History and Archaeology

This module introduces students to the core skills required to study history successfully at degree level. History makes sense of the past by analysing surviving evidence. Such evidence is either secondary, which requires in-depth critical reading, or primary or original, which demands critical contextualisation and analysis. All such evidence has uses to the historian, not necessarily obvious, and all contains partiality, which historians are trained to overcome. Working in small groups with one staff member per group each Term, there will be a balance between developing awareness of these overarching core skills (such as conducting research and mastering referencing conventions) and a case study in which students work on academic reading connected to a particular topic. This intensive small group environment will help students adjust to degree-level historical study in the university environment and provide a venue for delivering other transitional and transferable skills.

We live in an interconnected world, which can be traced across time and place. From ancient times to the present day, this module explores history that cuts across national and local boundaries. Global history considers historical events as they unfold in the context of large-scale cultural, political, social, economic, and environmental contexts. Accordingly, you will explore the changing relationships between human beings and the wider world. Students are introduced to a wide range of themes, such as different types of governance and rulership; empires, imperialism and decolonization; nation-making and the forging of national identities; war and warfare; science, religion and political ideologies; trade and labour; diseases and famine; migration and diasporas. Through lectures and seminars, you are encouraged to explore these themes broadly, recognizing historical change and continuity through the entanglement of local, transnational and international factors.

This module forms an introduction to the principles and methods upon which the study of archaeology is based and explores a history of the development of the discipline, alongside a detailed background to the main categories of material culture that you might encounter on archaeological sites, including stone tools, pottery, coins, metalwork etc.

No prior knowledge of the subject is assumed or expected. You will learn about the historical emergence of archaeology as a distinct discipline from earlier antiquarian studies, alongside the development of excavation methodologies from rudimentary early work to modern, stratigraphic approaches. You will also learn about archaeological audiences, and our discipline’s engagement with the public. These thematic lectures are buttressed by the use of sessions looking at case studies of recent research projects within the Department in order to help draw together and assist understanding of the key themes.

 From a material culture perspective, you will learn about the technology behind these artefacts, and crucially how things that we make do not just have a simple function, but also encode important symbolic information as well. As the majority of archaeological material seen by the public is displayed within museums, you will also consider how material culture is displayed and presented within museums, and the choices made by curators about this.

By the end of this course you will understand the purpose and process behind archaeological excavation and the recovery of material culture, as well as the way humans make and give meaning to even the most mundane and everyday items.

This module provides a brief conspectus of the prehistoric and historical periods from the emergence of humans, the later development of complex societies and civilizations through to the present day. The world context is emphasised and the major developments in each period will be explored.  The module is illustrated throughout by case studies through which students can appreciate how ideas about these cultures have developed from the beginnings of antiquarian archaeology to the application of modern theory.  Key conceptual issues, such as exchange/trade, colonisation, political, religious and social developments, will be explained and discussed in relation to specific examples.

History in Practice invites students to explore the diverse ways historians think, research, and write about the past. In the first Term, through lectures and seminars, students will be introduced to various approaches, ideas, and worldviews that have shaped the production, writing, and interpretation of history. Students will examine how different methodologies — such as post-modernity, gender history, postcolonial history, and environmental history — have challenged our understanding of the medieval, early modern, and modern periods. In the second Term, through lectures and workshops, students will delve into the methods and skills historians use to study the past. This may include utilizing local and national archives, databases, online sources, media, visual images, material culture, public history, and oral sources. By exploring these approaches and sources, the module encourages students to reflect on their identity as a historian and determine which methods best align with their interests, ultimately leading to the writing of the dissertation proposal.

The study of history, and the understanding of a historical period and society, is dependent on the surviving remnants of the past that become the historian’s primary sources. This module introduces students to a range of source material, from traditional textual sources to visual and material culture. Students will work with a lecturer within their area of expertise to develop skills of source analysis and evaluation, examining the authorship and meaning of historical texts. Sources in History covers topics such as al-Andalus, Norman Sicily, English monasticism, the reign of King John, female historical writing, late medieval England, Papal-Imperial relations, the Global Middle Ages, the Early Modern period and the Golden Age of Spain, Early Tudor England, Early Modern London, Victorian and Edwardian societies, Imperial Japan, the British Raj, the Soviet Union, Nazism and the Holocaust, the American South, the Global Hispanic World, the social experience of war since the 18th century, Immigration Histories of Britain, and Post-War culture and society.

The module comprises four weeks of archaeological fieldwork, to be undertaken on one of the field projects run by the Archaeology Department, within which the student might be involved in excavation or other field-based tasks. Students can expect to learn a variety of essential archaeological field skills, depending on the nature of the project they are participating in. These will most commonly include: heavy and light excavation; finds and environmental processing; archaeological recording (written and drawn records); and basic surveying. Students will also learn how archaeological projects are organised in the field and the procedure by which they take place. This will be followed by a post-excavation course that will explore methods of archive collation, analysis and dissemination.

Theory and Research in Archaeology  - 30 credits
A consideration of the application of research methods and theoretical approaches to the study of the past.

The Archaeology of Britain  - 30 credits
An exploration of the archaeology of Britain from prehistory to the modern period, illustrated with case studies and key sites and monuments.

Depth Study is the most detailed and exacting part of the taught programme where students are given the opportunity to work in depth with one tutor on a single specialist topic. Exploring the rich primary and secondary source material of a specialist area consolidates the skills and competencies of a historian developed throughout the duration of the degree. A variety of topic areas are offered for study each year, examples of which include: Pax Romana; modern reception of the classical world; the Wars of the Roses; civil war, revolution and republic in the British Isles; the United States and the Cold War; Japan at war and under occupation; the Italian Wars 1494-1516 and 1521-1559; genocide in history and memory; ruling England in the second Viking Age; the age of Napoleon; the post-war teenager in Britain; colonialism and its aftermath in north Africa and France; and the Anglo-Norman Civil War 1135-1154.

You can choose either a Dissertation in History OR an Extended Independent Study in Archaeology.

Extended Independent Study (Dissertation) in History

The Dissertation (Extended Independent Study) is an 8,000-10,000 thesis on a subject of a student’s own devising with advice and supervision from an appropriate history tutor. Through their dissertations, the students will make an original contribution to historical knowledge and understanding, in that it will be drawn from their own engagement with primary sources and interpretation and analysis of existing secondary literature. Building on all previous undergraduate study, students will employ the conventions of a historian whilst developing a range of transferable skills in project planning, management, and delivery, creativity, problem-solving and critical analysis.  

Or

Extended Independent Study (Dissertation) in Archaeology

The module is an Extended Independent Study in archaeology for students studying on all Archaeology programmes. Students select a topic in consultation with tutors and carry out preliminary research in ARCH5002. In ARCH6002 students then apply their knowledge of archaeological theory and practice, and carry out original research in order to produce a c. 10,000 word dissertation, the latter showing clarity of expression, logical argument and creative thought. The dissertation content/subject matter reflects the particular Archaeology pathway (e.g. a project using scientific method and/or data for BSc Archaeology) and the student’s interest.

Rites, Religions and Ritual - 30 credits

This module examines the archaeological evidence for religion, ritual and belief, drawing on case-studies from a range of religious and spiritual traditions. Attention in particular will be paid to the links and contrasts between different classes of evidence from different periods and places, such as surviving monuments, artefacts, art, architecture and iconography. A fieldtrip to relevant archaeological site, monument or museum will form part of this module.

Comparative Study in History - 30 credits

Comparative perspectives are vital for understanding the past. They prevent one society’s experiences of historical developments from being seen as typical. Comparisons highlight the various ways in which people have experienced historical change. In this module, students will explore historical issues across various countries, communities or cultures showing the numerous ways societies react to a broad range of issues. In doing so, students will develop a more rounded picture of continuity and change in different contexts. Comparative topics covered may include: popular protest throughout medieval Europe; the middle ages in computer games; chivalry and knighthood across medieval Europe; early modern witchcraft and supernatural beliefs in the British Isles, continental Europe and America; war crimes in Germany and Japan; memory of the Holocaust; ideologies in British and French colonial empires; and fascism in Italy and Spain.