International relations

Empires and Revolutions: The Birth of Today's International Order

Module code: L2007
Level 4
15 credits in autumn semester
Teaching method: Lecture, Seminar
Assessment modes: Coursework

Today we take it for granted that the people and governments of the world are linked in a single international system. Yet it was only in the last few hundred years that a truly ‘world’ politics began to emerge.

On this module, you’ll draw on global history and explore how revolutions in politics, ideology and industry have shaped the international order that we inhabit today. You’ll pay particular attention to the histories of empire, colonisation and slavery in defining what it means to be ‘modern’ in a globalised world.

Module learning outcomes

• Knowledge of the key themes and problems involved in the study of international history.
• Familiarity with key events in the rise of a worldwide international order from the late fifteenth century onwards
• Awareness of the central controversies which historians have had over how to interpret these events.
• Development of basic transferable skills including: note-taking, summarising texts, and communicating through written means.