History Dissertation

Learning Outcomes

Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Structure and explain your own arguments carefully and clearly
• Analyse primary source material
• Evaluate the existing historiography on the topic

Knowledge and Understanding

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

• The wider historiographical material relevant to your research
• The range and usefulness of primary source material for your topic
• The broader historical significance of your chosen research question

Transferable and Generic Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Produce a long and complex written text
• Organize your time effectively
• Present your work clearly and convincingly
• Research and analyse large amounts of material

A dissertation is a piece of original, independent research written on a topic of your choice and using primary source materials, whether printed or in an archive and an extended engagement with existing historiography. Topics might relate to a specific collection of sources or a local archive. You might choose to research an area that interests you but is not represented in our final-year courses or you might decide to follow up on an aspect of your second year options or the group project. A dissertation is the length of an average academic article and will have, like an article, a clear research question and central argument. You will be allocated a supervisor, based on your choice of research question, who will give you advice on specialist content and will read and comment on one sample chapter.

Teaching methods include

 Information session (2 hours)

 Individual tutorials (4 hours max)

Learning activities include

 Individual research

 Accessing primary sources including visiting archives

 Managing the project and organising your time.

Innovative or special features of this module

 Independent research

Summative

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

Referral

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