Last modified: 30 Jul 2026 10:46
This course presents an overview of US history, from its origins in the colonisation of North America to its emergence as the preeminent global power. To understand this dramatic story, the course discusses Europeans' confrontations with the Indigenous societies that they sought to replace; Black struggles against slavery and apartheid; and experiences of diverse migrant populations. We will see that US history has been one of encounter, conflict, and transformation of multiple populations.
| Study Type | Undergraduate | Level | 1 |
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| Term | Second Term | Credit Points | 15 credits (7.5 ECTS credits) |
| Campus | Aberdeen | Sustained Study | No |
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This course presents an overview of US history, from its origins in the European colonisation of North America to the US’s emergence as the preeminent global power.
To understand this dramatic story, the course engages with a wide range of histories. European confrontations with the Indigenous peoples that they sought to replace, and the resistances and adaptations by Indigenous populations, is a repeated concern. Similarly, the sagas of African slavery and Black freedom struggles – against slavery and later apartheid – are central to the course. The political and social worlds of various migrant populations (from Europe, Asia, and Mexico) are also engaged. The ‘American worlds’ described in the course are not only those of the US’s diverse citizenry; we will also discuss how the power of the United States has been exercised in the wider world, especially in the eras of high imperialism and the Cold War.
This rich and diverse history will be approached via an accessible narrative history book, as well as through other scholarly readings. These readings will inform students’ assessments and their tutorial discussions, which will nevertheless centre on primary source materials spanning a wide chronology.
Students will finish the course with a clear and broad knowledge of US history, having been acquainted with many important documents on this topic, and with an understanding of relevant scholarship.
Information on contact teaching time is available from the course guide.
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 60 | |
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| Assessment Weeks | Feedback Weeks | |||
| Feedback |
Timed online exam, adaptive release (2 hours with extra time for students with provisions), students chose their own start time across a 1-week window. |
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| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
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| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 40 | |
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| Assessment Weeks | Feedback Weeks | |||
| Feedback |
Completed via MyAberdeen |
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| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
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There are no assessments for this course.
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 100 | |
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| Assessment Weeks | Feedback Weeks | |||
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| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
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| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
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| Conceptual | Apply | Critically evaluate the interplay of external influences and development in the Americas. |
| Procedural | Create | Apply different models and evidence bases to clear analyses of change over time in particular locations. |
| Factual | Understand | Analyse the interaction of different cultures as well as the emergence and demise of new cultural practices, political systems, and civilizations. |
| Conceptual | Evaluate | Understand and evaluate different explanations and models seeking to explain change over time. |
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