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Communisms - HIS00105H

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  • Department: History
  • Module co-ordinator: Dr. Jon Howlett
  • Credit value: 40 credits
  • Credit level: H
  • Academic year of delivery: 2021-22
    • See module specification for other years: 2022-23

Module summary

Few ideologies were as influential in shaping the course of modern history as communism. Yet the idea of communism as a unitary philosophy or monolithic political order does not stand up to much scrutiny. On this course students embark on an exploration of the ways different people understood, experienced and implemented this radical political philosophy. Students are encouraged to challenge the traditional scholarship on this subject which has prioritised twentieth century European communism and the roles of certain prominent dictators. Instead they are urged to consider the ways in which differing interpretations of Marxist philosophy shaped the lives of ordinary people living across diverse chronological, cultural and geographical contexts from Beijing to Luanda, Havana and Ulaanbaatar.

Students first explore the development of the idea of communism and the traditions on which early revolutionaries drew. In part two, students turn their attention to life under communism; we ask how and why an idea conceived of as a means of emancipating people resulted in totalitarianism and repression in communist states in the twentieth century. Alongside this, we will think about ordinary life (going on holiday, falling in love, etc.) in communist countries. We place particular emphasis on how people’s status, gender, race or sexuality shaped their experiences. The final part of the course addresses the international appeal of the idea, focusing on diverse historical actors including Parisian students, Black Panthers and Maoists in Peru and Nepal. We conclude by considering the ways in which the idea has shaped the world today.

Module will run

Occurrence Teaching period
A Autumn Term 2021-22 to Spring Term 2021-22

Module aims

The aims of this module are:

  • To introduce students to the practice of comparative history;
  • To enable students to acquire skills and understanding of that practice by studying a particular topic or theme; and
  • To enable students to reflect on the possibilities and difficulties involved in comparative history

Module learning outcomes

Students who complete this module successfully will:

  • Grasp the key approaches and challenges involved in comparative history;
  • Understand a range of aspects of the topic or theme which they have studied;
  • Be able to use and evaluate comparative approaches to that topic or theme; and
  • Have learned to discuss and write about comparative history
  • Have developed skills in group work

Module content

Teaching Programme:

Students prepare for and participate in fifteen three-hour seminars. Students will attend a 1-hour briefing in week 1 of the autumn term, and a 3-hour seminar in weeks 2-5 and 7-9 of the autumn term and weeks 2-5 and 7-10 of the spring term. Both the autumn and spring terms include a reading week for final year students and so there will be no teaching in week 6.

Seminar topics are subject to variation, but are likely to include the following:

Autumn term:

  1. Karl Marx and the Frightful Hobgoblin: the Communist Manifesto
  2. Traditions and Origins: the late eighteenth century: Paris 1789 and Haiti 1791
  3. Marxism, socialism and anarcho-feminism: theory and practice in the 'age of the idea'
  4. Pathways to Revolution: communist takeovers from October 1917 to Havana 1959
  5. From the Soviet Gulag to China’s laogai: Stalinism, authoritarianism and broken promises
  6. Long live Chairman [insert name here]! Propaganda and the cult of the socialist strong man
  7. Making the World Anew: Socialism, Science and Nature

Spring term:

  1. Everyday life in communist societies
  2. Some more equal than others? Communism, gender and difference
  3. Dissent and opposition to Communism
  4. Periphery or centre? Decolonisation and the Cold War in Asia, Africa and Latin America
  5. Internationalism and the appeal of communism in Britain, Europe and America (1917-1956)
  6. “You say you want a revolution…” Global Maoism in the 1960s
  7. 1989 and the (partial) fall of communism
  8. Global communisms after 'The End of History'

Indicative assessment

Task Length % of module mark
Groupwork
Project		 N/A 33
Online Exam - 24 hrs (Centrally scheduled)
24-Hour Open Exam		 8 hours 67

Special assessment rules

None

Additional assessment information

For procedural work, the students will make group presentations towards the end of the autumn term. In addition, they may choose to submit an optional 2,000 word formative essay between weeks 7-9 of the autumn term. Essays should not be submitted in the same week as group project presentations are scheduled.

For summative assessment students will complete a 4,000-word group project due in week 6 of the spring term -- this will account for 33% of the final mark. They will then also take a 2,000-word 24-hour open exam during the common assessment period in the summer term, usually released at 11:00 on day 1 and submitted at 11:00 on day 2. The open exam will be worth 67% of the final mark.

Indicative reassessment

Task Length % of module mark
Groupwork
Project		 N/A 33
Online Exam - 24 hrs (Centrally scheduled)
24-Hour Open Exam		 8 hours 67

Module feedback

Following their formative assessment task, students will receive feedback that will include comments and a mark. If this takes the form of live feedback in class it will be supported by a written comment sheet.

All students are encouraged, if they wish, to discuss the feedback on their procedural work during their tutor’s student hours. For more information, see the Statement on Feedback.

For the summative assessment task, students will receive their provisional mark and written feedback within 20 working days of the submission. The tutor will then be available during student hours for follow-up guidance if required. For more information, see the Statement of Assessment.

Indicative reading

For term time reading, please refer to the module VLE site. Before the course starts, we encourage you to look at the following items of preliminary reading:

Luxemburg, Rosa. ‘Marxist Theory and the Proletariat’ in Vorwärts (Berlin), No.64, 14 March 1903 [Marxists Internet Archive]

Priestland, David. The Red Flag: Communism and the Making of the Modern World. Penguin UK, 2009.

Roy, Manabendra Nath. ‘The Awakening of the East’ in The Call, 15 July 1920 [Marxists Internet Archive]


The information on this page is indicative of the module that is currently on offer. The University constantly explores ways to enhance and improve its degree programmes and therefore reserves the right to make variations to the content and method of delivery of modules, and to discontinue modules, if such action is reasonably considered to be necessary. In some instances it may be appropriate for the University to notify and consult with affected students about module changes in accordance with the University's policy on the Approval of Modifications to Existing Taught Programmes of Study.