Assessment

Seminar participation/engagement (10%)

All students are expected to contribute regularly and constructively to seminar discussions. Seminar participation will be assessed across all classes according to the following criteria:

• Preparation - Evidence shows preparation for the seminar (has carried out required task / has thought of issues to be discussed).
• Engagement and Initiative - Quality of engagement is active, respectful and inclusive; participation in discussions; engagement with others; taking own initiative to ask questions. Attendance is taken into consideration as well, aside from authorised absences.
• Response and Discussion - Quality of response reflects knowledge, comprehension and application of the readings; oral participation extends the discussion with peers and reflects analysis, synthesis and evaluation.

Assignment 1: 2000-word essay on the theme of 'Vantage Points' (20%)

In this module we are discussing how all historical research is a sophisticated negotiation between the historian’s own lived experience, their socio-cultural context, and the source materials they choose to tell their stories. Ludmilla Jordanova calls these 'vantage points', as she explains that 'readers are entitled to know where I am coming from' (History in Practice, p. 1).

In this assignment, your task is to reflect upon your own vantage points, to place these in context, and to explain how they influence your approach to historical research. In other words, to explain where you are coming from.

Further guidance on essay content and structure can be found here.

Assignment 2: 2000-word Research Proposal (20%)

This assignment is designed to enable you to develop a detailed research proposal for the research project that you will complete for assignment 3.

Developing a research proposal is a crucial part of the research process: it is how historians plan their research questions, which sources they will use, and how they will manage their time. In this assignment you will cover an outline and explanation of: your research questions, the primary sources you intend to look at, relevant secondary literature, parameters and feasability.

Further guidance on proposal content and structure can be found here.

Assignment 3: 4500-word Research Project (50 %)

This assignment is designed to prepare you for the demands of the final-year dissertation by giving you the opportunity to conduct an extended, independent piece of historical research. Your project will investigate a focused historical topic, grounded in the critical use of primary sources and situated within relevant historiography. A central aim of the project is to develop your ability to use primary evidence not just descriptively, but analytically, to advance a clear line of argument that engages meaningfully with existing scholarship.

This project will help you refine skills in historical researcg: identifying and framing research questions, selecting and interpreting appropriate sources, and constructing persuasive, evidence-based arguments within a scholarly context. You should select your sources in consultation with your seminar tutor.

Format and Presentation: The essay should be double-spaced; have footnotes that conform with the Department's preferred MHRA style [see handbook for further guidance]; and a bibliography that lists primary and secondary sources under clear sub-headings. The essay should also be carefully proof-read to eliminate typos and other errors.