HR211-5-AU-CO:
Approaches to History
PLEASE NOTE: This module is inactive. Visit the Module Directory to view modules and variants offered during the current academic year.
2023/24
Philosophical, Historical and Interdisciplinary Studies (School of)
Colchester Campus
Autumn
Undergraduate: Level 5
Inactive
Thursday 05 October 2023
Friday 15 December 2023
15
31 March 2021
Requisites for this module
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AAs historians, we recognise that history exists only in the present and in our heads; it is actively constructed and not simply rediscovered in the records of the past.
Historical research involves a process of selection and interpretation, whereby historians examine the records of the past in order to construct an interpretation which they believe to represent the past in a meaningful way.
In this process there is an active exchange between theory and evidence: historians don't simply research facts about the past, they build theories test them using the sources available.
The introductory lecture surveys the 'History of history' and the way in which history is inevitably subjective, and therefore constantly changes.
Each subsequent lecture will be delivered by a different historian. They will introduce you either to an important historical concept that has shaped historical writing, such as gender or Marxism, or a particular historian or group of historians who have had a profound impact upon the way in which history is written.
In every case the focus is on the way in which history has been constructed in different contexts and with different theoretical approaches. Each lecture will offer you readings and documents to reflect upon both in seminars and in your written assessments.
The purpose of this module is to encourage you to think about the many and diverse ways in which historians approach the writing of history. You may at first find the module unusual, but it will illuminate everything you study in History.
This is a compulsory module for all second-year students taking BA History degrees.
1. Demonstrate the inherent subjectivity of history as a means of understanding the past
2. Chart the development of the historical discipline and its methods over the past 150 years
3. Explore the diversity of methodological and theoretical approaches that are found in historical writing
4. Encourage the development of academic reading skills to enable students to analyse historical writing
Students completing this module will be able to:
1. Understand the importance of theoretical and methodological approaches to the writing of history.
2. Understand the development of different approaches to the writing of history over time.
3. Read academic writing in a more sophisticated way to identify argument, rather than just facts or details
4. Identify methods, approaches, and influences when reading works of history.
For introductory reading, see:
Arnold, John H., History: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000).
Burrow, John. A History of Histories: Epics, Chronicles, Romances and Inquiries from Herodotus and Thucydides to the Twentieth Century. (Penguin, 2009).
Carr, E. H., What Is History? (London: Penguin, 1990).
Loughran, Tracey, ed., A Practical Guide to Studying History: Skills and Approaches (London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2017).
This module does not appear to have a published bibliography for this year.
Assessment items, weightings and deadlines
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Additional coursework information
Anticipated coursework assessment for 2021/22:
Three (out of seven) 400-word journal entries (60%); and a 1500-word critical analysis of a secondary source (40%).
Exam format definitions
- Remote, open book: Your exam will take place remotely via an online learning platform. You may refer to any physical or electronic materials during the exam.
- In-person, open book: Your exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer to any physical materials such as paper study notes or a textbook during the exam. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, open book (restricted): The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer only to specific physical materials such as a named textbook during the exam. Permitted materials will be specified by your department. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, closed book: The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may not refer to any physical materials or electronic devices during the exam. There may be times when a paper dictionary,
for example, may be permitted in an otherwise closed book exam. Any exceptions will be specified by your department.
Your department will provide further guidance before your exams.
Overall assessment
Reassessment
Module supervisor and teaching staff
Dr Justin Colson, email: jcolson@essex.ac.uk.
Belinda Waterman, Department of History, 01206 872313
No
No
No
Dr Mark Williams
Cardiff University
Senior Lecturer in Early Modern History
Available via Moodle
Of 56 hours, 56 (100%) hours available to students:
0 hours not recorded due to service coverage or fault;
0 hours not recorded due to opt-out by lecturer(s).
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