Royal Holloway, U of London

According to recent World Economic Forum polls conducted among 18-35 year olds in nearly 200 countries, the planet’s most urgent crises include religious conflict, government accountability, poverty, food and water (in)security, inequality, and climate change. These problems, in turn, raise pressing collective conundrums, such as: How can population growth and resources be brought into better balance? How can changing the status of women help improve the broader human condition? How can genuine democracy emerge from authoritarian regimes? How can the threat of new and re-emerging diseases be reduced? How can shared values and security strategies reduce ethnic conflict, terrorism, and weapons of mass destruction? And how can governments work together to address the threats associated with global warning? But every global challenge has its own particular ‘history’, closely linked to developments taking place in different parts of the world over the last century or so (if not longer). This module, therefore, adopts a thematic approach towards making sense of the recent historical context in which these challenges have emerged. Indicative topics would include (a) Health and wellbeing: e.g. From the global influenza pandemic of 1918 to AIDs and Ebola; (b) (In)equality: e.g. gender violence; apartheid South Africa; (c) Refugees and displacement: e.g. Post-FWW/SWW: Europe, Asia, Middle East; (d) Religious/ethnic conflict: e.g. Middle East, Balkans, Rwanda; Food (in)security and famine: e.g. South Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa; (e) Population growth/control: e.g. China, India; (f) Government accountability: e.g. Revolutions in Mexico, China, Iran; (g) Human impact on the environment, and anthropogenic (‘man-made’) disasters: e.g. From the 1930s Dust Bowl to the Union Carbide Cyanide gas leak in Bhopal in 1984; (h) Energy and sustainability: e.g. oil and conflict in the Middle East. For their assessed coursework, students produce a policy report, in which they draw on their skills and knowledge as historians to explore issues that today are regarded as threatening the whole planet’s future wellbeing. They also deliver an oral presentation, supported by either powerpoint slides or a poster. There is also a summer two-hour written examination in which they answer two questions. Learning Outcomes: 1. To be familiar with, understand and able to discuss the significance of academic and popular debates relating to 21st century Global Challenges 2. To demonstrate that they understand and can discuss the historical context of the 21st century Global Challenges studied on this module 3. To deliver an oral presentation supported by powerpoint slides/poster that explains the historical context of their chosen 21st century Global Challenge case study 4. To produce an appropriately structured and presented policy briefing that explores and evaluates the historical context for their chosen 21st century Global Challenge case study 5. To demonstrate understanding of historical developments underpinning 21st century Global Challenges in the essays that they produce the Written Examination
Required Materials: Click here for the reading list system
Technical Requirements: The total number of notional learning hours associated with course are 150 These will normally be broken down as follows: 10 hour(s) of Lectures across 10 week(s) 10 hour(s) of Seminars across 9 week(s) 130 hour(s) of Guided Independent Study Formative Assessment: Feedback on plan for policy briefing (500 words) Summative Assessment: Literature Review (1000 Words) - 25% Policy briefing paper (3000 Words) – 75%