Last modified: 02 Oct 2024 14:16
This course considers the significance of the frontier as a concept and a reality in the historical development of the United States from 1763 until the “closing” of the frontier in 1890. Additionally, the course aims to consider the impact of American expansion across North America on the indigenous peoples of the continent and to consider the impact of that expansion on American culture and society. Among the issues to be considered: the contribution of the frontier to American democracy; the connection between the frontier past and violence in America
| Study Type | Undergraduate | Level | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Term | Second Term | Credit Points | 30 credits (15 ECTS credits) |
| Campus | Aberdeen | Sustained Study | No |
| Co-ordinators |
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Week 1. Introduction: Fredrick Jackson Turner’s Frontier Thesis
Week 2. Settling the Frontier in Colonial America
Week 3. Revolutionary Challenge on the Frontier
Week 4. Expeditions of Discovery in the Early Republic
Week 5. Manifest Destiny
Week 6. The Gold Rush & Mining Frontier
Week 7. Civil War & Frontier Violence
Week 8. Cowboys & Farmers
Week 9. Transcontinental Railroad & Chinese Immigration
Week 10. The Last Indian Wars
Week 11. The West as an American Melting Pot
Week 12. Revisions
Information on contact teaching time is available from the course guide.
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 10 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | Feedback Weeks | |||
| Feedback | ||||
| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Factual | Understand | Recognise the influence of geographical, national and social contexts on the development of the American frontier. |
| Factual | Understand | Have an understanding of the ways in which the concept of Frontier affected American identities |
| Procedural | Analyse | Be able to analyse primary source texts, situating them in terms of context, genre and argument, as well as engage with the American western historiography. |
| Procedural | Evaluate | Be aware of the complex relationships among commerce, religion, politics, science and ideas that shaped the historical perception of the American frontier. |
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 40 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Factual | Understand | Recognise the influence of geographical, national and social contexts on the development of the American frontier. |
| Factual | Understand | Have an understanding of the ways in which the concept of Frontier affected American identities |
| Procedural | Analyse | Be able to analyse primary source texts, situating them in terms of context, genre and argument, as well as engage with the American western historiography. |
| Procedural | Evaluate | Be aware of the complex relationships among commerce, religion, politics, science and ideas that shaped the historical perception of the American frontier. |
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 20 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | Feedback Weeks | |||
| Feedback | ||||
| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Factual | Understand | Recognise the influence of geographical, national and social contexts on the development of the American frontier. |
| Factual | Understand | Have an understanding of the ways in which the concept of Frontier affected American identities |
| Procedural | Analyse | Be able to analyse primary source texts, situating them in terms of context, genre and argument, as well as engage with the American western historiography. |
| Procedural | Evaluate | Be aware of the complex relationships among commerce, religion, politics, science and ideas that shaped the historical perception of the American frontier. |
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 30 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | Feedback Weeks | |||
| Feedback | ||||
| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Factual | Understand | Recognise the influence of geographical, national and social contexts on the development of the American frontier. |
| Factual | Understand | Have an understanding of the ways in which the concept of Frontier affected American identities |
| Procedural | Analyse | Be able to analyse primary source texts, situating them in terms of context, genre and argument, as well as engage with the American western historiography. |
| Procedural | Evaluate | Be aware of the complex relationships among commerce, religion, politics, science and ideas that shaped the historical perception of the American frontier. |
There are no assessments for this course.
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 100 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | Feedback Weeks | |||
| Feedback | ||||
| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
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|
||
| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Factual | Understand | Have an understanding of the ways in which the concept of Frontier affected American identities |
| Procedural | Evaluate | Be aware of the complex relationships among commerce, religion, politics, science and ideas that shaped the historical perception of the American frontier. |
| Factual | Understand | Recognise the influence of geographical, national and social contexts on the development of the American frontier. |
| Procedural | Analyse | Be able to analyse primary source texts, situating them in terms of context, genre and argument, as well as engage with the American western historiography. |
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