ATS3908 American empire: The United States from colonies to superpower
Faculty of Arts
ATS3908 American empire: The United States from colonies to superpower is a level 3, 6-credit-point, undergraduate unit from the Faculty of Arts, offered in 2027 in Semester 2 at Caulfield and Clayton. It has no prerequisites.
- Credit points
- 6
- Offered in 2027
- Semester 2
- Caulfield, Clayton
- Assessment
- No exam
- 4 tasks
- Workload
- 144 hours
- per semester
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Requisites
Before ATS3908
No prerequisites or corequisites besides the enrolment rules below.
After ATS3908
No unit lists ATS3908 as a prerequisite in the 2027 handbook.
Enrolment rules
Prohibition: ATS2908
Prerequisite: Twelve credit points of second-year Arts units.
Overview
In this unit you will examine the rise of the United States to global dominance across the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and to a superpower in the 21st century. You will investigate key events, from the dispossession of indigenous peoples to a series of wars at home and abroad, and consider how ideas about race, manifest destiny and national exceptionalism drove this expansion. You will look at different expressions of power, including hard and soft power, and ask whether 'empire' is the right term to describe America's influence. You will end by assessing whether the United States will continue to play the role of global superpower in the 21st century.
Offerings in 2027
| Teaching period | Campus | Mode |
|---|---|---|
| Second semester | Caulfield | On campus |
| Second semester | Clayton | On campus |
Assessment
- Exercise/sExercise10%
- Exercise/sExercise15%
- EssayWritten45%
- Take home final assessmentWritten30%
Assessment details may change. Please refer to the assessment information in Moodle closer to the start of the teaching period.
Learning outcomes
When you finish this unit, you should be able to:
- 1
Have a good understanding of the US foreign relations from the nineteenth century to mid twentieth century.
- 2
Have an understanding of the importance of race and gender in shaping American interactions with other peoples and nations.
- 3
Have an understanding of the different factors which shape foreign policy and imperial projects.
- 4
Have an understanding of the importance of culture - including popular culture - to historical research.
- 5
Be familiar with the research skills and methods of cultural, political and diplomatic historians.
- 6
Have experience in working with a range of textual, visual and material historical resources.
- 7
Have further developed their oral and written communication skills.
- 8
Have improved their ability to conduct historical research independently.
Workload and teaching
- Lectures11 hours
- Tutorials24 hours
- Teaching approachActive learning
Minimum total expected workload to achieve the learning outcomes for this unit is 144 hours per semester typically comprising a mixture of scheduled learning activities and independent study. Scheduled activities may include a combination of teacher directed learning, peer directed learning and online engagement.
This unit engages you in actively applying your knowledge, skills and attributes in interactive, collaborative and reflective activities.
Where it fits
ATS3908 is part of 2 areas of study in the 2027 handbook.
Contacts
- Chief Examiners
- Associate Professor Timothy Verhoeven
- Unit Coordinators
- Associate Professor Timothy Verhoeven
Common questions
What are the prerequisites for ATS3908?
ATS3908 has no prerequisites, but enrolment rules apply.
When is ATS3908 offered?
In 2027, ATS3908 runs in Semester 2 at Caulfield and Clayton.
How much work is ATS3908?
The handbook expects about 144 hours of study across the semester. No students have rated its difficulty yet.
Does ATS3908 have an exam?
No. ATS3908 has 4 assessment tasks and no exam.
Which majors and minors include ATS3908?
ATS3908 is part of History.