Module Information
Course Delivery
| Delivery Type | Delivery length / details |
|---|---|
| Seminar | 10 x 2 Hour Seminars |
Assessment
| Assessment Type | Assessment length / details | Proportion |
|---|---|---|
| Semester Assessment | Short essay 1,000 words | 20% |
| Semester Assessment | Project 4,000 words | 80% |
| Supplementary Assessment | Short essay 1,000 words | 20% |
| Supplementary Assessment | Project 4,000 words | 80% |
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this module students should be able to:
Demonstrate an understanding of historical sources and approaches relating to the British ‘home front’ experience in the Second World War.
Demonstrate an understanding of comparative perspectives on the history of the civilian wartime experience.
Demonstrate an understanding of a range of approaches to the study of historical narratives, in particular the competing narratives of memory, popular culture and ‘academic’ history.
Construct cogent historical arguments relating to the British ‘home front’ experience in the Second World War.
Aims
This module aims to advance students’ critical awareness of historical source material through a close study of recent work on the British experience of the Second World War and of the primary source material on which that work has been based. It focuses in particular on the 'mythologising' function of historical writing, using the example of the so-called 'Myth of the Blitz', the British people's experience of the war years 1940-41, to consider the nature of historical 'myths', their origins, and the historian's responsibilities when confronting them
Brief description
This module provides a close critical study of recent literature on Britain during the Second World War and of the source material on which that work has been based, focusing in particular on the 'mythologising' function of historical writing, and using the example of the so-called 'myth of the Blitz', to consider the nature of 'historical myths', their origins, and the historian's responsibilities when confronting them.
Content
1. Myth-making and history
2. Angus Calder's The Myth of the Blitz
3. Evacuation
4. Dunkirk
5. Project planning
6. Battle of Britain
7. The Blitz
8. Churchill
9. National character
10. The myth today
Module Skills
| Skills Type | Skills details |
|---|---|
| Application of Number | NA |
| Communication | Oral and written communication skills will be developed through seminars and feedback on written work. These skills will be assessed through assignments. |
| Improving own Learning and Performance | Written work will be returned in tutorials where advice will be given regarding the improvement of research and techniques and essay writing skills |
| Information Technology | Through the retrieval of primary and secondary works from online resources and AberLearn Blackboard and through the writing, formatting and printing of essays. |
| Personal Development and Career planning | This module will develop oral and written skills. It will also prepare students for careers which involve the research, critical analysis and presentation of material relevant to a particular problem or set of problems |
| Problem solving | Students are expected to note and respond to historical problems which arise as part of the study of this subject area, and to undertake suitable research for seminars and essays. |
| Research skills | Students will be required to carry out research for seminars and written work. |
| Subject Specific Skills | This module looks more widely at the role of myth in history, and encourages students to look at familiar events through fresh eyes. |
| Team work | Through seminar activities, including seminar leading with another student. |
Notes
This module is at CQFW Level 5