Voices from the Past: People in History

Module overview

History, at its core, is made up of the stories of thousands of individuals. Often these individuals are the rich and powerful, but historians also study those with less authority and agency. In this module, you will look at sources and case studies about individual historical figures, specific texts, or small communities from the ancient world to the modern period, such as Anna Comnena, Pliny, and the sixteenth century miller, Domenico Scandella. By examining the sources made by and about these individuals and their surrounding historiography, this module invites you to think critically about how historians construct meaning out of documents and accounts written within specific contexts.

Aims and Objectives

Learning Outcomes

Transferable and Generic Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

locate and use effective textual, visual and material culture sources in the library and on-line, synthesising this material in order to develop cogent arguments.
utilise and develop your time-management skills.
research historical questions and communicate your findings convincingly and concisely in written essays and reviews.

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

key secondary source material relating to historical figures and communities.
key primary sources relating to historical figures and communities.
the history of individuals, communities, and texts, in particular the way in which historians construct meaning out of documents and accounts written within specific contexts.

Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

analyse critically a variety of textual, visual and material culture sources.
structure your ideas and research findings into well-ordered essays.
engage with secondary literature on specific individuals or communities, and contribute to the debates relating to the historiography of individuals and communities and its relationship to the wider world.

Learning and Teaching

Teaching and learning methods

Teaching methods include lectures and seminars. Learning methods include close analysis of a range of primary sources and discussion of key themes and ideas.

Study time
Type	Hours
Lecture	12
Preparation for scheduled sessions	50
Completion of assessment task	50
Seminar	12
Wider reading or practice	26
Total study time	150

Resources & Reading list

Textbooks

David Brown (2012). Palmerston: A biography. Yale University Press.

Smith, A. (2018). The Man Who Built The Swordfish: The Life of Sir Richard Fairey 1887-1956. I.B. Tauris.

E. le Roy Ladurie (1990). Montaillou: Cathars and Catholics in a French village, 1294-1324. London: Penguin.

C. Ginzburg (1981). The Cheese and the Worms: The Cosmos of a Sixteenth-Century Miller. London: Routledge.

N. Zemon Davis (1983). The return of Martin Guerre. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Assessment

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.

Breakdown
Method	Percentage contribution
Written assignment	40%
Essay	60%

Referral

This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.

Breakdown
Method	Percentage contribution
Resubmit assessments	100%

Repeat

An internal repeat is where you take all of your modules again, including any you passed. An external repeat is where you only re-take the modules you failed.

Breakdown
Method	Percentage contribution
Written assignment	40%
Essay	60%

Repeat Information

Repeat type: Internal & External