Course Details in 2026/27 Session

Module Title	LH The Digital Past
School	Lan, Cult, Art Hist & Music
Department	Modern Languages
Module Code	09 29767
Module Lead	Aengus Ward
Level	Honours Level
Credits	20
Semester	Semester 2
Pre-requisites
Co-requisites
Restrictions	None
Contact Hours	Lecture-10 hours Seminar-20 hours Practical Classes and workshops-10 hours Guided independent study-160 hours Total: 200 hours
Exclusions
Description	The Digital Past will interrogate the ways in which history was written in the medieval period and the ways in which we can understand manuscript culture in the digital age. We will analyse the thirteenth-century chronicle the Estoria de Espanna, using a range of digital tools designed in the context of the Estoria Digital research project to examine (amongst others) the ways in which history is written and re-written, the past and present of medieval Iberia and the ways in which ethnic, religious and gender identities are configured in medieval Iberia. We will also look directly at manuscripts of the Estoria and will learn to employ digital tagging to edit medieval texts. We will consider the nature of culture in the digital world and how digital forms of access inflect all of our (cultural) interactions.
Learning Outcomes	By the end of the module students should be able to: analyse and transcribe digitally (using xml tagging) medieval manuscript materials reflect critically on digital editing methods analyse critically the construction of history in medieval Iberia reflect critically on learning methods Reflect critically on the nature of the digital world
Assessment	29767-01 : 48hr Take Home Paper : Exam (School Arranged) - Written Unseen (50%) 29767-02 : Digital transcription and textual analysis : Practical (40%) 29767-03 : Reflective diary : Coursework (10%)
Assessment Methods & Exceptions	Assessments: 1.5 hour exam (50%); Digital transcription and textual analysis (Commented transcription of approximately 2 folios of medieval manuscript, (1000 words for the commentary) (40%); Reflective diary: 10 weekly entries of personal reflection, 500 words in total (10%). Reassessment: No resits are permitted in final year. If students miss the assessed task owing to extenuating circumstances, the failed task would be rescheduled at a later date.
Other
Reading List