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HIS-20101 - Module Specification
School of Humanities
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

For academic year: 2022/23 Last Updated: 19 January 2023

HIS-20101 - Sources and Debates in History
Coordinator: Aristotle Kallis Tel: +44 1782 7 34145
Lecture Time: See Timetable...
Level: Level 5
Credits: 15
Study Hours: 150
School Office: 01782 733147

Programme/Approved Electives for 2022/23

None

Available as a Free Standing Elective

Yes

Co-requisites

None

Prerequisites

None

Barred Combinations

None

Description for 2022/23

Many people presume that the nature of the historian¿s work is self-evident ¿ to find out what happened in the past. The results of historical research, however, give rise to debates rather than truths.¿ This module ensures that everyone graduating in History at Keele has spent some time thinking about history conceptually and about the basis on which historians claim to know about the past. Lectures and workshops will introduce you to different types of and approaches to history whilst you will develop your own research in theme-based seminars. The module is designed as preparation for your final year dissertation; as such, towards the end of the module we will move from seminar-based group discussions to individual supervisions, as you will experience in your final year.

Aims
To enable students to develop their skills in handling historiographical issues and in source critique, and to give students the opportunity to develop and produce a personal research project prior to embarking on their level 6 ISP.

Intended Learning Outcomes

analyse debates historiographically: 1
evaluate varieties of source material available to the historian and the advantages and problems of using each: 1
develop the ability to read and use texts and other source materials, both critically and emphatically, while addressing questions of genre, content, perspective and purpose: 1
evaluate the place of heritage in contemporary understandings of the past: 1
evaluate differences of opinion between historians: 1
plan and undertake an independent piece of historical research: 1

Study hours

12 lectures, 12 seminars, 9 workshops, 3 individual supervisions; 20 hours seminar preparation, 84 hours essay preparation, 10 hours lecture consolidation

School Rules

None

Description of Module Assessment

1: Assignment weighted 100%
Single substantive assignment
EITHER an essay of c.4000 words, on a question devised by the student in consultation with their tutor, where the essay requires the students to demonstrate detailed knowledge of an historiographical or source-based issue, OR the composition and publication of a 1000-word post on a pre-existing Wordpress website demonstrating the student's ability to communicate historiographical or source-based research in a public-facing format (for which students will be given a pre-designed template, and no prior technical knowledge will be necessary) plus submission via Turnitin of the same published content plus a 3000-word reflective diary about the challenge of converting and abbreviating historical research for public engagement. Full support for this latter option will be offered by a combination of staff in History and in KIITE.

Please note that for the 2022/23 Academic Year programmes may be adapted to operate in accordance with a flexible, digital approach. This means that there may be some changes made to how modules are delivered and assessed. The latest information will be provided to you by your School in module handbooks. We endeavour to give you as much notice as possible of any changes and details about the circumstance in which changes are made to programmes can be found in the Student Agreement, available at: https://www.keele.ac.uk/student-terms-and-conditions/

Last Updated: 19 January 2023