HIS4772 - Turbulence and Transformation: A Study in Depth

Objectives:

On successful completion of the module, students will be able to:
Demonstrate detailed knowledge of an important period of non-British history
Explain the historical significance of a particular period
Explore the inter-relationships of various aspects of a society
Discuss the processes of historical change and continuity
Present arguments and research findings in a form suitable for exhibition or display

Content:

The module will take a major historical transformation, for example, the French Revolution, and seek to explore the causes and the nature of the changes it effected by examining it from a variety of overlapping perspectives. It will draw out the complexity of historical change, consider continuity, and the dangers of examining any one aspect of a society in isolation. By looking at the way in which influence spreads across national boundaries it will also introduce students to the difficulties of assessing historical significance. Indicative readings are provided for a possible topic. The precise topic offered will vary according to staff availability and expertise.

Learning and Teaching Information:

This module is taught primarily through workshops – e.g. focusing on the use of digitized or printed primary resources in translation, or extracts of classic secondary sources.
There will be weekly mini-lecture plenaries to introduce the students to key themes and issues, but throughout the module, class preparation is also required. Students are expected to prepare as a group for class presentations, to undertake background reading, and to work together to prepare for the poster presentation. One session will be taught in the AKLC focusing on search skills and copyright.

Workshops
Hours: 30
Intended group size: 20

Poster presentations
Hours: 2
Intended Group size: 20

Guided independent study
Hours: 168

Further details relating to assessment
The essay will address the classic historiographical debates associated with the topic in question, e.g. re the French Revolution, students might be asked the question ‘To what extent can the French Revolution be reasonably represented as a “mass, social revolution”?’ with supporting guided reading on the ‘classic’, ‘revisitionist’, and ‘post-revisionist’ historiography. This essay would be about the historical controversy and debate that surrounds the complex processes of change and continuity that go to make up the French Revolution.

The second assessment point will require the students to produce a poster consisting of primary materials and suitable annotations, researched by a group of c. 4 students, linked to a key issue of their choice taken from the French Revolution. The materials must be arranged so as to make a commentary on the issue they have chosen and be presented in a form suitable for exhibition or display.
• Draft proposal to be submitted to tutor in week 20.
• A finalised proposal and group contract to be delivered to the tutor in week 23.

Final Assessed Group Poster to be delivered by the group via a presentation in class during week 28.

This is effectively a small-scale research project undertaken throughout the course, presented as a research poster. They will be given a ‘Learning Log’, which will take them through the steps required to produce the poster.

If paper-based the poster must clearly presented & well-designed: size A1 (i.e. 36 inches across), accessible, catch attention and be read easily (re formatting of text as well as grammar). Includes graphics and text (limited to 1000 words max on the poster). It must meet the needs of its specified target audience (e.g. key stage 2 children; undergraduates; visitors to a museum etc.)
Students in the past have opted to produce a website, instead of a paper-based poster, and this is also acceptable as long as it fits the criteria of ‘suitable for exhibition or display’, i.e. conforms to the kinds of virtual exhibitions produced by museums. If poster is presented as a web page, this does not have to be ‘live’ but should include a clear navigation system, consistent pages (home page plus at least 6 more), graphics and ‘original’ text (limited to 1,000 words), good indexing and linking, and conform to legislative requirements and internet and standards of accessibility (see Web Accessibility Initiative http://www.w3.org/WAI/ ).

Students will be expected to ‘launch’ their poster in class to the whole group, i.e. be prepared to present their work orally for c. 15 minutes. They will be marked on the quality and content of the poster, not the presentation as such, but the presentation should still be professional, i.e. audible, well-paced, with good integration of AV if used. The function of the presentation is to ensure that they are able to articulate the reasoning behind the image(s)/text(s) & theme selected, research methodology, process of selection etc., and there should be evidence of good teamwork having taken place. The Learning Log and contract may be used to provide evidence of this; reflective commentaries will be required of all participants on the day. Individual marks may be adjusted in light of this additional evidence if there has been a failure to work well as a team, otherwise a group mark will be given.

Copyright must be respected with reference to all images and primary texts used.

Assessment: