Course Catalogue

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The relationship between the United Kingdom and the United States-sometimes turbulent, sometimes close-has arguably been one of the most important international pairings in modern history. Coined in the latter stages of the Second World War, the term "special relationship" has been in use ever since to describe the British-American relationship. The course will examine the history of this relationship since the beginning of the twentieth century, and may include an exploration of its political, diplomatic, economic, cultural, imperial, and intelligence dimensions. It will consider Britain's loss of international dominance amid the rise of the United States, the complexities of the British-American relationship as this happened, as well as the realities of this relationship since the putative formation of the "special relationship" amid the Second World War.

1 x 2-hour lecture, 8 x 1-hour lectures and 5 x 2-hour flipped seminars as scheduled in My Campus. This is one of the Honours options in History and may not run every year. The options that are running this session are available on MyCampus.

Available to all students fulfilling requirements for Honours entry into History, and by arrangement to visiting students or students of other Honours programmes who qualify under the University's 25% regulation.

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The standard assessments for this course are:

■ Essay- 3,000 words - 60%

■ Reports - four of up to 300 words each, completed ahead of seminars - 10% each = 40% total

If required, for instance where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, the following alternatives are available:

■ There is no alternative to the assessments, but flexible deadlines can be offered as reasonable adjustments (students should follow the usual process for extensions)

Further reasonable adjustments may be provided where necessary. Students are encouraged to consult with the course convenor.

This course aims to:

■ Explore how the United States supplanted Britain as the world's foremost international power in the twentieth century

■ Examine the formation of the "special relationship" during the Second World War and its aftermath

■ Explore the linguistic importance of the term "special relationship" to each country and its effect on the relationship between them

■ Compare the idealization of the "special relationship" to its realities across multiple dimensions

■ Consider alternative ways of conceptualizing the relationship

By the end of this course students will be able to:

■ Analyse the causes of U.S. ascendency amid Britain's relative decline

■ Critically evaluate the term "special relationship" and its usefulness in describing the British-American relationship since the Second World War

■ Assess the most important aspects of the relationship between Britain and the United States since c. 1900

■ Develop a conceptualization of the relationship between the two countries