Methods and Techniques for Historical Research
Code: 100373 ECTS Credits: 6| Degree | Type | Year | Semester |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2500501 History | OB | 2 | 1 |
| 2504216 Contemporary History, Politics and Economics | OT | 3 | 2 |
| 2504216 Contemporary History, Politics and Economics | OT | 4 | 1 |
| 2504216 Contemporary History, Politics and Economics | OT | 4 | 2 |
Contact
- Name:
- Jordi Font Agullo
- Email:
- jordi.font.agullo@uab.cat
Use of Languages
- Principal working language:
- catalan (cat)
- Some groups entirely in English:
- No
- Some groups entirely in Catalan:
- Yes
- Some groups entirely in Spanish:
- No
Other comments on languages
AnglèsExternal teachers
- Jaume Oliver Bruy
Prerequisites
Reading and understanding Catalan and Spanish correctly. It is desirable to have basic competency in English.
Objectives and Contextualisation
The main objective of this module is to introduce students to the methods and techniques they will require to conduct historical research in an autonomous and rigorous way. It combines theoretical and applied classes to acquantain students with historical research, what resources are available for them and how should a project be designed. They will also have the chance to work with a wide variety of sources and analyse them critically to generate new knowledge.
Competences
- History
- Applying specific methods and techniques from other social sciences.
- Applying the main methods, techniques and instruments of the historical analysis.
- Developing critical thinking and reasoning and communicating them effectively both in your own and other languages.
- Identifying the main historiographical tendencies and critically analysing their development.
- Students must be capable of collecting and interpreting relevant data (usually within their area of study) in order to make statements that reflect social, scientific or ethical relevant issues.
- Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
- Students must develop the necessary learning skills in order to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.
Learning Outcomes
- Applying the necessary abilities in order to assess and spread historical knowledge.
- Communicating in your mother tongue or other language both in oral and written form by using specific terminology and techniques of Historiography.
- Identifying the main and secondary ideas and expressing them with linguistic correctness.
- Mastering the main techniques of historical research.
- Organising and planning the search of historical information.
- Properly using the specific vocabulary of History.
- Solving problems autonomously.
- Using the characteristic computing resources of the field of History.
- Using the methods and techniques of demography in the historical analysis.
- Using the methods and techniques of economy in the historical analysis.
- Using the methods and techniques of sociology in the historical analysis.
- Utilising the information collection tools such as bibliographical catalogues, archive inventories and electronic references.
Content
1. History and its uses.
1.1 Brief history of History.
1.2 Narrative, science, truth, fiction.
1.3 Historiographic approaches and concepts and their evolution.
2. The material and immaterial sources, and the profession of the historian.
2.1 Archival documentary sources and their origins: administrative, legislative, judicial, political, trade union, associations, companies ...
2.2 Other written sources: newspapers, letters, autobiographies, memoirs, novels, etc.
2.3 Oral sources and working with witnesses.
2.4 A new challenge: the sources of the audiovisual and digital universe.
2.5 The approach of a research project.
3. Archaeological sources
3.2 Specificity of the archaeological record.
3.3 Landscape archeology / agricultural archeology.
3.4 Ethnoarchaeology.
4. Auxiliary sciences: paleography, diplomacy, codicology, numismatics, vexillography, genealogy, geographic information systems.
5. The irruption of memory and heritage. Challenges and opportunities of History.
6. “Public history”: instruments and mechanisms for the transmission of historical knowledge.
6.1 The archives and documentation centers.
6.2 Museums: typologies and social / community functions.
6.3 Didactics and pedagogy of history and memory.
6.4 Cultural tourism and memory tourism.
6.5 The media, audiovisual products and digital technologies.
Methodology
This module has a theoretical part, which will be taught through lectures, and an applied part, which will include in-class training and individual projects. Students need to have good language skills to present the results obtained through group and individual projects to their peers and the teacher.
Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.
Activities
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type: Directed | |||
| Theoretical classes and practices at classroom | 54 | 2.16 | 1, 2, 4, 3, 5, 12, 8, 10, 9, 11 |
| Type: Supervised | |||
| Tutorials | 15 | 0.6 | 1, 2, 4, 3, 5, 12, 8, 10, 9, 11 |
| Type: Autonomous | |||
| Individual activities | 75 | 3 | 1, 2, 4, 3, 5, 12, 8, 10, 9, 11 |
Assessment
1. First written assessment (30%).
2. Second written assessment (30%)
3. Module project (30%).
4. Active involvement in in-class source analysis (10%).
Attendance to classes and other activities is important.
The teacher will duly inform students (Moodle, SIA) about the assessing procedures and how they can review corrections. Individual cases will be taken into consideration. Students have the right to revise their results and the teacher will establishe the necessary mechanisms to do so.
Second-chance examinations will follow the general regulation of UAB and it will consist on a single test that will take place on the date established by the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters. The highest mark that can be achieved through this exam is a Pass (5/10) and it cannot be used to improve grades that are higher than 5/10.
Those students who do not submit at least 2/3 of the assessments will be considered "non-assessable".
If students commit any irregularity that may lead to a significant variation of the assessment of an exercise, they will be awarded a 0/10 mark in that exercise. If this behaviour continues, the final mark of the module will also be a 0/10.
If students are unable to physically attend assessment, the process of evaluation will be adapted (without modifying the weigh of the exercise) according to the possibilities offered by the digital tools of UAB. Homework, activities and class participation will take place through forums, wikis and/or discussions through Moodle, Teams, etc.
Assessment Activities
| Title | Weighting | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delivery of a paper | 30 % | 2 | 0.08 | 1, 2, 4, 3, 5, 7, 6, 12, 8, 10, 9, 11 |
| Exams | 60 % (30% + 30%) | 3 | 0.12 | 1, 2, 4, 3, 5, 7, 6, 12, 8, 10, 9, 11 |
| Oral presentations, activity at classroom | 10 % | 1 | 0.04 | 1, 2, 4, 3, 5, 7, 6, 12, 8, 10, 9, 11 |
Bibliography
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Software
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