• Offered by School of History
  • ANU College ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences
  • Course subject History
  • Areas of interest History
  • Academic career UGRD
  • Course convener
    • Dr Tania Colwell
  • Mode of delivery In Person
  • Offered in Second Semester 2015
    See Future Offerings

This course focuses on core issues in historical research that have stimulated debate and reflection within the discipline across time and national boundaries.  It assists students to explore those issues, developing skills in both critical analysis and problem-based research design.  The focal issue, or issues, will vary from year to year, but will include themes such as 'Nature and History', 'History and the Body', 'History and the Nation' and 'Issues in Contemporary Historical Writing'.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

Upon Successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

  1. Analyse key issues in historical enquiry
  2. Provide and respond to feedback in the process of identifying and formulating solutions to complex historical questions.
  3. Identify and interpret primary and secondary source materials that can inform answers to those questions
  4. Construct sustained, structured, evidence-based arguments that address questions of historical enquiry.
  5. Reflect critically on the processes of historical research and writing

Indicative Assessment

Class Participation: (10%) [Learning Outcomes 1, 2, 5]

Source Review: 1500 words (10%) [Learning Outcome 3]

Research Proposal: 1500 words (10%) [Learning Outcomes 1, 3, 4]

Research Essay – draft version: 3500 words (20%) [Learning Outcomes 1, 2, 3, 4]

Research Essay – final version: 5000 words (50%) [Learning Outcomes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.

Workload

260 hours in total:

3 contact hours per week (1 x 2 hour reading seminar and 1 x 1 hour workshop) for 13 weeks.

Students are expected to spend an additional 17 hours per week completing assigned readings, conducting research, and preparing for assessments.

Requisite and Incompatibility

To enrol in this course you must be studying a Bachelor of Arts (Honours), or completion of 144 units towards the Bachelor of Philosophy (Arts).

Prescribed Texts

Course readings will be made available to students through Wattle.



Preliminary Reading

No preliminary reading is necessary, though students may wish to seek guidance in relation to the annual theme.



Weekly readings will combine historical documents and recent scholarship to focus on a weekly theme.  An example would be:

  • Darwin, C., The Descent of Man [1871], in Watson (ed.), Darwin the Indelible Stamp (Philadelphia: Running Press, 2005), pp.732-60.
  • Spencer, H. ‘Progress: Its law and causes’, Westminster Review, 67 (April 1857).
  • Hawkins, M. Social Darwinism in European and American Thought, 1860-1945: Nature as Model & Nature as Threat (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997), pp.21-58.

Assumed Knowledge

Completion of a cognate Major


Specialisations

Fees

Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.  

If you are a domestic graduate coursework or international student you will be required to pay tuition fees. Tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.

Student Contribution Band:
1
Unit value:
12 units

If you are an undergraduate student and have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). You can find your student contribution amount for each course at Fees.  Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.

Units EFTSL
12.00 0.25000
Domestic fee paying students
Year Fee
2015 $5208
International fee paying students
Year Fee
2015 $7152
Note: Please note that fee information is for current year only.

Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links

ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.

The list of offerings for future years is indicative only.
Class summaries, if available, can be accessed by clicking on the View link for the relevant class number.

Second Semester

Class number Class start date Last day to enrol Census date Class end date Mode Of Delivery Class Summary
3472 20 Jul 2015 07 Aug 2015 31 Aug 2015 30 Oct 2015 In Person N/A

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