| Unit name | Histories of Britain |
|---|---|
| Unit code | AFAC10021 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | C/4 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| 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 | |
| School/department | Arts Faculty Office |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
Why is this unit important?
Come and join the experts from the Department of History for an adventure through the British past! This unit has been designed for non-historians regardless of whether they have ever studied History before. It will showcase the most exciting and impactful stories from British history, as well as introduce you to less familiar angles and perspectives. It will invite you to reflect on their significance, while building awareness of the value of historical perspective in the present day. Please note: this unit is not available to students enrolled on single- and joint-honours History programmes, since it has been designed to be suitable for people with no prior disciplinary experience.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study
Historians are great communicators, whether that’s inside the academy or beyond. Through the enjoyable and unique assessment, this unit will equip students with skills in effective written communication, building an appreciation for audience, which they can take with them and apply to the rest of their studies. This unit is designed for anyone with an interest in history who wants to build their skills in effective written communication.
An overview of content
From the Battle of Hastings to the Battle of Britain, the Glorious Revolution to the sexual revolution, British history is full of gripping tales. The unit will introduce you to famous moments like the murder of the Princes in the Tower, the signing of Magna Carta, the scramble for empire, and the darkest hours of the World Wars. But it will also invite you to question and probe the familiar narratives, to look at things through the eyes of different people, and to see things from new perspectives. What were things like for ordinary people in medieval and early modern Britain? How did empire look from the perspective of the colonised? How has modern Britain faced up to the challenge of such rapid social, cultural and technological change? From its old medieval walls to the Georgian villas of slave traders, the engineering feats of Brunel to our university’s own estates, there’s no better place to study the many histories of Britain than Bristol, a city where the present is continually shaped and reshaped by the past.
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit
In this unit, you will develop some of the core transferrable competencies of the historian: evidence-based analysis; reasoned argument; effective and efficient written communication. You will also come to recognise the importance of being able to craft a compelling narrative and the value of historical perspective, both of which you can bring to bear on your other studies.
Learning outcomes
On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:
Classes will involve a combination of lectures and small-group seminar discussion. Students will be expected to engage with readings and participate on a weekly basis. This will be further supported with drop-in sessions.
Summative assessment has been designed to support your progression, since feedback on your first assignment will be directly transferrable to your second. Core readings for teaching activities will draw extensively from the magazine named for the summative tasks, which will expose you to the style and format of that publication. This will be consolidated during small-group seminar discussions about those readings. You will also have access to seminar tutors and lecturers during their weekly consultation hours.
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
Mock magazine article 1, 1,000 words (33%) [ILOs 1-4].
Mock magazine article 2, 1,500 words (67%) [ILOs 1-4].
The assessment on this unit is designed to be both fun and challenging, whilst developing key competences in written communication applicable to a wide range of academic and non-academic scenarios. You will produce two article-style pieces of writing on any aspect of British history, written as though writing for a named ‘crossover’ history magazine (i.e. one read by historians and the general public). This will challenge you to combine authoritative and scholarly ideas with accessible and impactful prose, a key skill for historians and non-historians alike.
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. AFAC10021).
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.
