Critical Histories

Module overview

This core module provides students with an opportunity to engage with a variety of methodologies and themes at MA level, including those they may be less familiar with, such as oral history and the history of memory, and cultural history and the history of emotions. Focussing particularly on areas of study which have seen recent growth and innovation, such as gender history and masculinity, this module also considers how historians can draw upon and interact with methodologies and theories from other disciplines such as anthropology, sociology, psychology, and political science. Sessions will involve studying themes over broad time periods, offering students the opportunity to focus on more conceptual historical approaches.

Aims and Objectives

Learning Outcomes

Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

apply your developed knowledge of critical approaches to history, structuring your ideas and research findings into well-ordered written assignments.
engage with historiography and theoretical frameworks, contributing to the debates relating to historical themes and methodologies and their relationship to the wider world.
undertake a thorough critical analysis and assessment of a variety of textual, visual and material culture sources.

Transferable and Generic Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

use to good effect textual, visual and material culture sources, synthesising this material to develop cogent and persuasive arguments.
research complex historical questions and communicate your findings convincingly and concisely in written assignments.
utilise and develop your time-management skills.

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

the way in which various themes in history are conceived by historians and the different approaches and methodologies taken by historians.
a wide variety of primary sources relating to various historical themes and methodologies.
a wide variety of secondary source material relating to various historical themes and methodologies, including theoretical frameworks used in the field.

Learning and Teaching

Teaching and learning methods

Teaching methods include seminars.

Learning methods include close analysis of a range of primary sources and discussion of key themes and ideas.

Study time
Type	Hours
Seminar	48
Wider reading or practice	52
Preparation for scheduled sessions	100
Completion of assessment task	100
Total study time	300

Resources & Reading list

Textbooks

Burke, Peter (2004). What is Cultural History?. Cambridge: CUP.

Plamper, Jan (2015). History of Emotions: An Introduction. Oxford: OUP.

Ritchie, Donald (ed.) (2011). The Oxford Handbook of Oral History. Oxford: OUP.

Cubitt, Geoff (2007). History and Memory. Manchester: Manchester University Press.

Downs, Laura L. (2004). Writing Gender History. London: Bloomsbury Publishing.

Assessment

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.

Breakdown
Method	Percentage contribution
Critical review	20%
Written assignment	80%

Referral

This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.

Breakdown
Method	Percentage contribution
Resubmit assessments	100%

Repeat

An internal repeat is where you take all of your modules again, including any you passed. An external repeat is where you only re-take the modules you failed.

Breakdown
Method	Percentage contribution
Critical review	20%
Written assignment	80%

Repeat Information

Repeat type: Internal & External