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. Hailwood |
Open unit status | Not open |
Pre-requisites |
None |
Co-requisites |
None |
School/department | Department of History (Historical Studies) |
Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
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.
Upon successful completion of the unit, students will be able to:
Classes will involve a combination of long- and short-form lectures, class discussion, investigative activities, and practical activities. Students will be expected to engage with readings and participate on a weekly basis. This will be further supported with drop-in sessions and self-directed exercises with tutor and peer feedback.
1 x 3000-word Portfolio (100%) [ILOs 1-6]
John Arnold, History: A Very Short Introduction (2000)
Anna Green and Kathleen Troup, The Houses of History (1999)
Jo Guldi and David Armitage, The History Manifesto (2014, online open access)
David Cannadine (ed.), What is History Now? (2002)
IHR 'Making History' webpages (www.history.ac.uk/makinghistory)