HST202: Historians and History

20 credits (semester 1)

Module Leader: TBC

Lecture Team: TBC

Pre-requisites

Pass in at least two of the Level One modules offered by the Department of History.

Module Summary

This module introduces students to some of the most influential and significant developments which have shaped the ways in which historians think about and write about the past. Since History became professionalised as a specific academic discipline in the nineteenth century, historians have adopted a variety of different approaches to their studies. For some, ideas about the past have been shaped by political beliefs, by the application of political ideologies and philosophies, and by the desire to produce a more inclusive version of history, focusing on the experience of the working classes, women, and groups marginalised in established accounts. Others have been influenced by different methods of research, and the opportunities offered by particular types of source material to tell different stories about the past. Others still have been inspired by intellectual theories and by borrowings from other disciplines, like literary studies and anthropology, to explore new ways of thinking about history. The module allows students to think more about the different ways in which we can study History, and to engage with the work of a number of historians whose influence can still be felt today.

It aims to equip students with the necessary background to develop a more critical approach to the secondary literature which they encounter throughout their degree course and to build bridges between the various modules they are studying at levels 2 and 3.

Teaching

The module is taught through weekly lectures and seminars. The lectures provide an overview of some of the most important themes, supported by discussion of set readings in the seminar groups. In the second half of the semester, students will focus on a particular strand, allowing for more detailed engagement with a topic.

The general topics covered in the module include: an introduction to modern historiography, professionalisation, social scientific approaches, the Annales school of historians, the influence of Marxism, women's history and the study of gender, cultural history, narrative, and the impact of postmodernism.

Seminars strands in the second half of the module will cover topics including history and anthropology, oral history, studying material culture, microhistory, postcolonialism, and narrative.

Assessment

This module is assessed through two pieces of coursework.

Assessment 1

A 'comparative commentary' of 2,000 words in length (including footnotes, but excluding the bibliography) and accounts for 33% of the mark for the module. Detailed guidelines will be available on MOLE from the beginning of the semester. It should be submitted by TBC. This work is for formative assessment, and will be returned to students by their seminar tutors for feedback. A cover sheet for this assessment is provided on MOLE. This should be printed out and completed with your name, the date of submission and the name of your seminar tutor. It should then be attached to the front of your commentary before submission.

It is paramount that you hand-in your essay to the basket in person located on the ground floor in Jessop West.

Assessment 2

Deadline: TBC

Word limit: 3,000 words (including footnotes, not including bibliography)

This essay accounts for 67% of the mark for the module.

Format: Word-processed, with footnotes and bibliography, the separate sheets of paper stapled together. You only need one copy. A cover sheet for this assessment is provided on MOLE this should be printed out and completed with your registration number, the date of submission, the name of your seminar tutor and the essay title. It should then be attached to the front of your essay before submission. Your feedback will be returned to you (via your seminar tutor or the course coordinator) in the second semester so that you can benefit from the comments of the marker.

Extensions: Any work submitted after the deadline will attract penalties according to the usual tariff, unless there are extenuating circumstances. If you have problems meeting the deadline, you should contact the Level 2 tutor, in advance. You will need to present your case in writing by email with an outline of the reasons for your problems in meeting the original deadline. Please note that neither the course coordinator nor your seminar tutor is in a position to agree extensions – and nor is your Personal Tutor.

Both assessments must also be submitted electronically to the anti-plagiarism site, Turnitin, by the set deadline.