This module (and its co-requisite) will allow students to study a historical theme or area in great depth, under the guidance of members of staff. The module will allow students to study an aspect of history in detail and gain a fuller understanding of how different types of source material inform the historical process. Like Part A, Part B will involve a detailed examination of primary as well as secondary sources, (documents, newspapers etc) both published and unpublished, and students will be tested on their ability to compare different source materials from the period under scrutiny.
Module Summary: This module aims to examine the development of societies in the North Atlantic (including the Atlantic archipelago and Iceland) which were shaped by similar but different impacts of the ‘viking’ expansion, climate and environment, and proximity to more centralised polities. The emphasis is on how political and social structures, including religious ones, shaped societies in this region during and after the so-called ‘Viking Age’. Many of the regions that are examined seem politically decentralised and so it aims to understand how and why that might have been the case, and what roles, if any ‘viking’ activity and Scandinavian heritage played in shaping society and politics.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the module students should be able to:
analyse and appraise key events and historical processes relevant to the subject under scrutiny;
analyse and evaluate a wide range of relevant primary source material offering where appropriate, an explicitly comparative perspective;
critically evaluate the historiographical context and trends of the subject under exploration;
Summarise, synthesise and evaluate the subject material in a sophisticated written form showing an awareness of further research potential.
