HIST 3056 - Doing History

This is History's capstone course. It is a required unit for students completing their major in History. The course has therefore been designed to round out undergraduate studies in History. It involves reading about and discussing the different ways historians work, as well as their motivation and their goals. More than that, students will also be conducting original research and 'doing history' at an advanced level. Additional components of the course will include a discussion of ethics in working with sensitive historical sources and producing historical writing for a range of audiences. Assessment tasks include a literature survey and research plan and a source methodology essay both of which bear on the research project and the final research paper. The attributes you will build in this course are not simply relevant to historians or history teachers. The critical evaluation of evidence of all kinds is central to any number of careers and it is an essential skill for informed and engaged citizens. Moreover, it is also an essential life skill: the ability to 'read between the lines', to recognise and then assess the strengths and weaknesses of views or opinions based on the evidence underpinning them is the key to dealing with many of the problems we face daily, individually and collectively.