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History of Social Movements in the Modern Age

Code: 100365
Credits: 6
2026/2027
Degree programme Type Course
History OP 4
Contemporary History, Politics and Economics OP 3
Contemporary History, Politics and Economics OP 4

Contact lecturer

Name :
Arnau Gonzalez Vilalta
Email :
arnau.gonzalez@uab.cat

Group languages

You can consult this information at the end of the document.

Prerequisites

None

Objectives

The subject aims to provide resources for fundamental knowledge of contemporary social movements. It will analyze the role of subaltern classes throughout contemporary history. Concrete examples will be used to guarantee the essential gender perspective. Traditional and new approaches to research, analysis and presentation will be combined.

Learning outcomes

  1. Submitting works in accordance with both individual and small group demands and personal styles.
  2. Identifying the main and secondary ideas and expressing them with linguistic correctness.
  3. Properly using the specific vocabulary of History.
  4. Organising and planning the search of historical information.
  5. Using the characteristic computing resources of the field of History.
  6. Solving problems autonomously.
  7. Communicating in your mother tongue or other language both in oral and written form by using specific terminology and techniques of Historiography.
  8. Engaging in debates about historical facts respecting the other participants' opinions.
  9. Recognising diversity and multiculturalism.
  10. Analysing the main social and political movements of the 19th and 20th centuries.
  11. Reading and interpreting the historical documents produced in the contemporary era.
  12. Make a brief comparison of national and/or regional cases within the same international framework.
  13. Developing the ability of historical analysis and synthesis.
  14. Work in teams respecting all points of view. Use the specific vocabulary of history correctly.
  15. Present works in formats tailored to the needs and personal styles, both individual and small group.
  16. Using computing resources of the area of study of history.
  17. Identifying the social, economic and political structures of the contemporary world.
  18. Relate the labour market and economic activity.
  19. Analyse the mechanisms of the formation of salaries.
  20. Interpret the motivations, instruments and effects of public intervention in the labour market.
  21. Understand in economic terms, the problem of unemployment and its causes.
  22. Understand and explain situations of memory in conflict from the perspectives of class, gender and national identity.
  23. Understand the different perspectives of class, gender and national identity on which different relations between social, political and economic agents are based.
  24. Relating elements and factors involved in the development of historical processes.
  25. Assess work-related policies.
  26. Recognising the historical processes that led to the contemporary society.
  27. Deal sensitively with social questions
  28. Using the specific work methods of Contemporary History.
  29. Appropriately identifying and using information sources for the historical research, specially about contemporary political regimes.
  30. Critically summarise the different historiographical explanation for the rise of political regimes in the Contemporary Era.
  31. Manage and apply data to solve problems.

Contents

Introduction.


a) The Commune of 1871 as a mass movement.


b) From the general strike of 1902 to the \"tragic week\" of 1909 in Catalonia.


c)  The popular response to the military uprising of July 1936 in Spain.


d) Social changes in wartime Catalonia through the photography of Antoni Campañà (1936-39).


e) 1968 and newsocial movements.


f) Traumatic Social Change: The Dismantling of the Soviet Bloc in Eastern Europe (1991-2000).


g)  Studying the working class, social movements and class struggle today.


 

Learning activities and methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Tutoring sessions 15 0.6 1, 3, 4, 5, 9
Seminars and directed practices 10 0.4 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11
Personal study 30 1.2 3, 4, 6, 9, 10, 11
Theory classes 40 1.6 9, 10, 11
Reading of texts. Writing of papers. Preparation of presentations. Search of bibliographic information 45 1.8 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 9, 11

The teaching methodology will consist of the combination of master classes, where basic contents of the subject will be taught, and seminars based on previously offered information. Documentation for students will usually be available on Campus Virtual. Audiovisual media will also be a part of the class.

Annotation: within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Assessment

Continuous assessment activities

Title Weight Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Exam 50% 4 0.16 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11
Papers 50% (30% + 20%)% 6 0.24 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31

There will be only one exam at the end of the course, and it will have a 50% assessment in the grade for the course.

Two exercises will be requested during it. They will have a value in the final grade of 30 and 20% respectively. Cheating on the exam or plagiarism in the exercises will result in a zero in those grades. It will be established the necessary mechanisms to review the results of the exam and the exercises.

Very important warning

Students who have not done the exam and one of the two exercises will not be able to take the recovery synthesis test, thus they will be NON-EVALUABLE. Nor will it be possible to present to the recovery test those who has a final grade equal to or higher than 5.0. The recovery will deal with all the contents of the subject program. In the Degree in History, the maximum mark for this recovery test is 5.0 (Pass).

Each academic year, the student can adhere to the single assessment in some subjects and maintain the continuous assessment system in others. The student who adheres to the single evaluation waives the continuous evaluation. This resignation is made at the beginning of each semester's teaching, on the dates set by each center within the framework calendar established in the academic and administrative calendar of the UAB. To set these dates, it must be taken into account that it must be possible to request the change a few weeks after starting the teaching.

The student who requests the unique evaluation has the same rights as the rest of the students. This means that your grade cannot be limited, your right to go to class or to request tutoring cannot be prevented and your right to retake the subject cannot be limited. In the same way, he also has the duty to monitor the teaching under the same conditions that the teaching staff has established for the rest of the students and, therefore, the teaching staff must not elaborate

exclusive learning materials or activities for this profile.

You can opt for the single evaluation in the generic terms decided by the UAB. All assessment evidence must be handed in on the same day. You must have previously requested the possibility of this type of evaluation.

Other evaluation factors


-The student will receive the grade of “Not assessable” provided that he has not submitted more than 30% of the assessment activities.

-According to academic regulations, the final grade will be rounded to the nearest whole number when it is within one tenth of a value that entails a change to a higher qualitative grade (it will go from 4.9 to 5; from 6.9 to 7; and from 8.9 to 9).

-In the event that the student makes any irregularity that could lead to a significant variation in the grade of an assessment act, this assessment act will be graded 0, regardless of the disciplinary process that may be instructed. In the event that several irregularities occur in the assessment acts of the same subject, the final grade for this subject will be 0.

-In the written activities, spelling, syntactic or lexical errors are taken into account. The penalty may be between 0.1-0.2 points for each error committed on the final grade. Repeated errors may be deducted.

-The assessment activities will be scheduled throughout the academic year. The dates for taking the tests in the classroom and for submitting assignments and reviews will be communicated to the students sufficiently in advance. The teaching staff will establish a specific tutorial schedule to proceed with the comment on the assessment activities. The student will have the right to review the results of the tests taken. At the time of carrying out/delivering each assessment activity, the teaching staff will inform (Moodle, SIA) of the procedure and date for reviewing the grades.

-The programming of the evaluation tests cannot be modified, unless there is an exceptional and duly justified reason. In situations of chronic or acute proven illness, students have the right to a postponement up to the limit allowed by the academic calendar. In these cases, the request to change the date or time must be submitted with a minimum of seven days' notice, providing the corresponding supporting documents. When the cause is force majeure, the regulations allow the request to be submitted after the scheduled date of the test, as long as the supporting documents are provided within a maximum period of three working days. This case includes, for example, a birth or adoption, or the death of the partner or a relative up to the second degree. In the case of illness or other circumstances, the supporting documents must clearly prove that the student was not in a condition to take the test on the scheduled date and time. It is up to the faculty to take into consideration any circumstances outside those previously established.

- The same recovery system will be applied as for continuous assessment.

-The recovery will consist of a global exam of the subject, for both continuous assessment and single assessment students. It will take place on the date established by the Faculty.

-Those activities that the teacher considers not recoverable may be excluded from the recovery process, for example: oral presentations, group work or tasks related to daily teaching activity in the classroom.

-The UAB academic regulations do not limit the maximum grade that a student can obtain in recovery. If a teacher considers, for academic reasons, that it should be limited to 5, this guideline must be explicitly included in the Course Guide.

-In no case may recovery be considered as a mechanism to improve the grade of students who have already passed the subject in the normal evaluation process.

-In this subject, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies is not allowed in any of its phases. Any work that includes fragments generated with AI will be considered a lack of academic honesty and will result in the activity being evaluated with a 0 or not being able to be recovered or, even, in more serious measures.

-Erasmus/Exchange students who request to advance an exam must present the teacher with a written document from their home university justifying their request.



Bibliography

. Llibert Ferri, Memòria del fred. Cròniques d'una transició, Barcelona, Empúries, 2006.

. Plàcid Garcia-Planas, A. Gonzàlez i Vilalta. La capsa vermella. La Guerrra Civil fotografiada per Antoni Campañà, Barcelona, Comanegra, 2019.

. Jacques Rougeri, La Commune et les Communards, París, Folio, 2018

. Carolyne J. Eichner, Franchir les barricades. Les femmes dans la Commune de Paris, París, Ed. de la Sorbonne, 2020.

Software

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Course groups and languages

The information provided is provisional until November 30. After this date, you will be able to consult the language of each group through this link. To access the information, you will need to enter the course CODE

Type of teaching Group Language Semester Shift
(TE) Theory 1 Catalan second semester morning-mixed
(PAUL) Classroom practices 1 Catalan second semester morning-mixed