History MA

Course modules

Module detail

Historical Methodology

This module provides an introduction to advanced historiography. It will develop students’ knowledge of traditional historiographical concerns alongside current trends and new directions in writing and thinking about the past. It also aims to enable students to think critically about the way historians have formulated research questions, used sources, and written history, across time and place. It will help students to build up an informed knowledge of recent developments in historical thinking as well as a history of the discipline of History itself.

Topics to be covered will be drawn from the following themes: nation and state in History; global and transnational histories; empires and colonies; orientalism and occidentalism; social history, structuralism and the Annales; history from below; history in numbers; cultural history and postmodernism; materiality and visual history; gender history; and migration history.

Public History and Heritage

This module provides an introduction to Public History and Heritage. It will develop your knowledge about the debates, theoretical underpinnings and development of public history and heritage in both the UK and the wider world. It will enable you to engage in debates around how public history is constructed, contested and represented in society. It examines the growth in the heritage industry and considers the ways in which the digital age has impacted upon the development and growth of this sector. The module also brings together an array of industry specialists to provide a practical and theoretical approach to teaching and learning on this module.

Global Leicester

The city of Leicester is one of the most diverse cities in Europe. It is shaped by both by its long migration history and also by its position as a post-industrial city in the Midlands. Using Global Leicester as the pivotal point, this module will emphasise the importance of place and scale while drawing on multiple themes. The module is designed to unpack local history through global lenses. The module will consider the multiple ways in which we can understand the history of migration through and beyond the axis of Leicester. For example, the complex relationship with the empire and the subsequent population movement due to the expulsion Asians in Uganda. The changing landscape of both the physical city and the demographic movement of people via themes of food, empire, football, trade, material objects. The themes will reflect and draw upon the expertise currently in History and more broadly research which has explored the wider ramifications of migration through the ages to present-day Leicester. The students will be encouraged to approach some of these themes and ideas through leading individual discussions and presenting a focused research case study.

Conference Training and Presentation

The module is designed to train students in the skills involved in event organisation and presentation. It will involve collaborative as well as individual research skills. Students will be guided through the necessary training in organising a conference, choosing a topic and delivering a relevant paper. Students will be assigned roles (treasurer, programme developer, marketing manager, website designer) and will also present a paper at the conference. Students will be assessed on a reflective essay, outlining their contribution to the management of the conference and a written version of their presentation (including slides). Please visit the Conference Twitter handle @DMUHumsConf to sample previous years’ conferences.

Dissertation

The final project will be a sustained piece of writing, amounting to 15,000 words. The piece will draw on research undertaken throughout the year but will provide a new and sustained argument.

Teaching and assessments

Overview

The aim of the MA History programme is to develop both generic and subject-specific skills, ensuring that each module develops skills that will contribute to the following module. The course consists of 180 credits with four 30-credit modules followed by a 60-credit dissertation, moving from taught to research-based study.

The course will allow you to contextualise, analyse and problematise the past by developing your skills in ‘Historical Methodologies’. The module will introduce key questions in current historiography and prepare you to conduct individual historical research. ‘Public History and Heritage’ engages you in debates around how public history is constructed, contested and represented in society and use this to produce your own “heritage” project. ‘Global Leicester’ will provide you with an opportunity to understand the importance of place and scale while unpacking themes/events which are of global relevance in our everyday local environment. The ‘Conference Organisation and Presentation’ is a practical module in which you will organise and participate in a one-day Humanities conference, presenting your research ideas and learning from peers through engaging critically with each other’s research. The final part of the course will be devoted to a dissertation of 15,000 words, which you will develop and work with a supervisor.

The programme is designed to provide for intense immersive learning for those who wish to complete in a year, and for those who want to study part-time over two years, to fit their studies around busy and demanding professional and personal lives.

Contact hours

Your contact time will vary module to module, but we usually have 2 hours per module scheduled during term time for lectures/workshops. In addition, you will be expected to undertake at least 32 hours of independent study each week. Your third term or when you complete your dissertation, will be largely self-directed (excluding 1-2-1 meetings/mentoring with a supervisor), during which you can expect to undertake 35 hours of independent study each week.

Programme structure

Full-time Students:

Semester 1 has been designed to introduce students to historiography and historical methodology and to provide both practical and theoretical training in developing research to master’s Level. Students will be taught in two sessions on separate days: one afternoon session, ‘Historical Methodology’ and one lunchtime session, ‘Public History and Heritage’.

Semester 2 develops from the 1st semester and offers students a module on ‘Conference Organisation and Presentation’ and a module on Global Leicester. Students will be taught in two sessions on separate days: one afternoon session, ‘Global Leicester’ and the ‘Conference Organisation and Presentation’ will be held during lunchtime sessions, but this will vary between workshops and student led meetings.

Semester 3 is devoted entirely to the final 15,000-word dissertation that should build on the work completed over the previous semesters.

Part-time Students:

Year 1 Semester 1 offers support alongside full-time students in the module ‘Historical Methodology’.

Year 1 Semester 2 focuses on the development and consolidation of practice from Semester 1 in ‘Conference Organisation and Presentation’.

Year 1 Semester 3 provides you with an opportunity for independent learning and reflection based on the modules already completed.

Year 2 Semester 1: Students will take the ‘Public History and Heritage’ module.

Year 2 Semester 2: You will study ‘Global Leicester’ while building your skills of independent learning.

Year 2 Semester 3: is devoted to the final 15,000-word dissertation that should build on the work completed over the previous semesters.