| Unit name | Rethinking History |
|---|---|
| Unit code | HIST23101 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | I/5 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Dr. Reeks |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
N/A |
| School/department | Department of History (Historical Studies) |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
Why is this unit important?
Rethinking History is a unit about the history of the discipline of History. While it promises to be one of the most challenging units in your degree, it will also be one of the most rewarding and important. It will train you to think and write 'historiographically': to understand the history of the academic discipline of History, and to analyse how and why historians take differing approaches to the study of the past. This is a unit where we focus on the skills of writing history as well as thinking about it.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study?
You will be able to apply the skills and lessons you pick up in Rethinking History to all your other History units, right down to your capstone dissertation. This unit will train you to put historians and their histories into their proper historical contexts – just as Approaching the Past trained you with primary sources in Year 1. This will enable you to address historiography properly in all the rest of your work.
An overview of content
This course is called ‘Rethinking History’ because we want you to rethink your understanding of the discipline of History. We want you to develop a greater awareness of how and why historians are constantly rethinking the past. We want you to reflect on how and why historians’ interpretations of the past are constantly changing, but also how and why their approaches to it have changed, and continue to change, over time. What questions do historians ask about the past, and what concepts and methods do they use to do so? What influences these things? It is, essentially, a course in historiography. This is not a dirty word. A unit on historiography requires you to explore the types of questions you explore in all other units: how and why do things change over time? What are the main causes of change, or of continuity? Who are the key individuals and groups driving change? It is just that in this unit we are not asking these questions of twentieth century China, or Reformation Europe, but rather of the discipline of History itself.
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit?
You will finish the unit with a broad understanding of how the discipline of History has changed in the last two centuries. You will be able to think not just historically, but historiographically, situating secondary readings in their social and intellectual contexts. You will be able to put historians into conversation with one another and with other disciplines.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of the unit, students will be able to:
Classes will involve a combination of lectures, writing workshops, debates, and small-group seminar discussion, as well as weekly writing exercises. Students will be expected to engage with readings and participate on a weekly basis. This will be further supported with drop-in sessions.
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
Critical Commentary, 1500 words (50%) [ILOs 1-4].
Exam, 1 hour (50%) [ILOs 1-5].
The assessment on this unit is designed to mirror the two main aspects of historiographical analysis. The first, reflected in the coursework assessment, is to take a particular example of historical writing and to locate it within its proper historiographical, methodological, or theoretical contexts. The second, reflected in the examination, is to ‘zoom out’ and identify the main trends, moods, and debates as they have developed across time.
When assessment does not go to plan:
When required by the Board of Examiners, you will normally complete reassessments in the same formats as those outlined above. However, the Board reserves the right to modify the format or number of reassessments required. Details of reassessments are confirmed by the School/Centre shortly after the notification of your results at the end of the academic year.
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. HIST23101).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The assessment methods listed in this unit specification are designed to enable students to demonstrate the named learning outcomes (LOs). Where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, schools will make reasonable adjustments to support a student to demonstrate the LO by an alternative method or with additional resources.
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
