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Department of History

Aims, Objectives and Assessment

Aims and Objectives

  • Demonstrate a detailed knowledge of the different conditions affecting the treatment and marginalisation of deviant groups in early modern Europe.
  • Develop a basic knowledge of the political, social and religious contexts of early modern Europe affecting the treatment of minority and marginal groups.
  • Generate ideas through the analysis of a broad range of primary source material, showing an appreciation of the possibilities and limitations of analysing primary sources relating to marginal groups in early modern society.
  • Communicate ideas and findings through oral and written discussion, adapting to a range of situations, audiences and degrees of complexity.
  • Analyse and evaluate the contributions made by existing scholarship, drawing upon scholarship from comparative history, anthropology and sociology.
  • Act with limited supervision and direction to explore topics and themes of interest within defined guidelines in order to develop individual research skills, accepting responsibility for achieving deadlines.

Assessment, 2024-25

The assessment for this 30 CATS first-year module is as follows:

First-Year History Options

For details of examination and assessment, along with information about deadlines and extensions, please see the 'Assessment' pages of the Undergraduate Handbook https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/history/students/undergraduate/assess-courseworkLink opens in a new window. Please refer to Tabula for your deadlines.

Visiting / Exchange students may have separate assignments and deadlines listed in the departmental handbook.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any queries about these assessment methods. Please also refer to the descriptions below.

Marking criteria

For information about the marking conventions used when assessing your work, please see the 'Marking' section of the Assessment pages in the undergraduate student handbook https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/history/students/undergraduate/assess-courseworkLink opens in a new window.

It follows the University 20 point scale. The specific history department marking descriptors are available here: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/history/students/undergraduate/assess-coursework/#markingscaleLink opens in a new window

Contact Hours

Contact hours for this 30 CATS first-year module are as follows:

  • Module duration: Twenty-two weeks
  • Lectures: Twenty one-hour lectures
  • Seminars: Twenty one-hour seminars
  • Tutorials: Three hours of essay feedback and long essay preparation

Feedback

Written feedback (via Tabula) and optional individual tutorials (via Teams, in office hours or by appointment) will be provided to all students taking this module.

Assessment instructions

Assignment 1: Blog post (10%)

For this assignment, you will need to create a blog post on any aspect of early modern deviant culture or deviant individuals of your choice. As this assignment comes early in the academic year, I suggest focusing on a group that interests you from across the whole module and doing some secondary reading around the topic. You will be expected to write 1,000 words, directed to a public audience.

Assignment 1: Blog post (10%)

For this assignment, you will need to create a blog post on any aspect of early modern deviant culture or deviant individuals of your choice. As this assignment comes early in the academic year, I suggest focusing on a group that interests you from across the whole module and doing some secondary reading around the topic. You will be expected to write 1,000 words, directed to a public audience.

Creating your assignment

You have 2 options for creating your blog post.

1. Create your blog post using Mahara, which is a university supported tool, which allows you to create your own blog post and 'publish' them. The assignment will be submitted as a PDF and uploaded to Tabula. After the blog has been marked and had feedback, you will have the option of 'publishing' the blog, which would make it accessible and readable via search engines (but this is entirely optional).

I have created a step-by-step guide for creating a page in Mahara. with details on how to save as a PDF. Link opens in a new window

2. Create your blog post using word, publisher or another word processing software. You can then upload the assignment as either a .doc or a PDF. You will not lose marks for presenting your work in this way, but Mahara is recommended for versatility and authenticity, and enables you to master a new technology to put on your CV.

Document upload to Tabula

For this assignment, you are required to upload the PDF/word document version of your blog post to Tabula. There is also the option of uploading an additional document, which can contain the secret URL to your blog post. You may find this useful if the PDF version of your document is not displaying content as it appears on-screen (e.g. with sections out of order or text missing at the bottom of sections) and would enable your marker to view this as it was intended.

Why a blog post? Professional historians now write for a range of audiences and in a range of mediums. Blog posts are one such way in which historians communicate their research and make their work accessible to those from non-academic backgrounds. This assessment is therefore intended to give you experience of researching and writing on a topic of your choice and communicating findings that you have found interesting to others.

What makes a good blog post? There are many examples of blog posts written by early modern historians that you might find useful to consult and we will devote some time in the seminars in Week 2 to this assignment.

When thinking about blog posts look at this post on Women's Surnames by Rebecca Mason, as an example of what you should be aiming to do. Note how Mason starts with a contemporary example that readers can relate to and then traces the practice of name changing back through history. She returns to these bigger issues about female name changing in the conclusion. She sues images and short paragraphs to break up the text, and also embeds links and uses footnotes for references that aren't available online.

Here are some examples:

How should I write and what should I include? Remember, that blog posts are not academic essays. While they should still be written properly, with full sentences and correct grammar, remember that you are writing for a public audience, who might not have any formal historical training. You should therefore have a non-academic reader in mind when you select your topic and write your blog post:

  • Think about a topic or subject that might appeal to someone with no knowledge of this subject.
  • Keep your writing clear, simple and avoid historical jargon.
  • Keep your paragraphs short and snappy.
  • Incorporate images and/or videos into your post to break up the text [please be aware of image copyright, especially if you are planning to publish your blog post as a real life post after your work has been finalised.
  • You should still reference your sources, but you can embed relevant links in the text itself if you are using websites (use full footnotes for other sources).
  • You do not need a bibliography for blog posts.

Remember, that this assignment should meet the usual academic standards laid out in the Undergraduate Handbook.

Should I reference? And how? Whilst blog posts do not usually have the same levels of referencing as more conventional essays (we will discuss this in preparation for the assignment), it is essential that you acknowledge and cite where you have got your information and evidence from, so you must acknowledge the sources where you have found your material. The best way to do this is through a version of endnoting.

To do this on Mahara, create a content block at the bottom of your blog post called 'Notes and References'/'Notes'/'Bibliography. Then, manually enter square brackets inserting a marker [1] next to the text you wish to reference and then including a corresponding reference [1] in the Reference section at the end. Here is an example of a blog post I did, which follows this reference practiceLink opens in a new window.

On some occasions, it may be preferable to include a link to an external page rather than an endnote. This option can be used when the content cited is easily located and immediately visibility.

If you are creating your blog post in Word or another word processing document, it would be better to use endnotes for this assignment for authenticity of a real blog post and appearance.

*NB for a standard essay, you should always use footnotes, as per departmental guidelines.

How will feedback be provided? And what can I do with my blog post after feedback? Feedback will be provided via Tabula. Once graded, you can share your blog page with other students taking this module, e.g. through a discussion forum. You can also publish it as a real life blog post searchable on internet searches.

Guidance and support. We will devote space in Weeks 3 and 4 to blog posts in the seminar. You are encouraged to meet with your seminar tutor by appointment in office hours to discuss your ideas, and/or to email with queries.

Marking Criteria. Detailed marking criteria for the blog posts is available under the assignment instructions on Moodle.
Detailed marking criteria for essays is available in the Undergraduate Handbook.

Assignment 2: 2,000-word focused essay (30%)

This is a more 'traditional' essay, enabling you to enhance your research and academic writing skills.

This essay gives you the chance to showcase your research skills by enabling you to answer a more specalised essay on a deviant group or aspect of deviant culture of your choice.

Where do I find the question? A list of questions for this assignment is available here:

https://moodle.warwick.ac.uk/mod/page/view.php?id=2075719

You should choose a group or topic that you enjoy learning about/would like to know more and should be interest-led. You may use one of the questions on the list as a basis, but you will be encouraged to devise your own question in discussion with your tutor during office hours. All questions must be approved to ensure that you are meeting the objectives of the course.

What should I include? Aim to combine elements of historiography [how historians have approached this subject] with primary source analysis. Aim to cite a range of secondary readings in relation to the groups you are discussing. Don't just rely on texts available electronically - make use of the library. Whilst it is hard to put an exact number of the amount of texts you will need for an essay of this length, as it will depend on the length of the texts you are reading (e.g. a whole book is very different from an article), aiming for 12-15 works on your bibliography would be a reasonable target (this can be a mixture of primary and secondary materials).

How do I find sources? Make use of scholarly works and texts and works provided on your reading lists in the first instance and from exploring the library catalogue. Note: there are many materials and webpages available on the Internet, but if they are not an academic book or journal article, it is unlikely that they will have been peer-reviewed and not recognised as accurate scholarly outputs. You are welcome to email either the module convenor or your tutor for further recommendations if you are struggling to find sources.

Naomi is also happy to advise on how information used in the lectures can be cited - avoid citing the lectures themselves.

What marking criteria will be used? The departmental essay marking criteria will be applied to this assignment. It follows the University 20 point scale and is available here: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/history/students/undergraduate/assess-coursework/#markingscaleLink opens in a new window

Feedback. Written feedback (via Tabula) and optional individual tutorials (via Teams, in office hours or by appointment) will be provided to all students taking this module.

Assignment 3: 3,000-word comparative essay (50%)

This is similar to a 'traditional' essay, but has a comparative focus, which means you will therefore be expected to similarities and differences in the experiences of at least two deviant groups (and, ideally, at least two places in Europe) to answer this question. It is best to keep the question and focus as narrow as possible to ensure that you can make meaningful comparisons, so avoid the temptation of taking on too many groups of deviants to answer the question.

Where do I find the question? Please choose a question from this question page: https://moodle.warwick.ac.uk/mod/page/view.php?id=2075717Link opens in a new window.

They are deliberately general to enable you to compare the treatment of more than one group. You can also devise your own question by talking to me or your seminar tutor. Do not come up with your own question without prior approval.

What else should I include? Please combine elements of historiography [how historians have approached this subject] with primary source analysis. Aim to cite a range of secondary readings in relation to the groups you are discussing. Don't just rely on texts available electronically - make use of the library. Avoid citing blog posts and other work available through search engines online (unless the scholar in question is a known authority on a topic), as this will not be subject to the academic standards or integrity we would expect for work of this level.

Feedback

Written feedback (via Tabula) and optional individual tutorials (via Teams, in office hours or by appointment) will be provided to all students taking this module.

20-point Marking ScaleLink opens in a new window

Participation / Engagement Mark (10%)

This aspect of the module's assessment will be based on your contributions to seminars over the whole year. The mark is decided by your seminar tutor in the Summer Term, who will assess your contributions in weekly seminars across the module.

The best preparation you can do for this assignment is do the seminar reading, turn up to seminars, and contribute to the discussion in class (this can be small group as well as whole-class discussion). Participation might also include following any instructions you are provided by your seminar tutors, e.g. contributing to a module forum.

This assessment is NOT simply about the quantity of your contributions to this module (i.e. how often you spoke or answered questions in seminars), but about the quality of your engagement (e.g. clarity of expression, asking questions of your peers or of the material you have read/engaged with in preparation for the class, being respectful and inclusive of others, such as allowing others to speak and engaging with their opinions, your reading and preparation for seminars).

What marking criteria will be used? The departmental 'seminar contribution' marking criteria will be applied to this assignment. It follows the University 20 point scale and is available here: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/history/students/undergraduate/assess-coursework/#seminarcontribution