Course Content

Component 1: The Making of a Superpower: The USA 1865-1975

This Unit provides an overview of US history in the period 1865–1975 as it responded to a series of challenges both from outside and within the USA. Students will examine the role of individual presidents, the factors working for and against change, and how foreign and domestic policy changed to meet the various crises. There will be opportunities to consider interpretations of how the USA developed during this period and to engage in the various debates over key incidents in US history. The study of events between 1865 and 1975 will enable students to compare, explain and assess the nature, pace and extent of change and its impact on domestic and foreign policy.

Component 2: The Making of Modern Britain 1951-2007

This Unit promotes an understanding of change and continuity over approximately 50 years of British history, during which Britain enjoyed a period of post-war affluence and boom, followed by an era of reaction. Through the study of key events in depth, candidates will be able to demonstrate an understanding of important individuals such as Macmillan, Wilson, Thatcher and Blair, and the interrelationship of such individuals with the ideas that helped bring about the developments in Britain’s changing relations with the world after 1951 and the enduring debate over European involvement. As a result of the study of the period as a whole, candidates will be able to demonstrate how issues such as economic performance, party-political reinvention and multiculturalism have changed in Britain by 2007.

Component 3: Historical Enquiry

This is the coursework unit. The students study one topic over a 100 year period. They consider a range of sources in order to resolve a historical issue. The unit emphasises the use of various historical sources in order to provide synoptic understanding of the issues in question in combination with an exploration of interpretations of the past.