HI7137 Approaches to Historical Research (5 ECTS)

Coordinator: Dr. David Ditchburn
Duration: Semester 1: 1 hrs per week
Prerequisites: none

This module introduces graduate students in History to a selection of the disparate range of sources used by professional historians, the interpretative problems these sources may pose and the ways in which they have been used by historians. Although many of the sources discussed may not be obviously or immediately relevant to the themes or periods upon which students will concentrate for their dissertations, the objective is encourage lateral thinking about the application of sources and questions about sources.

Assessment:

Attendance and participation (100%). This module is assessed on a pass/fail basis.

Learning outcomes:

On successful completion of the module students should be able to:

• outline some key sources used by historians of the Medieval, Early Modern, Modern and Contemporary periods
• review some important methodological and theoretical issues which have shaped the writing of history over time
• analyse the nature of primary sources materials used by historians of different periods
• search for, and critically appraise, relevant primary and secondary literature
• apply and evaluate some of the methodologies and/or theoretical approaches encountered to their own research agenda