• Home
• Study
• Study Information
• Modules
• Module Information

Becoming a Historian: Extended

Module description

Building on the skills you have developed in Becoming a Historian (core), this module provides you with the opportunity to extend that learning further.  You will consider further the approaches and ideas that historians use to study the past.  You will have the chance to research in more detail topics that particularly interest you, and apply your skills to them, building, via independent project work, the research and critical thinking abilities that you will need in the subsequent years of your degree.  By the end of the module, you will be able to reflect upon the ways in which the skills you will develop throughout your degree will be useful to you in the workplace beyond university, and upon the ways in which history can be practised, presented, and communicated.

Module aims - intentions of the module

How do people write history?  Why does history matter?  How do approaches vary, and what questions can historians ask? This module explores key concepts discussed in the study of history across many periods, such power, gender, “race” /ethnicity, wealth, religion, and social status. It will thus introduce you to the working practices and interests of academic staff in the Department, and to the variety of possible approaches to history that you can explore in the rest of your degree programme.  It will also allow you to consider why history is relevant today, and how key concepts in the study of history relate to ongoing social, cultural, and political issues.

 This module aims to:

• explore a variety of approaches to history
• investigate some of the overarching issues encountered, and concepts used, by historians.
• encourage you to make comparisons across time and space
• develop your understanding of the relationship between history, and the present

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Present work in the format expected of historians, with accurate footnoting and bibliographic reference
• 2. Be aware of some of the recurring themes of history
• 3. Recognise the variety of approaches taken to historical study
• 4. Describe at a basic level some of the philosophical problems confronting historians i.e. the difficulties of total objectivity, the value of debate

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 5. Comprehend how to undertake the accurate referencing of sources in written work
• 6. Draw thematic comparisons between material from different sources
• 7. Demonstrate an awareness of contrasting approaches to research, an understanding of the difference between qualitative and quantitative data, and an awareness of some of the basic philosophical questions arising from the study of history

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 8. Demonstrate critical skills and communications skills (written and oral)
• 9. Work both independently and in a group, to compile, present, and discuss material
• 10. Digest, select, and organise material to produce, to a deadline, a coherent and cogent argument developed through the mode of assessment

Syllabus plan

While the content may vary from year to year, it is expected that it will cover some or all of the following topics: 

• Power
• Identity
• Gender
• “Race"/ethnicity
• Religion
• Wealth
• Archives
• Periodisation

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Re-assessment notes

An individual presentation (recorded) replaces the group presentation, representing an individual’s contribution to the original piece of group work.

Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment. 

Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be required to submit a further assessment as necessary. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 40%. 

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

• Carr, Helen and Lipscomb, Suzannah, (eds.), What is History Now? (London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson 2021)
• Claus, Peter, and John Marriott, History: An Introduction to Theory, Method and Practice (Harlow: Pearson Education, 2012). 
• Jordanova, Ludmilla, History in Practice, 2^nd ed. (London: Hodder Arnold, 2006). 
• Rublack, Ulinka, ed., A Concise Companion to History (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011). 
• Tosh, John, The Pursuit of History: Aims, Methods and New Directions of Modern History (Harlow: Pearson Education, 2006).

Key words search

Historiography, Skills, Research, Approaches, Concepts