| Unit name | Researching and Writing History |
|---|---|
| Unit code | HISTM0055 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Professor. Tim Cole |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | Department of History (Historical Studies) |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
This unit aims to introduce postgraduate students to the process of historical research, from the formulation of research questions, to the completion of a final draft. Areas to be covered will include: appropriate methodologies for different kinds of sources; organising and analysing one’s research materials; establishing a regular writing practice; improving one’s writing style; working towards a completed manuscript. This unit will be taught through a mixture of interactive lectures, smaller workshops, and action-learning groups, which will encourage students to reflect on their research and writing practices, and establish networks of peer support.
By the end of this unit, students should:
1. Have a firm grasp of the historical research process
2. Understand the kinds of sources available to them, and appropriate methodologies for dealing with them
3. Have a clear plan for their own research projects, including research questions, sources, organisation, and a sound understanding of relevant historiography and the contribution that their research will make
4. Have established a practice of regular and productive writing
5. Be able to edit and improve their own and others’ writing
Please include reference to any distance learning or any significant e-learning components, if appropriate
This unit will be assessed on a pass/fail basis through a mixture of formative and summative work. Students will peer-assess a series of (formative) writing tasks in action-learning groups (c. 3000 words) prior to submitting a (summative, marked by unit tutors) extended research outline(c. 2000 words), to include research questions, a bibliography, and an outline of the available sources. The research outline will address the students’ plans for either the MA dissertation, for a proposed postgraduate research degree, or for a research degree which is already underway. Where appropriate, it will help students prepare PhD funding proposals (MA students who wish to progress to a PhD), and upgrade materials (MLitt students).
Judith Walkowitz, ‘From Notes to Narrative: On Taking Notes’, Perspectives on History (January 2009). http://www.historians.org/publications-and-directories/perspectives-on-history/january-2009/from-notes-to-narrative-the-art-of-crafting-a-dissertation-or-monograph/on-taking-notes
Keith Thomas, ‘Diary’, London Review of Books, 10.6.2010. http://www.lrb.co.uk/v32/n11/keith-thomas/diary
Estelle Phillips and Derek Pugh, How To Get A PhD (5th edn,, 2010)
Joan Bolker, Writing Your Dissertation in Fifteen Minutes A Day (1998)
Anne Lamott, Bird By Bird: Instructions on Writing and Life (2007)
