United States and the Soviet Union; - Understand the concept of Cold war and understand how almost 45 years the world lived under the sign of polarity and the terror of an atomic war; - Understands how the fall of the Berlin Wall, as well as the implosion of the Soviet Union modified European policy, allowing the enlargement of the states, until then, in the sphere of the Soviet Union and the adhesion to NATO and the European Union; - Reflect about the crises and the present challenges.

Learning outcomes and competences

The teaching methodologies both in the theoretic-practical classes and in the tutorial classes try to complement each other. While in the theoretic-practical classes we try that the students acquire a theoretic-conceptual framework that will allow them the development in the areas of the knowledge of acquisitions and abilities of the themes studied, in this case Political History of the 20st century. Although we try to speak about other continents and civilizations, the shortage of time, finishes to render the subject, however, perhaps too much connected to Europe, the USA and the URSS. However as the students have at their disposal in the optional curricular units, both of the History 1st cycle course as well as in other 1st cycle courses of the faculty of Arts, curricular units about other civilizations and continents we don’t think this to be a very relevant problem. In the tutorial classes we try that the students through book readings, texts commentaries, graphics and statistics, in classes, be able to acquire the abilities that a curricular unit of this type demands and allows them in the future to adapt themselves to new technics of methodology, research and investigation.

Working method

Presencial

Program

1. Introduction. Brief reflection about European contemporaneity. 2. The European Civil War (1914-194) 2.1. The World War I 2.1.1. The Soviet Revolution 2.2. The Period between the two Great Wars 2.2.1. The rise of Fascism and Nazism 2.2.2. The Spanish Civil War 2.3. The Second World War and the loosing of European supremacy 3. A bipolar world (1945-1989) 3.1. Europe divided. The formation of the two blocks of power. The “Cold War” or the “Conditioned Peace” 3.2. The construction of Communitarian Europe 3.3. Central and Eastern Europe 4. The “Fall of the Berlin Wall” and the the end of “The Cold War”

Mandatory literature

COMELLAS, José Luis; La guerra civil europea (1914-1945), Ediciones RIALP, 2010. ISBN: 978-84-321-3822-5
BROWN, Archie; Ascensão e Queda do Comunismo, Punlicações D. Quixote, 2010. ISBN: 978-972-20-4363-2
NOLTE, Ernst; La guerra civil europea, 1917-1945. Nacionalsocialismo y bolchevismo, Fondo de Cultura Económica, 2011. ISBN: 978-968-16-6276-9
PAYNE, Stanley G.; Civil war in Europe, 1905-1949, Cambridge University Press, 2011. ISBN: 978-1-107-6485-9
GADDIS, John Lewis; A Guerra Fria, Edições 70, 2007. ISBN: 978-972-44-1340-2
KENEZ, Peter; História da União Soviética, Edições 70, 2007. ISBN: 978-972-44-1361-7
JUDT, Tony; Pós-Guerra. História da Europa desde 1945, Edições 70, 20211. ISBN: 978-972-44-1300-6
Roberts, J.M.; História do Século XX, Editorial Teorema, 2007. ISBN: 978-972-23-3839-4 ; 978-972-23-4865-3

Teaching methods and learning activities

Theoretical-practical classes: lectures as an introduction to the topics of the subject, in order to stimulate class debates on those same topics. Use of graphics, statistics, and cartographic material. Tutorials: critical analysis of the topics of the subject, which will stimulate class debates moderated by the teacher. The teacher will also promote the discussion of the main bibliography, and debates on the reports/papers on books (or parts of books) done during the students' independent work. The books can be chosen by the students, as long as the teacher doesn't object to them. The book review to be presented must, however, be chosen from one of the works belonging to a list given by the teacher.

Software

Data-show

keywords

Humanities > History > Contemporary History
Social sciences > Political sciences > Policy studies > International relations
Humanities > History > Political history

Evaluation Type

Distributed evaluation with final exam

Assessment Components

Designation	Weight (%)
Exame	100,00
Total:	100,00

Amount of time allocated to each course unit

Designation	Time (hours)
Estudo autónomo	80,00
Frequência das aulas	52,00
Trabalho de investigação	30,00
Total:	162,00

Eligibility for exams

Final Exam

Accordance with Assessment Regulations in force

Calculation formula of final grade

The final exam (closed book) will consist of a theory and a practical part. - The first part will assess the mastery of information and the essential theoretical frameworks; critical skills, selection skills, systematisation and synthesis skills required to answer a question. - The second part will assess the level of skills acquired during tutorials. - The first part counts for 80% and the second part for 20%

 Written test: 80%+ Book report:20%

Examinations or Special Assignments

In accordance with the general regulations.

Special assessment (TE, DA, ...)

In accordance with the general regulations.

Classification improvement

The process for improving grades must comply with the types of assessment planned for the course unit. Students may repeat the test, if he is not satisfied with the grade.

 

 

Observations

The students of mobility have the obligation to contact with the teacher during the first week of the semester or, if they can duly prove that they arrived after the beginning of the classes, they have a week to do it after their arrival.

Lectures will always be in Portuguese. However tutorials may be instructed in English, French, Spanish or Italian for foreign sudents whose mother-tongue is not Portuguese, and have obvious poor comprehension skills.