HIH237
The Practice of History
In HIH237 The Practice of History, second-year students have the chance to plan
and carry out a substantial original research project (3,000 words), with guidance
from their seminar tutor. The only stipulation is that their chosen topic must relate to
their seminar group theme, and it must draw on primary historical sources. We think
of this as a kind of ‘mini - dissertation’ experience for students, to help them build
towards the final year dissertation module which involves a year-long, 10,000-word
piece of research. As a stepping-stone towards this, the HIH237 assignment helps
give students a sense of what kind of topics might work for a research project; how
to identify and use primary source evidence effectively; and how to plan and
organise their own unique study. Some students go on to develop an idea for the
final year dissertation, based on their experience of doing the Practice of History
research project. Even for those who do not build on it directly, we hope that
successful completion of the HIH237 assignment inspires them to feel confident and
excited about doing historical research and makes the prospect of doing a final year
dissertation feel a bit less daunting.
Professor Louise Miskell
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