World Histories Introduced

Module overview

In this history department, we have historians working on periods from the ancient world to the contemporary moment, covering the whole world (and beyond!) and working on themes like gender, politics, environment, and technology. This module covers a range of overarching narratives, ideologies, and transformations by taking an expansive view of historical change over long periods of time. The module is split between four periods: Ancient; Medieval; Early Modern; and Modern history. Within lectures, you will be introduced to key themes such as faith, power, empire (and after), conflict, tolerance, prejudice, and migration, which will provide you with the opportunity to explore dynamics of change in world histories from antiquity to the modern period. In addition, you will develop the skills needed to be a successful historian, such as critical reading, effective writing, note-taking, and referencing.

Aims and Objectives

Learning Outcomes

Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

analyse critically a variety of textual, visual and material culture sources.
engage with secondary literature on world histories, and contribute to the debates relating to the historiography of world histories and its relationship to key themes
research historical questions and communicate your findings convincingly and concisely in written essays and review

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

key primary sources relating to world histories.
the history of the world from the ancient period up to the contemporary moment, in particular the key themes relating to broad changes.
key secondary source material relating to world histories.

Transferable and Generic Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

utilise and develop your time management skills
reflect on your own learning, your strengths and weakness
locate and use effective textual, visual and material culture sources in the library and on-line, synthesising this material in order to develop cogent arguments.

Learning and Teaching

Teaching and learning methods

Teaching methods include lectures and workshops.

Learning methods include close analysis of a range of primary sources and discussion of key themes and ideas.

Study time
Type	Hours
Completion of assessment task	100
Wider reading or practice	64
Practical classes and workshops	12
Lecture	24
Preparation for scheduled sessions	100
Total study time	300

Resources & Reading list

Textbooks

Richard Reid (2009). A History of Modern Africa. John Wiley.

Fred Donner (2012). Muhammad and the Believers: At the Origins of Islam. Harvard University Press.

Ulinka Rublack (ed) (2012). A Concise Companion to History. Oxford: OUP.

James Lehning (2013). European Colonialism since 1700. Cambridge: CUP.

Assessment

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.

Breakdown
Method	Percentage contribution
Written assignment	40%
Essay	60%

Referral

This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.

Breakdown
Method	Percentage contribution
Resubmit assessments	100%

Repeat

An internal repeat is where you take all of your modules again, including any you passed. An external repeat is where you only re-take the modules you failed.

Breakdown
Method	Percentage contribution
Essay	60%
Written assignment	40%

Repeat Information

Repeat type: Internal & External