Aims, Assessment & Seminar Instructions
Aims
- Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of key themes within African history and its historiography for the period since 1800
- Demonstrate an understanding of Africa’s position within global historical trends
- Develop understanding of different interdisciplinary approaches to the study of African history, including anthropology and political science
- Critically assess the worth of primary source material and different types of sources, including government documents, speeches, oral history, ethnography and visual sources
- Discuss critically and demonstrate ability to construct persuasive oral and written arguments in relation to the history and politics of modern Africa
Assessment
- Seminar participation/engagement (10%)
- 1000-word piece of introductory writing (10%)
- 2,000-word essay (30%)
- 3,000-word essay (50%)
Seminar participation/contribution; Classroom discussion and online Forum: 10%
Students’ active and informed participation is crucial to the success of the class. Your seminar contribution takes the form of weekly Forum contribution on Moodle and Seminar discussions. Students are expected to carefully read the assigned texts each week and to share with others on Moodle what they found most intriguing or problematic in the texts. There is no word limit but try to make your comment as short as possible. The comments must be posted on Moodle by Midnight, the day before the class meeting. Comments must be posted whether or not you intend to attend class meetings. If you have a medical condition that prevents you from participating in seminar discussion, please make sure to inform Wellbeing (link here.) to inform the seminar tutor and module convenor. You will still be expected to participate in the online Forum on Moodle.
What is being assessed in seminar contribution? For more details see:https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/history/students/undergraduate/assess-coursework/#deadlines
- Analysis: engagement with and evaluation of readings; focus on meaning rather than description; evidence and argument-driven responses to seminar questions
- Knowledge and Understanding: evidence of preparation of core and/or wider reading; demonstrates comprehension of the readings and/or seminar questions.
- Oral Communication: clarity of expression; persuasiveness; respectfulness and inclusivity; asking useful/probing questions; contributions that extend the discussion.
- Methodological Approaches: ability to discern, explain, or engage with historiographical or methodological issues raised by the readings and/or seminar questions.
Essays
You will be required to write a total of 3 essays with varying word length as shown above. Use the Essay Writing ChecklistLink opens in a new window in the History Department Student HandbookLink opens in a new window to help you to plan and prepare your assessments. The Handbook also has information on presentation and referencingLink opens in a new window and how to avoid plagiarism, Link opens in a new windowdeadlines, penalties for late submission, word count, Essay writing, File naming etc. For more information see: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/history/students/undergraduate/assess-coursework
It is your responsibility to make your work accessible and readable. So, you must not only think about how you are formulating your argument and presenting evidence (more instructions on this can be found on Moodle and in the Undergraduate handbook) but also styling issues. You will be penalised for not following the rules which you can find here:https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/history/students/undergraduate/essaywriting
- You must use Chicago Style or MHRA: Here are examples on how to use these styles: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/history/students/undergraduate/essaywriting
- You must make follow the conventions of historical writing. Pay close attention to how the various authors of the articles you are reading in seminars put forward their arguments and how they use evidence to develop the argument. You will find on Moodle, short instructional articles on how to write a history essay).You are expected to demonstrate cultural competence, so read closely the material under 'Writing about Africa' in Week.
- All essays must must not go above word limits are absolute and do not include footnotes or the bibliography. Essays which exceed the word limit will be penalised.
- The filename should contain your student number, the module code, assignment name E.g.,
1234567 – HI177 - Source Review. pdf . DO NOT WRITE YOUR NAME - Font: Use appropriate fonts like New Times Roman or Calibri
- Font size and spacing: All essays must be 12 point, double spaced.
All extension requests should be made via Tabula in advance of the published assessment deadline.
Feedback
You will receive feedback on your essays and assignments on Tabula. There are no set ways to succeed in university essay writing, but do read the mark schemeLink opens in a new window to understand the criteria that you will be marked against and therefore need to think carefully about when researching, planning and writing. The usual turn-around for assignments is 20 working days. Meetings to discuss feedback are optional, but you are strongly encouraged to take the opportunity to receive individual advice on how to strengthen your work.
You will also be asked to provide feedback on the module content and delivery at several points throughout the year so that we can address any problems and make any necessary adjustments to the syllabus and teaching practice. This feedback is anonymous.