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The Practice of History

Module description

This module is a major step in your development as a professional historian and preparing for your dissertation next year. It is a guided independent study, with the freedom to explore one of two pathways depending on your interests and future career ambitions. Students must choose either:

1. Libraries, archives and special collections, or;
2. Public understanding of the past

Every student is required to design and deliver – with the support of a supervisor – a project that stems from their historical and professional interests, the expertise of staff, and the availability of resources. You will practice the collection and application of a critical analysis to primary and secondary sources, and real-world historical practice to interrogate our knowledge of the past and its uses in the present.

Module aims - intentions of the module

This module is a guided independent study module, which aims to develop your transferable skills in self-motivated study, project management, communication, problem-solving, source analysis, archival skills, critical engagement with scholarly debates, and producing an excellent standard of final output. Unlike many core modules, students enrolled in The Practice of History will have the choice to follow one of two professional pathways:

1. Libraries, archives and special collections: This pathway models the work of a traditional historian and is centred around the dialogue between primary and secondary sources. Students following this pathway will have the opportunity to construct their own research project, beginning with the development of a specific research question. They will use a range of primary and secondary sources to produce a critically reflective research essay based on 4-5 primary sources. This option constitutes an individual project, which will be fully supported through frequent meetings with supervisors.
   
   
2. Public understanding of the past: In this pathway, students will be matched with a local cultural heritage organisation to research one of their key priorities for public engagement. Students will work with a range of sources and, under the guidance of the organisation and supervisor, will deliver a pre-determined output, which might include a museum exhibition, educational resource, short documentary, film consultation, podcast, discovery day, or research papers at conference, amongst others. This pathway has the potential for group work, with no more than three students per project. This project involves working with sponsors on pre-defined projects, which will require independent outputs for the sponsor that while not formally assessed are used as the basis for the assessments for this pathway.

It is important to note that both pathways will require students to participate in employability activities, specifically tailored for their cohort as part of this module.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

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

• 1. Design and write a project brief.
• 2. Identify and access a range of project-specific sources.
• 3. Critically analyse secondary sources and identify significant scholarly debates.
• 4. Reflect critically and strengthen independent research skills.

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

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

• 5. Competent use of archives, libraries, special collections, and electronic databases.
• 6. Capacity to analyse historical evidence.
• 7. Collate and critique data from a range of sources.

ILO: Personal and key skills

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

• 8. Self-discipline and time management.
• 9. Effective written communication.
• 10. The capacity to exercise initiative and demonstrate flexibility.

Syllabus plan

In the first half of this module, all students will follow the same skills-based and employability modules before specialising their research methods in Term 2. Students will be able to choose between two pathways which will allow for them to further enhance their experience during this module, in line with their career aspirations. Students in both cohorts will be assigned a supervisor, who will guide their independent study and offer support over the course of the module.

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)

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

• Ashton, Paul and Hilda Kean (eds), People and their Pasts (Palgrave, 2009)
• Brundage, Antony, Going to the Sources: A Guide to Historical Research and Writing (Wiley, 2017)
• Cohen, Daniel J. and Roy Rosenzweig, Digital History: a guide to gathering, preserving, and presenting the past on the Web (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2006)
• Corsane, Gerard (ed.), Heritage, Museums and Galleries (Routledge, 2005)
• Dobson, Miriam and Benjamin Ziemann (eds), Reading primary sources: the interpretation of texts from nineteenth- and twentieth-century history (London, 2008)
• Donnelly, Mark and Claire Norton, Doing History (Routledge, 2020)
• Gunn, Simon and Lucy Faire, Research Methods for History (Edinburgh University Press, 2016)
• Hare, Laurence, Jack Wells and Bruce E. Baker, Essential Skills for Historians: A Practical Guide to Researching the Past (Bloomsbury, 2019)
• Jordanova, Ludmilla, History in Practice (Bloomsbury, 2017)
• Loughran, Tracey (ed.), A Practical Guide to Studying History (Bloomsbury, 2017)
• Pearce, Susan M. (ed.), Interpreting Objects and Collections (Routledge, 1994)
• Williams, Robert C., The Historian’s Toolbox: A Student’s Guide to the Theory and Craft of History (Routledge, 2024)
• Woodward, Ian, Understanding Material Culture (Sage, 2007)
• Yow, Valerie, Recording Oral History: A Guide for the Humanities and Social Sciences, 2nd ed (Altamira Press, 2005)

Key words search

Research; methodology; theory; archives; primary sources; secondary sources; debate; public history; history; literature; politics; geography