Unit information: The Black Death in England in 2023/24

Unit name	The Black Death in England
Unit code	HIST20125
Credit points	20
Level of study	I/5
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24)
Unit director	Professor. Smith
Open unit status	Not open
Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units)	None
Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units)	None
Units you may not take alongside this one
School/department	Department of History (Historical Studies)
Faculty	Faculty of Arts

Unit Information

This unit aims to provide students with insights into the course and consequences of the Black Death in England from its first appearance in 1348-9 up to the sixteenth century, when population levels finally began to recover. The unit considers the impact of pestilence on a wide range of aspects of late medieval English life: politics; agricultural practices; town-life; the role of women; religious devotion; medical thought; diet; dress; charity; literary and artistic fashions; international trade; warfare, and social relations.

Your learning on this unit

On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:

1. demonstrate in-depth understanding and detailed knowledge of the course and consequences of the Black Death in England;
2. display the ability to integrate both primary and secondary source material into a wider historical analysis and argument
3. approach a long-term historical analysis from a modern perspective
4. select relevant evidence in order to illustrate historical arguments
5. identify a particular academic interpretation, evaluate it critically and form an individual viewpoint, as appropriate to level I

How you will learn

1 x 2hr Seminar per week

1 x 1hr Seminar per week

How you will be assessed

• 1 x 3500-word Essay [50%]
• 1 x Timed Assessment [50%]

Resources

If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.

If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. HIST20125).

How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks, independent learning and assessment activity.

See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.

Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit. The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.