HR620-6-FY: THE NEW DEAL: THE UNITED STATES IN THE 1930'S (SPECIAL SUBJECT)
Year: 2013/14
Department: History
Essex credit: 30
ECTS credit: 15
Available to Study Abroad / Exchange Students: No
| Module is taught during the following terms |
| Autumn |  | Spring | | Summer | |
Maximum enrolment: 15
Module Description
During the 1930s the United States underwent a profound crisis. Stemming from the world depression, the consequent high unemployment and widespread poverty devastated American society. The 'New Deal' not only sought to remedy the immediate problems, it also instigated a far-reaching reform programme which was to permeate society, politics, and the economy. This special subject will focus on the programmes, policies and achievements of the New Deal. After an initial discussion of the scale and impact of the depression, and of the chronological framework of New Deal legislation, the module will adopt a thematic approach, including: the implications of the New Deal for specific groups in American society (eg African Americans, organised labour, tenant farmers, the unemployed); the creation of a social security and welfare system in the United States; the many imaginative relief programmes introduced; New Deal agricultural and industrial policy; changes in the political system in the US; and American popular culture during the 1930s. It will conclude with an assessment of both contemporary and modern critiques of the New Deal programme.
Students will be trained in the use of primary sources, which will include not only printed primary sources (including contemporary novels and journal articles, memoirs, letters and autobiographies) but also audio-visual sources such as photographs, popular music, newsreels and film. The module also uses the rich primary source material available on the internet, both written and audio-visual. Students wishing to obtain a flavour of the module can find information at
https://www.essex.ac.uk/history/Campus_only/HR620/HR620_HOME.aspx
Learning & Teaching Methods
One two-hour seminar per week.
Assessment
50 per cent Coursework Mark, 50 per cent Exam Mark
Coursework:
One essay (up to 2500 words); one 500-word commentary; one presentation ; one extended essay (up to 3500 words)
Exam Duration and Period
3:00 hour exam during Summer Examination period.
Bibliography
- I list below some books which I recommend for preliminary reading.
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The first three books will be of constant use throughout the module, and I would recommend that you purchase one or all of them if possible:
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A J Badger, The New Deal (Macmillan, 1989)
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W E Leuchtenburg, Franklin D Roosevelt and the New Deal
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F Venn, The New Deal (Edinburgh University Press, 1998)
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D Kennedy, Freedom from Fear: the American people in depression and war, 1929-1945. (Oxford University Press, 1999) A useful general history of the period, including the origins of the Depression.
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Studs Terkel, Hard Times. (Pantheon Books, 1970) This may well be in a public library - it is used quite heavily for the modern history GCSE syllabus
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Michael E. Parrish, Anxious Decades: America in Prosperity and Depression, 1920-1941 (W.W. Norton and Co., 1994)
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