MA Historical Studies

This module is designed to give students the opportunity to engage critically with the development of the discipline of History. A variety of different approaches to the subject are in turn analysed and contextualized. Their relationships with other approaches are examined through scrutiny of a series of historiographical debates. Having engaged critically with these approaches, students then have the opportunity to explore problems and challenges associated with primary source-based research on a practical and ethical level before being able to address these issues in the production of their dissertation proposal.
Break Ranks! Antimilitarism, Pacifism and Resistance to War (Option)
This module aims to examine the history of peace/antiwar movements both nationally and internationally. It also explores forms of noncompliance to war regulations among civilians and in the army. Students can study the theoretical underpinnings of this field and apply that knowledge in designing and developing their own research project for the final assessment. Areas that are covered include theories of pacifism/antimilitarism, war resistance in art and literature, religious opposition to war, women in peace movements and anti-war movements today.
Dissertation (MA History)
The dissertation is designed to allow students to conduct a sustained piece of work which draws upon their research and self-organisational skills. The dissertation will require students to explore the problematic nature of primary source materials and they will be expected to analyse the relationship between primary and secondary sources. Engagement with recent scholarship in the field and a synthesis of a substantial amount of secondary literature is expected within the dissertation. Where appropriate, as part of their research, students will need to consider critically ethical dimensions associated with their area of inquiry.
Early Modern Manhood (Option)
This module introduces key issues and concepts in gender history, with particular reference to early modern masculinity. An introduction to key ideas and scholars is provided, focussing particularly on the ways in which scholars of the history of masculinity use a variety of texts – from journals and letters to visual material and published works – in order to elucidate the ideals and experiences of both early modern men and women.
The module offers students the opportunity to engage in sustained analysis of developments in scholarship relating to masculinity in the period c.1500-1750. This is designed to enable them to demonstrate their understanding and ability to structure their own research, utilising primary and secondary sources, including works from cognate disciplines such as gender theory and other theoretically-informed approaches.
Nineteenth-Century Lives: Texts, Histories, Portraits (Option)