Unit information: The Smugglers' City (Level I Special Field) in 2021/22

Unit name	The Smugglers' City (Level I Special Field)
Unit code	HIST26010
Credit points	20
Level of study	I/5
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24)
Unit director	Dr. Jones
Open unit status	Not open
Pre-requisites	None
Co-requisites	None
School/department	Department of History (Historical Studies)
Faculty	Faculty of Arts

Description including Unit Aims

During the sixteenth century Bristol became, in a very literal sense, a smugglers' city , ruled over by a merchant elite that were heavily involved in illicit trading. This Special Field will explore how Bristol 's ruling elite created, operated, and protected their smuggling operations during the sixteenth century and how, more generally, they sought to maintain and increase their power in the city during the Tudor and Stuart period. By studying Bristol 's black-economy and comparing it to that of other times and places, the unit will seek to determine how organised crime worked in this period and why it was so difficult to suppress. The unit is based on Dr Jones' award-winning research and offers students the opportunity to participate in his ongoing work into smuggling, the Bristol discovery voyages and the seventeenth-century development of the America's trade. As such, the associated project workshops will be geared towards preparing students to undertake original research on early modern manuscripts an approach that has resulted in some stunningly good work in previous years

Intended Learning Outcomes

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

1. Identify and analyse key themes in the history of smugglers in Bristol
2. Understand and use historical methods specific to the study of smugglers in Bristol.
3. Discuss and evaluate the historiographical debates that surround the topic
4. Understand and interpret primary sources and select pertinent evidence in order to illustrate specific and more general historical points
5. Present their research and judgements in written forms and styles appropriate to the discipline and to level I.

Teaching Information

Classes will involve a combination of class discussion, investigative activities, and practical activities. Students will be expected to engage with readings and participate on a weekly basis. This will be further supported with drop-in sessions and self-directed exercises with tutor and peer feedback.

Assessment Information

1 x 3500-word Essay (50%) [ILOs 1-5]; 1 x Timed Assessment (50%) [ILOs 1-5]

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. HIST26010).

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 Faculty 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. If you have self-certificated your absence from an assessment, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (this is usually in the next assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any extenuating circumstances and operates within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.