Course code

AIG6304.HT

old course code

Course title in Estonian

20. sajandi ajalugu

Course title in English

History of the 20th Century

ECTS credits

6.0

Assessment form

Examination

lecturer of 2026/2027 Autumn semester

Not opened for teaching. Click the study programme link below to see the nominal division schedule.

lecturer of 2026/2027 Spring semester

Not opened for teaching. Click the study programme link below to see the nominal division schedule.

Brief description of the course

The course examines developments in politics, technology, culture, intellectual life and everyday life that shaped the twentieth century. The century was characterised by the triumph of popular sovereignty and the spread of the modern nation state, democracy and the welfare state, but also by world wars and unprecedented political violence. We ask how “the people” and “power” were defined in different ways and how socialism, fascism, liberal democracy and other modernist ideologies sought to realise these conceptions. We examine the embodiment of ideologies and cultural imaginaries in institutions and everyday life, as well as the genealogy and changing meanings of key concepts such as revolution, empire, nation state, internationalism, democracy, welfare state and decolonisation. Students analyse scholarly texts and different types of contemporary primary sources, discussing their explanatory possibilities and limitations. The course combines interactive lectures and seminars and requires students to engage with and discuss texts or other source materials in each session. Workshops develop effective strategies for reading academic articles and writing scholarly book reviews.

Learning outcomes in the course

Upon completing the course the student:
- historicises and contextualises the key concepts and developments of twentieth-century history and participates in relevant discussions in an ethical and culturally sensitive manner;
- understands the principal trends and debates in general historiography of the twentieth century, particularly those concerning global developments such as nationalism, mass society, mass violence, individualisation, informalisation, the information age, environmental awareness and major transitions;
- analyses different types of primary historical sources and understands their possibilities, limitations and distinctive characteristics;
- is familiar with different genres of historical writing—including monographs, journal articles, book chapters, encyclopaedia entries, dissertations, university textbooks and book reviews—and distinguishes between academic and non-academic texts;
- analyses the constituent elements of an academic article, discusses it and gives a short presentation supported by slides;
- critically analyses secondary literature and writes an academic book review, identifying the work’s thesis and adopting a critically informed scholarly position towards it.

Teacher

Kristo Nurmis

Study programmes containing that course

History (HTAJB/27.HT)
Philosophy, Politics and Economics (HFPMB/26.HT)
History (AIAJB/26.HT)
History (AIAJB/25.HT)
History (AIAJB/24.HT)
History (AIAJB/23.HT)
History (AIAJB/22.HT)
History (AIAJB/21.HT)
Primary School Teacher (KAKLI/00.HR)
History (AIAJB/20.HT)
Primary School Teacher (KAKLI/18.HR)
History (AIAJB/19.HT)
Primary School Teacher (KAKLI/16.HR)
Liberal Arts in Humanities (KKLHB/18.HT)
History (AIAJB/18.HT)
History (AIAJB/17.HT)
Liberal Arts in Humanities (KKLHB/17.HT)
History (AIAJB/16.HT)
History (AIAJB/00.HT)