HIS1105 : What is History For?
- Offered for Year: 2024/25
- Module Leader(s): Dr Lauren Darwin
- Lecturer: Dr Aidan Collins, Dr Joseph Lawson, Dr Luc Racaut, Dr Darakhshan Khan, Dr Laura Tisdall
- Teaching Assistant: Ms Kyra Helberg, Dr Emily Price, Ms Bunny Waring
- Owning School: History, Classics and Archaeology
- Teaching Location: Newcastle City Campus
Semesters
Your programme is made up of credits, the total differs on programme to programme.
| Semester 1 Credit Value: | 20 |
| ECTS Credits: | 10.0 |
| European Credit Transfer System | |
Aims
This module has four aims:
1) to introduce students to the development of History as an academic discipline and different types of History (political,
global, social, cultural, gender, post-colonial, and so on);
2) to compare and contrast different approaches to, and uses of, historical writing in different periods and regions;
3) in doing so, to make them consider the role of power-relations and cultural context in shaping the types of historical
knowledge produced by a given culture;
4) and to challenge students to engage with on-going methodological problems and debates in the discipline.
Outline Of Syllabus
Topics covered may include:
- Does History produce Truth?.
- “History” & “the Past”: What’s the Difference?
- History & the Middle Ages
- History in the Renaissance and Enlightenment
- 19th Century History: Professionalization, Positivism and Colonialism?
- The Whig view of History.
- History, the nation state, and patriotism.
- History & Civilization
- Peoples' History: History from Below.
- Marxism & History.
- Gender in History: From Her Story to beyond the binary.
- Cultural History: Mentalities, Beliefs & Attitudes
- History & Race
- Post-colonialism & History.
Teaching Methods
Teaching Activities
| Category | Activity | Number | Length | Student Hours | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Lecture | 18 | 1:00 | 18:00 | N/A |
| Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 65 | 1:00 | 65:00 | To complete 3 assessments |
| Guided Independent Study | Directed research and reading | 11 | 3:00 | 33:00 | 3 hours reading per week. |
| Structured Guided Learning | Structured research and reading activities | 9 | 2:00 | 18:00 | Two hours preparation task for the weekly seminar |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Small group teaching | 10 | 1:00 | 10:00 | 1 seminar per week (except first week) |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Drop-in/surgery | 3 | 1:00 | 3:00 | Drop-in surgery hours to discuss module and assessment content |
| Guided Independent Study | Independent study | 51 | 1:00 | 51:00 | Independent Study |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Module talk | 1 | 2:00 | 2:00 | Introduction to the module |
| Total | 200:00 |
Teaching Rationale And Relationship
The MODULE TALK will provide students with key information about the module (aim of the module, themes, assessments etc.)
LECTURES impart core knowledge and an outline of knowledge that students are expected to acquire and they stimulate development of listening and note-taking skills. They explain historical concepts and set out historical debates and problems. They introduce a range of source material and set out and help to evaluate its historical context and worth. Listening and note taking are practiced in lectures. The lectures for 2024-25 will develop these same skills. In the event that on-campus sessions need to be reduced, there is the capacity to present recorded materials asynchronously and retain timetabled slots for live discussion of these materials
SEMINARS encourage independent study and promote improvements in oral presentation, interpersonal communication, problem-solving skills and adaptability. The seminars on this module will be focused, helping stage 1 students to work through key texts, they will complement and develop skills in critical reading, note taking, analysis, and argument which students have developed.
DROP-INS will give students the opportunity to ask any questions they have about the module content and/or upcoming assessments.
Assessment Methods
The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners
Other Assessment
| Description | Semester | When Set | Percentage | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portfolio | 1 | M | 60 | Portfolio of article summaries- 2,500 words |
| Oral Presentation | 1 | A | 40 | Students will deliver individual presentations of 5-7 minutes in length. |
Formative Assessments
Formative Assessment is an assessment which develops your skills in being assessed, allows for you to receive feedback, and prepares you for being assessed. However, it does not count to your final mark.
| Description | Semester | When Set | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Written exercise | 1 | M | 1 x 500 word draft article summary |
Assessment Rationale And Relationship
All of the assessments for this module will be submitted and marked online.
There is a formative assessment on this module. It is a 500 word written draft summary of an article. Students will receive feedback on their draft summary which can be edited and used in their portfolio of writing.
Assessment is intended to develop two core skills in History students – written and oral analysis and persuasion – at Stage 1. The portfolio of writing will test student’s abilities in critical reading and analysis: they will produce short summaries and criticisms of key works in historiography over the course of the semester. This ensures that assessment covers the range of the entire module. The presentation tests student’s abilities to a) present and critique complex material in a concise manner and b) to construct persuasive arguments.
Study-abroad, non-Erasmus exchange and Loyola students spending semester 1 only are required to finish their assessment while in Newcastle. Where an exam is present, an alternative form of assessment will be set and where coursework is present, an alternative deadline will be set. Details of the alternative assessment will be provided by the module leader.
Reading Lists
Timetable
- Timetable Website: www.ncl.ac.uk/timetable/
- HIS1105's Timetable