This is a foundational course that teaches students about history, the academic discipline. It is divided into three broad sections. The first examines the nature and the purpose of history, as well as the craft of the historian. The second division focuses on the nature, the authenticity and usefulness of documentary, material and oral sources that are used to write history, as well as on historical explanation and issues regarding historical objectivity and subjectivity. The third section looks at the genres or variants of history and the strengths and limitations of using certain kinds of materials such as newspapers, interviews and public and private papers to write history. The modules of the course provide an excellent exploration that will enable students to adequately engage the study of the courses offered by the Department of History both at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
1. Define in multiple ways the nature of history
2. Logically explain the purpose of history
3. Delineate the various tasks of the historian
4. Classify and evaluate the different sources historians use
5. Identify and analyze the variants of history such as social, economic, political and women and gender history
Department of History
Faculty of Humanities and Education
UWI St. Augustine
Tel: (868) 662-2002 ext. 82022
Fax (868) 663-9684
Email: Sherry-Ann.Singh@sta.uwi.edu
