Us and Them: Inventing Identities in History

Module overview

Dividing humanity into groups is fundamental to how societies have defined themselves and developed. Group identity can be built upon perceptions of difference, developing in opposition to groups which societies or cultures reject. Thinking about how exclusion happens is fundamental to human experience and understanding it is essential for any student of history. This module will focus on the construction of identities in the past with particular emphasis on representation of difference, exclusion, and ‘othering’. Examining class, gender, disability, sexuality, race and religion, 'Us and Them' aims to show how narratives about minorities or under-represented groups have developed and the context that led to such narratives.

Aims and Objectives

Learning Outcomes

Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

analyse critically a variety of textual, visual and material culture sources.
engage with secondary literature on the nature of groups, and contribute to the debates relating to the historiography of them and their relationship to the wider world.
undertake research and develop your ideas on group identity and how this is constructed.

Transferable and Generic Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

research historical questions and communicate your findings convincingly and concisely in written essays and reviews.
utilise and develop your time-management skills.
locate and use effective textual, visual and material culture sources in the library and on-line, synthesising this material in order to develop cogent arguments.

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

key primary sources relating to the development of group identity
the challenges associated with historical study , in particular the way in which popular historical narratives are constructed and how historians can approach these.
key secondary source material relating to constructing group identity.

Learning and Teaching

Teaching and learning methods

Teaching methods include lectures and seminars. Learning methods include close analysis of a range of primary sources and discussion of key themes and ideas.

Study time
Type	Hours
Preparation for scheduled sessions	50
Lecture	12
Completion of assessment task	50
Wider reading or practice	26
Seminar	12
Total study time	150

Resources & Reading list

Journal Articles

(1974). The Tyranny of a Construct: Feudalism and Historians of Medieval Europe. The American Historical Review, 79, pp. 1063-1088.

(2004). Should the Middle Ages Be Abolished?. Essays in Medieval Studies, 21, pp. 1–22.

(1998). AHR Forum: The Persistence of the Renaissance. The American Historical Review, 103, pp. 50-124.

Assessment

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.

Breakdown
Method	Percentage contribution
Essay	60%
Written assignment	40%

Referral

This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.

Breakdown
Method	Percentage contribution
Resubmit assessments	100%

Repeat

An internal repeat is where you take all of your modules again, including any you passed. An external repeat is where you only re-take the modules you failed.

Breakdown
Method	Percentage contribution
Essay	60%
Written assignment	40%

Repeat Information

Repeat type: Internal & External