| Unit name | Rewriting Modern Britain |
|---|---|
| Unit code | HISTM0079 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Dr. Jones |
| 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 |
None |
| School/department | Department of History (Historical Studies) |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
Thematic options give students a chance to enhance their knowledge of both well-established and emerging topics of historical enquiry. They prepare students to specialise in TB2 by developing their ability to critique the work of other scholars, and to assess how, when, and why historians' have chosen to ask certain types of questions, and study certain types of topics. The aim is to provide all MA students with the core competencies required for their dissertation by developing their ability to identify, analyse and ultimately situate themselves within a chosen sub-field or topic area.
An overview of content
Attempting to diagnose the political, economic, and cultural turmoil around them in the 1980s, left-wing scholars Stuart Hall and Martin Jacques offered an alternative history of Britain’s recent past that helped to explain the ‘New Times’ they were living though. Britain today feels no less in turmoil, yet historians have proclaimed that the ‘history of Britain is dead’. How can historians of modern Britain rise to the challenge presented by our present moment?
This unit explores recent developments in modern British history as it seeks to become more critically minded and expansive in its approach to our national past. We will consider longstanding narratives that have traditionally shaped the field - how credible do some of the best-known histories of modern Britain look today, and how might recent work and events change our understanding of them further? We will also investigate how fresh approaches, methods, and sources, including those used to study other periods and disciplines, are enabling us to tell new stories about modern Britain.
By introducing students to recent works and new directions in this vibrant and dynamic field, this unit will serve as a useful foundation for those who wish to undertake further original research that helps us to understand the world we live in today.
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit?
This unit aims to introduce you to topics, themes and debates within several fields of historical thought, ranging from emotions and enterprise to rhetoric and activism. It is intended to inspire new areas of interest, or to enhance existing curiosities that will ultimately provide a foundation for further specialist study in TB2.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:
This unit will be taught through a combination of weekly seminars and asynchronous activity designed to help support your learning and assessment. The seminar will be based around discussion of key texts, historiographical debates and themes and how these have been shaped by historians' approaches to sources and methodology.
This will serve both to increase your knowledge of this topic and to build your confidence in critically engaging with the work of other scholars, whether in short assignments (up to 1000 words) or medium-length essays (2500 words).
The asynchronous activity will help develop your skills in reading and analysing existing academic scholarship, communicating your ideas in written form, and developing historiographical arguments in short- and medium-length assignments.
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
Assignment 1000-word (ILOs 104) [33%]. TB1 Week 5.
Essay 2500-word (ILOs 1-4) [67%]. TB1 Week 12.
When assessment does not go to plan
When required by the Board of Examiners, you will normally complete reassessments in the same formats as those outlined above. However, the Board reserves the right to modify the form or number of reassessments required. Details of reassessments are normally confirmed by the School shortly after the notification of your results at the end of the academic year.
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. HISTM0079).
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.
