Effecting Change 1: Policy and Advocacy

Module overview

These modules will focus upon the development of highly transferable practical skills relevant to specific sectors through which change can be affected. In this module we will explore the ways in which history and the humanities can be leveraged to effect change through the policy sector (e.g. civil service, local govt., consultancy, risk analysis) and public advocacy (e.g. charities, think tanks, public campaigning). The module’s Communication Workshops will train participants in the production of two specific outputs: concise policy briefs aimed at policy makers, and compelling opinion pieces intended for the general public. Digital Humanities Workshops will develop skills in data analysis and data visualisation to enhance the impact of these outputs.

Aims and Objectives

Learning Outcomes

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 assignments.
utilise and develop your time-management skills.

Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

engage with historiography and theoretical frameworks, contributing to the debates relating to effecting change through policy and advocacy and its relationship to the wider world.
apply your developed knowledge, structuring your ideas and research findings into well-ordered assignments.
undertake a thorough critical analysis and assessment of a variety of textual, visual and material culture sources.

Knowledge and Understanding

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

effecting change through policy and advocacy, in particular the ways in which history and the humanities can be leveraged to effect change.
a wide variety of secondary source material relating to effecting change through policy and advocacy, including theoretical frameworks used in the field.
a wide variety of primary sources relating to effecting change through policy and advocacy.

Learning and Teaching

Teaching and learning methods

Teaching methods include seminars and workshops. Learning methods include skills-based workshops and discussion of key themes and ideas.

Study time
Type	Hours
Wider reading or practice	52
Seminar	24
Completion of assessment task	100
Workshops	24
Preparation for scheduled sessions	100
Total study time	300

Resources & Reading list

Textbooks

Catherine Smith (2018). Writing Public Policy: A Practical Guide to Communicating in the Policy Making Process. OUP.

Jill Abramson (2020). Merchants of Truth: Inside the News Revolution. Bodley Head.

Jonathan Schwabish (2021). Better Data Visualizations: A Guide for Scholars, Researchers, and Wonks. Columbia UP.

Alix Green (2016). History, Policy and Public Purpose: Historians and Historical Thinking in Government. Palgrave.

Assessment

Summative

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

Breakdown
Method	Percentage contribution
Written assignment	50%
Written assignment	50%

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
Written assignment	50%
Written assignment	50%

Repeat Information

Repeat type: Internal & External