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Unit information: The F-Word: Understanding European Fascism Then and Now in 2022/23

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Unit name The F-Word: Understanding European Fascism Then and Now
Unit code HIST20137
Credit points 20
Level of study I/5
Teaching block(s) Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24)
Unit director Dr. King
Open unit status Not open
Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units)

None

Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units)

None

Units you may not take alongside this one

None

School/department Department of History (Historical Studies)
Faculty Faculty of Arts

Unit Information

Why is this unit important?

Our Special Fields give you the opportunity to work at an advanced level alongside a single academic and a specialist area of research. Intensively taught through seminars only, they are designed to provide you with hands-on experience of how knowledge is produced in the discipline of History.

How does this unit fit into your programme of study?

Our Special Fields involve the application of the full spectrum of core historical competencies within a narrower field of study. In this sense, they are designed to prepare you to undertake independent research for yourself by showing you how practicing historians work with sources, historiographies, methodologies, and concepts within a particular specialism.

Your learning on this unit

An overview of content

When supporters of Donald Trump stormed the Capitol in January 2021,it was hard not to draw parallels with the March on Rome that marked the advent of Mussolini's regime almost a century ago. While many had considered the use of the F-word inflammatory in the early days of the forty-fifth presidency, this violent uprising felt historically familiar. But what exactly is fascism and what does it mean to label a leader as fascist? This unit will analyse fascism's many iterations in Europe from the interwar period to the present. It will track the historic development of fascism across Europe, connecting regimes and movements internationally. Seminars will address topics including hyper-masculinity, anti-intellectualism, attacks on the fourth estate, race and empire, the role of violence, and reverence of the dead. We will explore how recent neo fascist groups have drawn on and developed the political, propagandistic, and violent approaches of their predecessors. We will also consider how democracies have managed the memory of fascism after its fall, and how the contemporary far-right continues to manipulate that memory.

How will you be different as a result of this unit?

Special Field units will enhance your capacity to build arguments with primary sources, properly located within appropriate theories, concepts, methods, and historiographies.

Learning Outcomes:

By the end of this unit, successful students will be able to:

1. Identify and analyse key themes in the history of European fascism.

2. Critically assess and use historical methods specific to the study of European fascism.

3. Discuss and evaluate the key historiographical debates surrounding the histories of European fascism.

4. Understand and interpret primary sources and select pertinent evidence in order to illustrate specific and general historical points.

5. Present their research and judgements in written form and styles appropriate to the discipline and to level I.

How you will learn

Classes will involve a combination of class discussion, investigative activities, and practical activities. Students will be expected to engage with readings and participate on a weekly basis. This will be further supported with drop-in sessions.

How you will be assessed

Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):

  • One 3500-word essay (50%) [ILOs 1-5].
  • One Timed Assessment (50%) [ILOs 1-5].

When assessment does not go to plan:

When required by the Board of Examiners, you will normally complete reassessments in the same formats as those outlined above. However, the Board reserves the right to modify the format or number of reassessments required. Details of reassessments are confirmed by the School/Centre shortly after the notification of your results at the end of the year.

Resources

If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.

If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. HIST20137).

How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks, independent learning and assessment activity.

See the Faculty workload statement relating to this unit for more information.

Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit. The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. If you have self-certificated your absence from an assessment, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (this is usually in the next assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any extenuating circumstances and operates within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.

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