Universität Wien

070298 UE Working Skills in Global History (2023W)

4.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 7 - Geschichte
Continuous assessment of course work
Moodle

Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).

Details

max. 25 participants
Language: English

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

Attention:

There will be one excursion/fieldtrip, one to two guest lectures, and a planned mock conference in the last two sessions which will be blocked

Monday 02.10. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal 29 Hauptgebäude, 1.Stock, Stiege 7
Monday 09.10. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal 29 Hauptgebäude, 1.Stock, Stiege 7
Monday 16.10. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal 29 Hauptgebäude, 1.Stock, Stiege 7
Monday 23.10. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal 29 Hauptgebäude, 1.Stock, Stiege 7
Monday 30.10. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal 29 Hauptgebäude, 1.Stock, Stiege 7
Monday 06.11. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal 29 Hauptgebäude, 1.Stock, Stiege 7
Monday 13.11. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal 29 Hauptgebäude, 1.Stock, Stiege 7
Monday 20.11. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal 29 Hauptgebäude, 1.Stock, Stiege 7
Monday 11.12. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal 29 Hauptgebäude, 1.Stock, Stiege 7
Monday 08.01. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal 29 Hauptgebäude, 1.Stock, Stiege 7
Monday 15.01. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal 29 Hauptgebäude, 1.Stock, Stiege 7

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

In this course, students will be introduced to researching a historical topic within a global framework, but will also be trained to work with different types of texts, audio and visual sources related to that topic. Students will be trained in concrete working skills of historical research and presentation, such as: Summaries, short essays, giving feedback, presenting a paper in a conference setting, and, if desired, preparing a field research trip. The practice of specific methodological and communication skills will be embedded in a global perspective on "National Liberation Movements in Southern Africa." This field of research is currently flourishing at universities in Europe, Asia, America, and not least on the African continent itself. The various and diverse forms of mobilities, transfers, and exchanges both between liberation movements and political parties on the continent, as well as their far-reaching, transnational, and at times truly global networks that encompassed both state and non-state supporters in both the "East" and "West" of the Cold War and the Non-Aligned world, offer students the opportunity to explore one of the key themes of 20th century history – decolonization – from a historical perspective, to critically discuss political and socio-economic issues, but also to make connections to broader theoretical questions and debates in the field of global history today.

Assessment and permitted materials

The students are expected to engage in continuous work throughout the semester with weekly reading and writing assignments as well as in-class discussions. Keeping in mind that many course attendants will arrive with different disciplinary backgrounds, the course instructor will make a special effort to set up a common level of reflection and debate for all the participants. In the middle of the semester, all course attendants will hand in a written draft paper on one of the topics discussed during the course. A fellow student will then read and provide feedback on this draft in a mock conference panel setting during the double sessions. During the course, the instructors will encourage work in groups.

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

Students are expected to come to class regularly and to engage in continuous work throughout the semester with weekly reading and writing assignments as well as one in-class presentation. All assignments have to be submitted through the e-Learning platform Moodle before each class. The grade is going to be based on regular contribution in class (20%), written assignments (20%), participation in an oral group-presentation (20%) as well as the final version of the paper (10-12 pages) (40%).

Examination topics

Reading list

Čavoški, Jovan. ‘“Yugoslavia’s Help Was Extraordinary”: Political and Material Assistance from Belgrade to the MPLA in Its Rise to Power, 1961–1975’. Journal of Cold War Studies 21, no. 1 (April 2019): 125–50. https://doi.org/10.1162/jcws_a_00857.

Chongo, Clarence. ‘A Good Measure of Sacrifice: Aspects of Zambia’s Contribution to the Liberation Wars in Southern Africa, 1964-1975’. Zambia Social Science Journal 6, no. 1 (2016): 1–27.

Dallywater, Lena, Chris Saunders, and Helder Adegar Fonseca, eds. Southern African Liberation Movements and the Global Cold War `East’: Transnational Activism 1960-1990. Berlin: de Gruyter, 2019.

Davidson, Basil. The Eye of the Storm: Angola’s People. London: Longman, 1972.

Davidson, Basil. The People’s Cause: A History of Guerrillas in Africa. Longman Studies in African History. London: Longman, 1981.

Gleijeses, Piero. Conflicting Missions: Havana, Washington, and Africa, 1959-1976. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 2002.

Gleijeses, Piero. Visions of Freedom: Havana, Washington, Pretoria and the Struggle for Southern Africa, 1976-1991. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 2016.

Saunders, Chris, Helder Adegar Fonseca, and Lena Dallywater, eds. Eastern Europe, the Soviet Union, and Africa: New Perspectives on the Era of Decolonization, 1950s to 1990s. De Gruyter, 2023.

Schleicher, Ilona, and Hans-Georg Schleicher. Die DDR Im Südlichen Afrika: Solidarität und Kalter Krieg. Hamburg: Institut für Afrika-Kunde, 1997.

Sellström, Tor, ed. Liberation in Southern Africa: Regional and Swedish Voices. Uppsala: Nordic Africa Institute, 1999.

Shubin, Vladimir. The Hot ‘Cold War’: The USSR in Southern Africa. London and Scottsville: Pluto Press and University of KwaZulu-Natal Press, 2008.

Simpson, Thula. Umkhonto We Sizwe: The ANC’s Armed Struggle. Cape Town, South Africa: Penguin Books, 2016.

Telepneva, Natalia. Cold War Liberation: The Soviet Union and the Collapse of the Portuguese Empire in Africa, 1961-1975. The New Cold War History. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2022.

Temu, Arnold, and Joel Das Neves Tembe, eds. Southern African Liberation Struggles 1960-1994: Contemporaneous Documents. Dar es Salaam: Mkuki na Nyota, 2014.

White, Luise, and Miles Larmer. ‘Introduction: Mobile Soldiers and the Un-National Liberation of Southern Africa’. Journal of Southern African Studies 40, no. 6 (2014): 1271–74.

Association in the course directory

MA Globalgeschichte und Global Studies (Version 2019): PM2 Forschungsprozess und Methoden, UE Globalgeschichtliche Arbeitstechniken (4 ECTS).

Last modified: Mo 02.10.2023 09:07