Module overview
This core module provides students with an opportunity to engage with a variety of methodologies and themes at MA level, including those they may be less familiar with, such as oral history and the history of memory, and cultural history and the history of emotions. Focussing particularly on areas of study which have seen recent growth and innovation, such as gender history and masculinity, this module also considers how historians can draw upon and interact with methodologies and theories from other disciplines such as anthropology, sociology, psychology, and political science. Sessions will involve studying themes over broad time periods, offering students the opportunity to focus on more conceptual historical approaches.
Aims and Objectives
Learning Outcomes
Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- undertake a thorough critical analysis and assessment of a variety of textual, visual and material culture sources.
- apply your developed knowledge of critical approaches to history, structuring your ideas and research findings into well-ordered written assignments.
- engage with historiography and theoretical frameworks, contributing to the debates relating to historical themes and methodologies and their relationship to the wider world.
Transferable and Generic Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- use to good effect textual, visual and material culture sources, synthesising this material to develop cogent and persuasive arguments.
- research complex historical questions and communicate your findings convincingly and concisely in written assignments.
- utilise and develop your time-management skills.
Knowledge and Understanding
Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:
- a wide variety of primary sources relating to various historical themes and methodologies.
- a wide variety of secondary source material relating to various historical themes and methodologies, including theoretical frameworks used in the field.
- the way in which various themes in history are conceived by historians and the different approaches and methodologies taken by historians.
Syllabus
Themes to be explored on the module may include gender history, the history of Emotions, and oral history and memory.
Learning and Teaching
Teaching and learning methods
Teaching methods include seminars.
Learning methods include close analysis of a range of primary sources and discussion of key themes and ideas.
| Type | Hours |
|---|---|
| Preparation for scheduled sessions | 100 |
| Completion of assessment task | 100 |
| Wider reading or practice | 52 |
| Seminar | 48 |
| Total study time | 300 |
Resources & Reading list
Textbooks
Cubitt, Geoff (2007). History and Memory. Manchester: Manchester University Press.
Burke, Peter (2004). What is Cultural History?. Cambridge: CUP.
Ritchie, Donald (ed.) (2011). The Oxford Handbook of Oral History. Oxford: OUP.
Plamper, Jan (2015). History of Emotions: An Introduction. Oxford: OUP.
Downs, Laura L. (2004). Writing Gender History. London: Bloomsbury Publishing.
Assessment
Summative
This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.
| Method | Percentage contribution |
|---|---|
| Critical review | 20% |
| Written assignment | 80% |
Referral
This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.
| Method | Percentage contribution |
|---|---|
| Resubmit assessments | 100% |
Repeat
An internal repeat is where you take all of your modules again, including any you passed. An external repeat is where you only re-take the modules you failed.
| Method | Percentage contribution |
|---|---|
| Critical review | 20% |
| Written assignment | 80% |
Repeat Information
Repeat type: Internal & External