Economic and Social History in the Modern and Contemporary Periods

Code:

HISTO041

Acronym:

HESEC1

Keywords
Classification	Keyword
OFICIAL	History

Instance: 2021/2022 - 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
GEOGR	1	GEOGR - Study Plan	3	-	6	41	162
HISTO	80	HISTO - Study Plan	3	-	6	41	162
LA	5	LA - Study Plan	3	-	6	41	162
LLC	0	LLC - Monodisciplinary Study Plan	2	-	6	41	162
			3

Teaching language

Portuguese
Obs.: Português

Objectives

i) Critical characterisation of the economic and social dynamics of the contemporary period (between the late 18th century and late 20 th century); ii) Apply the specific concepts of historical analysis to the study of the Modern and Contemporary Periods; iii) Discuss the rupture and continuities in contemporary societies

Learning outcomes and competences

i) Ability of critical analysis of the main economic and social events and processes that have marked Contemporary times; ii) Ability to apply specific concepts of historical analysis to the study of the Contemporary Era; iii) Ability of questioning of the processes of modernization, innovation and disruption and of traditions and structural constants in the Contemporary Era.

Working method

Presencial

Program

1. Introduction to the study of Contemporary Economic and Social History. New problems and new social dynamics. The pace and scope of change. Transformations and tradition.
2. The “Age of Revolutions”:
2.1. The Industrial revolution.
2.2. Liberal revolutions and the social-legal and political transformations in the western world, between late 18th century and mid-19th century.
2.3. The confrontation between liberalism and democracy. Nationalisms and internationalisms.
3. The “Age of the Empire”: the European domination in the world.
4. The transformation of society in the 19th century:
4.1. The population boost and the “demographic transition”. “Rural exodus” and European emigration.
4.2. Urbanisation in the industrial period: urban expansion and transformations; cities and suburbs; urban progress.
4.3. Social dynamics: the rise of the bourgeoisie and the growth of the working class. The “social issue” and the working class movement.
5. “Total wars”, liberal crisis and the ideology confrontation in the 1st half of the 20th century:
5.1. The First World War.
5.2. The Soviet revolution; from Sovietism to Stalinism.
5.3. The Great Depression: causes and general characterisation of the 1929 economic crisis; solutions to fight the crisis and the “planned economy”; social and political implications.
5.4. The rise of fascisms, political polarisation and totalitarianisms.
5.5. The Second World War. Territorial transformations. The victory and renovation of democracies. A new international order.
6. The bipolar world, the “Cold War” and the emergence of other “worlds”:
6.1. “Super powers”, Europe and the “Third World”.
6.2. Decolonisation, social revolutions and regional conflicts.
6.3. The transformation of capitalism, the Welfare State and mass consumption. 6.4. Cultural revolutions.
7. The post-industrial society, globalisation and the crisis of the Welfare State and the free-market economy.

Mandatory literature

Eric Hobsbawm; A^era das revoluções. ISBN: 972-23-1559-5
Eric Hobsbawm; A^era dos extremos. ISBN: 972-23-2020-3
David S. Landes; A^riqueza e a pobreza das nações. ISBN: 972-662-804-0
Gregory Clark; Um^adeus às esmolas. ISBN: 978-972-53-0400-6
Pierre Leon; História económica e social do mundo
René Rémond; Introdução à história do nosso tempo. ISBN: 978-972-662-375-5
J. M Roberts; História do século XX

Comments from the literature

Please look for the whole list of Biliography in DOCUMENTS attached to this module webpage!

Teaching methods and learning activities

Theory-practical classes will consist of expository method/analysis/discussion of course contents, using texts, graphs, statistics and other material, fostering, whenever possible, the participation of students in the critical discussion of topics. Tutorials will focus essentially on the supervision of students’ individual work.

keywords

Social sciences > Sociology > Social changes
Humanities > History > Contemporary History
Humanities > History > Economic history
Humanities > History > Social history

Evaluation Type

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	96,00
Frequência das aulas	41,00
Trabalho escrito	25,00
Total:	162,00

Eligibility for exams

Approval in this module requires:

(i) to attend (either online or in face-to-face classes) to 75% of the ldctures, both Theory-practical and Tutorials;

(ii) a minimal mark of 10 (ten) out of 20 at the final written exam.

 

Calculation formula of final grade

Final grade = the sum of grades obtained in two of the three questions presented, each questions having a maximum score of 10.

Special assessment (TE, DA, ...)

According to FLUP's evaluation regulations.

Classification improvement

According to FLUP's evaluation regulations.

Observations

Assessment components for foreign students may, if necessary, be submitted in Spanish, English or French.