HST202 (Core Module)

HST202: Historians and History

20 credits (Semester 1)

Module Leader: Andrew Heath (2024-25)

Module Summary

This module introduces students to some of the most influential and significant developments which have shaped the ways in which historians think about and write about the past. Since History became professionalised as a specific academic discipline in the nineteenth century, historians have adopted a variety of different approaches to their studies. For some, ideas about the past have been shaped by political beliefs, by the application of political ideologies and philosophies, and by the desire to produce a more inclusive version of history, focusing on the experience of the working classes, women, and groups marginalised in established accounts. Others have been influenced by different methods of research, and the opportunities offered by particular types of source material to tell different stories about the past. Others still have been inspired by intellectual theories and by borrowings from other disciplines, like literary studies and anthropology, to explore new ways of thinking about history. The module allows students to think more about the different ways in which we can study History, and to engage with the work of a number of historians whose influence can still be felt today.

It aims to equip students with the necessary background to develop a more critical approach to the secondary literature which they encounter throughout their degree course and to build bridges between the various modules they are studying at levels 2 and 3.

Teaching and Assessment

For details on assessment, please see here.

Selected Reading

• John H.Arnold, History. A very short introduction (2000)

• Michael Bentley, Modern Historiography (1999)

• Stefan Berger, et al. (eds.), Writing History: theory and practice (2003)

• John Tosh, The Pursuit of History, 3rd edn. (1999)

• Juliet Gardiner, (ed.), What is History Today? (1988)

Intended Learning Outcomes

• To reflect on how History as an academic discipline has developed over time, and to develop an understanding of and familiarity with some of the major schools of historical writing and historiographical trends.

• To develop skills in critical reading.

• To encourage the ability to discuss ideas, evaluate intellectual arguments, and construct one's own interpretations.

• To build confidence in presenting an argument, in oral participation within class, and in written coursework.