Course Guide |

Course Content
Course Learning Outcomes
Aims and Objectives
Meetings: Lectures and Tutorials
Assessment
Grade Descriptors
Study Load
About the Teacher

Course Content

The past is no longer present, but its influence can be felt everywhere. We connect with the past in many ways in our everyday lives. Movies, websites, newspapers and magazines bombard us with recreations of pasts familiar and unfamiliar. But what relevance or value does the past have in a globalizing world? Why should we care about the past? Could it help us to build a better future? Is there such a thing as a 'true' historical account? What is the relationship between commercial, political and professional discourses of the past? And how do these relate to our own memories of the past? This course engages with these questions from multiple perspectives. It brings students face to face with the myriad ways in which the past is present in our lives today, and the importance of thinking historically. The course introduces students to the richness and value inherent in reading, writing and reflecting on the past; or in other words, making history.

Course Learning Outcomes

The outcomes for the course are as follows.

Students who have taken CCHU9003 should be able to:

1. Engage critically with representations of the past.
   
2. Analyse and use evidence to construct historical accounts.
   
3. Critically interpret interconnections between past and present.
   
4. Reflect upon and critically consider the value of historical awareness.
   

Aims and Objectives

The course will not only help you to gain a better understanding of the value of historical awareness, it will also provide you with the chance to improve essential skills vital for success in the workplace. Communication skills (such as writing and presenting) will be emphasized, as will the development of your capacity for critical analysis of complex problems.

By the end of the course you will not only be able to argue your corner in a debate on this key aspect of the Humanities but will also feel more confident presenting in front of people, more adept at working with classmates, and more skilled in preparing sound written work.

The objectives of the course are:

To familiarise students with foundational concepts (such as narrative, memory, conservationism, counterfactuals)
To provide an introduction to history as a learning practice in which we all engage
To complement other first and second semester courses in the Humanities AoI
To identify and make students aware of the importance of historical awareness
To draw attention to recent developments in historical awareness, key arguments and controversies in relation to the topics discussed
To equip students with a basic understanding of 'history' and the characteristics of 'the past' in present day society
To help develop basic skills of research, analysis and essay writing
To encourage wide, independent, selective reading on historical subject matter
To encourage proficiency in developing a sustained, reasoned, well focused argument, based on a broad selection of evidence
To encourage students to develop the ability to think independently, creatively, and to express themselves clearly, orally and in writing and through movies and other presentation formats.

Meetings: Lectures and Tutorials

There will be 12 interactive lectures lasting up to two hours and 8 tutorials, each lasting up to one hour, during the semester.

The interactive lectures will provide analysis of the topic of the week, an opportunity for audience discussion and engagement with the questions under discussion and an introduction to the key controversies, theories and arguments.

The tutorials will offer us a chance to discuss key issues, ideas and documents in small groups.

Unless otherwise advised the lectures will take place on Wednesday in room LE4 and tutorials will take place at various times on Monday and Tuesday.

For more details, and for the lecture and seminar topics, please see the course schedule.

Assessment

The course is assessed entirely on the basis of course work. There is no formal examination.

To complete the course you must submit two short written assignments, one project, and attend and participate in the course meetings.

To complete the course you must submit:

Draft Project Submission (10% of the total 40% for the project)
due Friday 16 November (worth 10%)
The Fieldwork Report (30%)
due Friday 23 November (worth 30%)
The Meeting Participation (30%)
ongoing September-December
Final Project Submission (30% of the total 40% for the project)
due Friday 14 December (worth 30%)

To find out more about the individual assessment components and how to complete them please consult the Assessment Guide.

For more information, suggested readings and details of how to complete each assessment component, please click on the name of the individual assessment items below:

Grade Descriptors

To access the grade descriptors please Click the assessment items below.

Project
One Sentence Response
Fieldwork report
Meeting participation

Study Load

About the Teacher

For more information about the co-ordinator/teacher of this course please click here