Module overview
Dividing humanity into groups is fundamental to how societies have defined themselves and developed. Group identity can be built upon perceptions of difference, developing in opposition to groups which societies or cultures reject. Thinking about how exclusion happens is fundamental to human experience and understanding it is essential for any student of history. This module will focus on the construction of identities in the past with particular emphasis on representation of difference, exclusion, and ‘othering’. Examining class, gender, disability, sexuality, race and religion, 'Us and Them' aims to show how narratives about minorities or under-represented groups have developed and the context that led to such narratives.
Aims and Objectives
Learning Outcomes
Knowledge and Understanding
Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:
- key primary sources relating to the development of group identity
- key secondary source material relating to constructing group identity.
- the challenges associated with historical study , in particular the way in which popular historical narratives are constructed and how historians can approach these.
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 the nature of groups, and contribute to the debates relating to the historiography of them and their relationship to the wider world.
- undertake research and develop your ideas on group identity and how this is constructed.
Transferable and Generic Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- research historical questions and communicate your findings convincingly and concisely in written essays and reviews.
- utilise and develop your time-management skills.
- 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.
Syllabus
The module will start with a consideration of definitions and categories in relation to representation of groups and identities, and will then develop these understandings through a series of case studies evenly distributed across the ancient, medieval, early modern and modern worlds.
Learning and Teaching
Teaching and learning methods
Teaching methods include lectures and seminars.
Learning methods include close analysis of a range of primary sources and discussion of key themes and ideas.
| Type | Hours |
|---|---|
| Preparation for scheduled sessions | 50 |
| Lecture | 12 |
| Completion of assessment task | 50 |
| Seminar | 12 |
| Wider reading or practice | 26 |
| Total study time | 150 |
Resources & Reading list
Journal Articles
(2004). Should the Middle Ages Be Abolished?. Essays in Medieval Studies, 21, pp. 1–22.
(1974). The Tyranny of a Construct: Feudalism and Historians of Medieval Europe. The American Historical Review, 79, pp. 1063-1088.
(1998). AHR Forum: The Persistence of the Renaissance. The American Historical Review, 103, pp. 50-124.
Assessment
Summative
This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.
| Method | Percentage contribution |
|---|---|
| Essay | 60% |
| Written assignment | 40% |
Referral
This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.
| 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.
| Method | Percentage contribution |
|---|---|
| Written assignment | 40% |
| Essay | 60% |
Repeat Information
Repeat type: Internal & External