Assessment (Level Three)
| HST3000 The Uses of History |
This module will be assessed by coursework and an unseen examination. The coursework, an essay of about 1800 words, constitutes 25% of the overall mark. The remaining 75% will be derived from a three-hour, two-question examination. You will be notified of the submission deadline for the essay.
| Comparative Options |
The Comparative Option is a 20-credit, one semester module at level 3. Comparative Options take major historical themes and explore these across a broad time-frame and in a variety of different cultural and geographic settings. Each comparative option is taught by a team of lecturers whose own research relates to aspects of the topic under discussion, and they are designed to involve students and the teaching staff in a dialogue about how we approach key questions in the study of past societies. The topics selected for the modules all represent areas of lively, current historiographical debate and offer opportunities to respond to interpretations and theories emerging in other disciplines, including anthropology, sociology, cultural studies, geography and political science. For this reason they will appeal especially to students with an interest in thinking across disciplines in the arts, humanities, and social sciences, including those studying for dual degrees. All of the comparative options raise issues with strong resonances in our contemporary culture.
Comparative Options have been created to complement the more specialised work at Level Three, looking beyond the detailed focus on one specific place and time to ask more conceptual questions and allow for the space to engage with significant themes that run across many of the periods that we tend to study in isolation. How can we compare historical experiences separated in time and space? Can we gain insights into understanding one period by knowing how similar challenges were met in a very different historical context? Do we learn more from what periods have in common, or from the differences that emerge?
The modules are taught through a series of lectures and ninety-minute seminars, placing an emphasis on collaborative learning and the encouragement of active student participation in researching and presenting material in class. The assessment for comparative options is based on a mixture of written coursework and oral contributions to seminars. Written coursework accounts for 83% of the mark, based on two essays: one of 2000 words (33%) and one of 3000 words (50%), the deadlines for which will be advertised at the beginning of the semester. The remaining 17% is a mark for oral performance; your tutor will give clear guidance on how you will be assessed at the beginning of the module.
Comparative Option Marking Criteria for Oral Assessment
| Special Subjects |
These are taught over both semesters in the final year. They are examined by means of two three-hour examinations. The first will test the candidate’s knowledge of the documents studied; the second will be an essay paper. Both will take place during semester 2 examining period. Written coursework will also be required and marks recorded, although it does not count towards the assessment mark. All students will also be awarded a mark (which is recorded on their files but does not count towards their degree classification) based on their oral performance during seminars.
| Dissertations |
There are two types of dissertation module. HST399 is a two-module (40 credit) piece of written work, involving substantial research, under the guidance of a supervisor, and normally making use of primary source material. The word-limit is 10,000 words, including footnotes, but excluding the bibliography and any appendices. HST398 is timetabled as a single module (20 credit), taken in semester 2, as a dissertation module available to dual honours students. It involves a project of substantial research, normally making use of primary source material, and completed under the guidance of a designated supervisor. The word-limit for HST398 is 7,000 words, including footnotes, but excluding bibliography and any appendices.
Dissertations which are 5-15% over the word length will be penalised by a deduction of 5% of the mark awarded; pieces more than 15% over the word length will be penalised by a deduction of 10% of the mark awarded. Students should declare the word
Candidates should also note that dissertations which are very substantially below the recommended word lengths may be judged by the markers as failing to represent a satisfactory completion of the module.
Supervisors may read and comment on either a draft of one section of the dissertation (up to 2,000 words), or a detailed plan. In their feedback, they can give advice on the general approach, presentation and argument, but they will not engage in detailed commentary or proof-reading, or give any suggestion of a mark for the work submitted at that stage. The normal expectation is that supervisors will read and comment on drafts given to them at least three weeks before Week 4. They may agree to comment on work given to them at a later stage, but there should be no expectation that they do so.
The submission deadlines for 2011-2012 will be confirmed in the first weeks of semester 1.
In both cases, dissertations must be submitted in person between 9.00 am and 12.00 noon on the appropriate date.