Timezone - History at University of Wales, Newport |
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(these are all on the History Matters web site)
On a more practical note: History can prepare you directly for a career - in teaching, for example, or the heritage industry. But History also teaches you transferrable skills: these include
These skills can take you into a wide range of careers -
Don't just take our word for it -
Here are some interesting people who have studied History, and what they said about their subject::
At Newport, we have a distinctive style of History. We focus on using all the sources - literature, music and the visual arts, archaeology and material culture, maps and the landscape, as well as 'conventional' documentary sources and oral history.
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Our approach to written evidence is also ‘hands-on’. From the outset, you will be expected to evaluate and analyse documentary sources, asking not only ‘What happened, and why?’ but ‘How do we know?’. You will discuss the nature of history itself, and whether we can ever be certain about the past. Sessions are arranged with the staff of the County Record Office in Cwmbran, and visits may also be made to the National Archives at Kew. You will be able to develop research skills through a succession of courses, and at the end of your third year you will complete an independent research project on a subject of your choice. A number of our students' dissertations have been published in historical journals, and in 1996 an undergraduate dissertation on aspects of the slave trade was the first winner of the prestigious Gwyn Alf Williams Memorial Award
There is now a lot of help available to enable all students to participate fully in higher education programmes. If you think you may need special enabling provision, you need to contact our Student Support Service. You can email the Disability Co-ordinator at Sarah.Betteley@newport.ac.uk or telephone him on 01633.432658. You also need to contact the History team so that we can discuss the best way of tailoring a programme to your needs.
Studying History at university involves more than learning facts about the past and understanding other people’s interpretations. You will need to think about how history is written, and you will have to reflect on what we mean by ‘History’. You will also need to know how to deal with the sources historians use: how to identify the necessary sources, how to evaluate and analyse them, how to present your findings. This is what you will learn at University of Wales, Newport. You will also study selected periods and aspects of the past, and you will learn how to write History for yourselves. You can study History on its own as a Single Honours degree or as half a Joint Honours degree in combination with another subject from the Humanities portfolio. Timetable permitting, you may be able to study History in conjunction with subjects taught in other Schools. Year 1: FOUNDATION MODULES
Academic Skills (G106514) The module is split into two components: [part 1] What is History? Case studies in historiography This component provides you with an essential tool-kit for all your History modules. You will be able to explore the nature of historical evidence, bias and interpretation in history, and practice marshalling and managing data to deal with historical questions. You will also have to think reflectively about what historians actually do, about the nature of good practice in history and about such disputed questions as impartiality and causation. We explore these issues through a series of case studies that focus on particularly contentious periods of the past and look at how different historians have interpreted and treated them. The choice of case studies will depend on staff research interests: at the moment we look at the Blitz and Chartism. These case studies are accompanied by seminars in which you can develop your skills in the evaluation and analysis of documentary source material. This module provides the basis for all further History modules. The emphasis on sources and the question ‘how do we know?' is fundamental to the whole programme and will eventually prepare you for your final year dissertation. [part 2] Reading Everyday Lives : Case studies in the history of material culture The History programme at Newport emphasises the need to use the full range of evidence to study the past. This part of the module encourages you to synthesize visual material, oral evidence, archaeological evidence - sites, artefacts and museum objects - and the study of the landscape with more conventional documentary and literary sources. The focus throughout is on the need to evaluate and to interrogate the sources in order to understand more fully the material world of the past. We do this by working on case studies of selected sources and themes. These will vary in detail according to the research interests of contributing staff: the overarching aim is to allow you to share in the process of historical discovery. Where possible, site visits will be an important element in the teaching and learning strategy, which will encourage a “hands-on” approach to observation and recording in the field. In conjunction with History and Heritage (G106282), this module emphasises ‘doing History' and provides a basis for all your subsequent modules. * * * * * * * The Academic Skills module also gives you a generic approach to library and information skills, use of IT and communication skills. This part of the module has been developed in recognition of the need for all students to be able to find, use and handle information effectively, particularly in an electronic environment and in the ‘information society’. It adopts a broad approach to information handling, including the use of IT skills to search for information, to store it and to present the results, whether in a written assignment, in a presentation or as part of a group exercise. The module also includes guidance on the evaluation of all kinds of information, but with a particular focus on material published on the Internet. The module is intended to run in parallel with Humanities subject modules, with assessment points timed to ensure that you develop the appropriate expertise at the same time as you need to apply it in your chosen subjects.
British Isles : History, Culture and Identity, 55 BC - AD 1945 (G106675) This module is designed to provide you with a chronological framework for study of British history so that you can more readily appreciate the context for subsequent more detailed study of aspects of that history and reflection on historiographical debate. We will:
On the Caerleon campus of University of Wales, Newport, we are lucky in the extraordinary richness of historical sites which you can visit, from Iron Age and Roman fortifications to major industrial landscapes. We will use all these in teaching, and the resources of the many local institutions with which we have links, such as the National Museum and its offshoots the Legionary Museum in Caerleon and the National Coal Museum in Blaenafon.
Europe, 400-1945 (G106674) This module is designed to provide you with a chronological framework for study of European and colonial history so that you can more readily appreciate the context for your subsequent more detailed study of aspects of that history. It will also provide you with the background for reflection on historiographical debate. In the course of the module you will:
By the end of the module you should be able to:
Optional modules: Global History (G105179) This module provides a historical overview from the beginning of the second millennium to the current ‘war against terrorism’, highlighting the most significant political, economic and social trends and developments across the globe. The aim is two-fold: to 're-orient' your view of the world and its history (literally and metaphorically), so that Europe is no longer seen at the centre; and to emphasise that globalization and the global world economy are no new thing. The module is broad-brush: it cannot cover every aspect of human history and does not seek to do so. Historical developments are sketched rather than probed in detail. It does, however, give an overall picture of the factors, which shaped the world of today, and brought about its current challenges. Heritage and History (G106282) As part of your studies you will be taken to visit museums, historical buildings and archaeological sites. These sources are seldom raw evidence: they are presented to us by the heritage industry and our perception of them is coloured by the way in which they are presented. This module looks at the ways in which the heritage industry shapes our perception of the past. Issues you will think about include the definition of heritage, the question of who 'owns' the past and the ways in which heritage can be used in social and economic regeneration, as well as practical issues of conservation, management and access. History, Film and Image (G106673) The ‘Newport' style of History is built around the use of as wide a range of sources as possible. To this end, this innovative module will introduce you to a variety of historical films, documentaries and other visual evidence in order to develop your critical skills in reading alternative sources. The practical and analytical skills this imparts will enable you to seek employment in the media as well as in historical research. In the course of this module you will: • explore thematically images and cinematic perceptions of history By the end of the module you will have: • acquired a broad and detailed understanding of images and cinematic perceptions of history
Moving on: History in Year 2 Note: all modules are 20 credits. Joint Honours students should do at least two of the first three modules: Medieval Studies (G105359); Making of the Modern World (G105360); Presenting the Past (G105348), plus one other module or the work-based learning module. Single Honours students should normally do the first three modules and two others, plus the work-based learning module. Click on the links below for more information about the modules.
Special Subjects:
In addition, you will have structured work experience placement, on which you will be expected to write a report for a further 20 credits. You can take the placement as a block at the end of the year but you are strongly advised to spread it out, doing a day a week during the winter. You are expected to arrange your work experience placement after you discuss it with one of your tutors. It is designed to give you a taste of a possible future career. You may choose something which dovetails with your existing experience of the workplace or you may choose to branch out in a completely new direction. For those of you with a lifetime’s experience of the workplace, this is an opportunity to use some of the new skills you have learned as a student and possibly to explore new areas of voluntary work. Your work placement may also help you with your academic work in the second and year. It may, for example, suggest possible subjects and sources for a project in the module on heritage studies, Presenting the Past, or for your dissertation. In exceptional circumstances you can present a well-researched and well-presented business plan or report as an alternative to a placement. You should remember, though, that this is not an easy option. It is very difficult to write a convincing business plan without training and experience. You will need to demonstrate that you have spent at least as long on researching and planning your business as you would have done on a placement. We do not recommend that you take this option unless you have considerable experience of the world of business. Year 3 overview Note: all modules are 20 credits except for the Dissertation, which is 40 credits. Single Honours students should do modules: Medieval Europe (G105381) and Imperial Rivalries (G105383) and two others, plus the Dissertation.
Special Subjects:
If you want to discuss the course, you can contact the Head of History, Dr Richard Allen, by post or email - richard.allen@newport.ac.uk |
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is History just a thing of the past? 
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