OBJECTIVES

This course provides an introduction to the theory, study and writing of History, and includes an analysis of the changes in the methods, assumptions and purposes of historical investigation over time. This will introduce basic conceptual and methodological matters within the field of History, and help bring to the fore areas of theoretical interest to past and present-day historians. The course is split into three parts. The first part surveys the development of the discipline of History. The second part of the course focuses on introducing methodological themes connected to History in order to demonstrate how historical materials, interviews, and perspectives can come together in the production of History. The third part of the course touches upon matters related to writing, such as research methods, reading and critical thinking, analysis and the basics of historical composition writing. 

Tutorials: 25 Marks (Tutorial topics are tentative and subject to confirmation.)

There are four tutorial sessions, which are compulsory. Each student will be held responsible to do a presentation on one of the first three tutorial topics together with a presentation on Term Paper in the final tutorial.

Tutorial 1: Key Thinkers on History

Hughes-Warrington, Fifty Key Thinkers on History (Third Edition). London and New York: Routledge, 2015.

Tutorial 2: History and Society

Burke, Sociology and History. London: George Allen & Unwin, 1980.

Tutorial 3: “New History”

Burke ed., New Perspectives on Historical Writing (Second Edition). University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 2001.

Tutorial 4: Presentation on Research Paper

Tutorial Review Essay: 25 Marks

Write a short essay around 2,000 words on one of the first three tutorial topics being assigned.

Term Paper: 50 Marks

Write an essay in English on any history topic with around 4,000. The submission deadline will be before mid-December.

Tutorial Time: 4:30pm-6:15pm, Tuesday, 20 Oct, 27 Oct, 3 Nov, 24 Nov (Tentative Schedule)

Tutorial Venue: Zoom / TBC

The course information is tentative and subject to change and confirmation when the semester begins in early September 2020.

Attention is drawn to University policy and regulations on honesty in academic work, and to the disciplinary guidelines and procedures applicable to breaches of such policy and regulations. Details may be found at here.

With each assignment, students will be required to submit a signed declaration that they are aware of these policies, regulations, guidelines and procedures.

• In the case of group projects, all members of the group should be asked to sign the declaration, each of whom is responsible and liable to disciplinary actions, irrespective of whether he/she has signed the declaration and whether he/she has contributed, directly or indirectly, to the problematic
• For assignments in the form of a computer-generated document that is principally text-based and submitted via VeriGuide, the statement, in the form of a receipt, will be issued by the system upon students’ uploading of the soft copy of the assignment. 
• Students are fully aware that their work may be investigated by AI content detection software to determine originality.
• Students are fully aware of the AI approach(es) adopted in the course. In the case where some AI tools are allowed, students have made proper acknowledgment and citations as instructed by the course teacher.

Assignments without the properly signed declaration will not be graded by teachers.

Only the final version of the assignment should be submitted via VeriGuide.

The submission of a piece of work, or a part of a piece of work, for more than one purpose (e.g. to satisfy the requirements in two different courses) without declaration to this effect shall be regarded as having committed undeclared multiple submissions. It is common and acceptable to reuse a turn of phrase or a sentence or two from one’s own work; but wholesale reuse is problematic. In any case, agreement from the course teacher(s) concerned should be obtained prior to the submission of the piece of work.

The copyright of the teaching materials, including lecture notes, assignments and examination questions etc., produced by staff members/ teachers of The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) belongs to CUHK. Students may download the teaching materials produced by the staff members/ teachers from the Learning Management Systems, e.g. Blackboard adopted by CUHK for their own educational use, but shall not distribute/ share/ copy the materials to a third-party without seeking prior permission from the staff members/ teachers concerned.