HIS-10034 - Module Specification
School of Humanities
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

Programme/Approved Electives for 2021/22

Available as a Free Standing Elective

Co-requisites

None

Prerequisites

None

Barred Combinations

None

Description for 2021/22

History is often written around extraordinary events, but the key to understanding them lies in everyday lives, from the banal to the bizarre. This module will introduce you to some of the methods and perspectives historians use to study the everyday in the past, and along the way, you will learn to question and challenge what other historians have written. We will consider four sets of paired topics, in each case one 'extraordinary' and one 'everyday'. Examples you might encounter include 'daily bread' paired with 'famine', 'walking' paired with 'forced migration', and 'domestic service' paired with 'the hero'. The module is not bound by chronological periods but draws examples from a range of different histories, from medieval to modern periods.
This is a seminar-centred module in which students will undertake key readings each week in preparation for detailed analysis and discussion within the class. It is as much about how historians engage with the challenges of writing about the extraordinary and the everyday, as identifying what they have found out, the arguments they make and the conclusions they draw.

To introduce students to new topics of historical inquiry and the different approaches taken by historians when challenged by the vastness of extraordinary events and the minutiae and banality of the everyday.

Intended Learning Outcomes

compare and contrast the approaches taken by historians to past examples of 'the extraordinary' and 'the everyday': 1,2,3
structure a relevant argument supported by appropriate historical evidence: 1,2,3
use appropriate citations and bibliographic conventions: 1,2,3
contribute effectively to small group and seminar discussions: 1,2,3
make comparisons and draw contrasts across chronological periods: 1,2,3
read closely and critically in order to identify the key arguments of specific historians: 1,2,3

Study hours

12 x 2-hour seminars, 12 x 1-hour workshops, 40 seminar preparation, 24 research and write reflective diary, 10 research and write essay plan, 40 research and write essay.

School Rules

None

Description of Module Assessment