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HHC200
The Past in the Present: Exploring Heritage Practice and Debates
This module will give students an introduction to the heritage industry. It¿s suited both to those considering a career in this sector and to students who¿d like to think in more general terms about the way our society consumes the past. The module will combine critical analysis of a range of heritage sites with lectures and seminar discussion of the lively debates around the role of history and heritage in society. We¿ll explore the challenges of difficult histories ¿ such as the legacies of slavery and colonialism. We¿ll consider both tangible heritage, like physical buildings and landscapes, and intangible heritage, like language and culture. The module will be assessed by a coursework portfolio of site reviews and an extended essay.
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HI-M96
Conversations with the Past
This module offers you the opportunity to explore a specific theme in depth through a structured series of seminars. The seminar format encourages independent thought, close reading, and intensive engagement with both primary sources and secondary literature. You will produce written work for discussion in seminars and refine your analytical skills through sustained dialogue with your tutors and peers, thereby deepening your critical thinking, research, and communication skills in a collaborative learning environment.
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HIH237
The Practice of History
The purpose of the module is to encourage you to think more deeply about how historians work and, in particular, about how we as historians can locate and use primary historical sources effectively as a means of interpreting and understanding the past. During the module we will learn about the survival of historical evidence, how it is organised and made accessible to historians to undertake their research, and how to effectively locate and interpret it in your studies. We will consider how the process of doing historical research changes over time, in particular with the impact of recent developments like digitization.
At the core of the module will be the work you undertake with others in your seminar group using a range of primary sources which your seminar tutor will introduce to you. As part of the module assessment you will also undertake your own primary source based research project using items from these collections. The module is designed strengthen your analytical skills and to help prepare you for the more extensive uses of primary evidence which you will encounter in final year special subjects and dissertation.
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HIH240
Europe 1500-1650: Renaissance, Reformation and Religious War
This course examines the turbulent period in the history of Europe (including Britain), which encompassed the spread of Renaissance artistic and literary values beyond the Italian peninsula, the Reformation and Counter-Reformation, and conflicts such as the French Wars of Religion, the Dutch Revolt, and the Thirty Years¿ War. The module will explore not only the political significance of these events, and their effects on the ruling classes, but also their implications for wider European society and culture. Particular attention will be paid to using the knowledge acquired to understand written and visual sources produced in the period.
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HIH3300
History Dissertation
The History dissertation is a free-standing, 40-credit module that runs across both semesters of Level Three. Candidates conduct research upon a subject of their choice, devised in consultation with a member of staff teaching for the degrees in History, and concerning a topic that falls within staff research and teaching interests.
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HIH396
From Machiavelli to Mussolini: Government and Society in Western Political Thought
This module offers a guide to the history of ideas on government and society which continue to influence political thought and action in the 21st century. The lectures will start by looking at the origins of democratic thinking in Athens, 5th Century BC, and will then give a brief account of medieval political thought and the impact of Christian-Muslim encounters. The main part of the course will deal with modern ideas on government as developed by Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, the political authors of the Enlightenment and American Revolution, and Marx and Lenin. The final part will focus on the Italian and German national socialists' assault on the liberal state and Western democratic tradition. Students will have the opportunity to read and discuss a representative selection from the 'classics' of Western political thought and reflect on their contemporary political relevance. As will be shown, some of today's best-known early modern texts on the nature of state power were misinterpreted by contemporaries and brought into disrepute by fascist ideologues who claimed them in defence of dictatorship.
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HIHM10
Understanding GLAM: Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museums
GLAM organisations ¿ Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums ¿ serve multiple overlapping roles in the 21st century. As heritage organisations and institutions of public history, they preserve heritage assets, display and interpret collection items for public audiences, and shape cultural memory, increasingly through co-creation with communities and interest groups. At the same time, they form a key part of the research infrastructure underpinning the work of historians, archaeologists, and other academics. Many of them are the product of problematic processes of the past -- including nationalism, colonialism, racism, and scientific imperialism ¿ for the understanding of which they contain key resources, and whose harms they now seek to undo.
This module is concerned with the history, practices, and policies of the GLAM organisations, and with the many challenges they face in the present. It will help you to develop a critical understanding of GLAM institutions, drawing on theoretical perspectives, while preparing you for a career in the sector. It blends theory, policy, and practice by considering the management, interpretation, and use of heritage collections through case studies and real-world scenarios.
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HIY101
From Facts to Fake News: Being a Historian in the Twenty-First Century
What are the historical roots of the climate crisis? Why has poverty proven so difficult to eliminate? Why do epidemic diseases continue to resurface? Will AI eventually replace historians? These are just some of the pressing questions explored in this module. Here at Swansea we believe that history provides essential tools for understanding the present. This module invites you to examine how insights from the past can help contextualize and address the complex global challenges we face today. You will be encouraged to reflect on your role as an emerging historian and to develop skills that will enable you contribute to contemporary debates.
Through a series of workshops across the semester, you will also develop practical skills in communicating historical knowledge and arguments to diverse audiences. Activities may include writing for the public, drawing up policy briefings, drafting podcast episodes, or create content for, and design, educational resources. Drawing on the rich research expertise of staff across the History and Heritage department, and inspired by the UN Sustainable Development Goals, this module explores themes such as poverty, famine, disease, gender inequality, climate change, and education, and more. It spans a vast range of historical periods and regions, asking you to think creatively about why history matters. By thinking collaboratively with fellow students and with expert researchers in the department, you will deepen your understanding of history¿s relevance in the modern world and enhance your ability to engage broad audiences. At its core, this module challenges you to consider how your study of history can shape your identity as a global citizen.
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HIY101C
O Ffeithiau i Newyddion Ffug: Bod yn Hanesydd yn yr Unfed Ganrif ar Hugain
Beth mae'n ei olygu i fod yn hanesydd yn yr unfed ganrif ar hugain? O ddymchwel cerfluniau, i ofnau am gynnydd ffasgiaeth, trin a thrafod etifeddiaeth gwladychiaeth, arsylwi pen-blwyddi gwrthdaro yn y gorffennol, neu gymariaethau hanesyddol a ddefnyddir i gefnogi neu wrthwynebu rhai safbwyntiau gwleidyddol, mae disgwrs gyhoeddus yn llawn trafodaethau o'r gorffennol. Rydym hefyd yn byw mewn oes o 'newyddion ffug', lle mae honiadau i'r hyn sy'n wir neu nad yw'n wir yn cael eu dadlau yn gyhoeddus, a ffeithiau eu hunain yn cael eu herio. Boed yn y gorffennol neu'r presennol, mae haneswyr bob amser wedi bod yn ymwneud â dadansoddi gwahanol fathau o dystiolaeth i benderfynu ar y gwir sut a pham y digwyddodd digwyddiadau'r gorffennol fel y gwnaethant. Bydd y modiwl hwn yn rhoi i chi¿r sgiliau ymchwil hanfodol a meddwl yn feirniadol sy'n hanfodol i ddeall y byd modern lle mae¿r gwir yn fwy dadleuol nag erioed o¿r blaen, boed yn y cyfryngau poblogaidd, disgwrs wleidyddol, cyfryngau cymdeithasol, neu ddeallusrwydd artiffisial.
Yn y modiwl hwn byddwch yn dysgu am sut mae haneswyr yn mynd i'r afael ag astudio'r gorffennol mewn gwahanol ffyrdd, gan ganolbwyntio'n benodol ar sut maent wedi ymdrin â heriau a dadleuon allweddol yn y gorffennol. Byddwch yn ystyried sut mae astudio hanes wedi datblygu yn y gorffennol ac yn parhau i ddatblygu yn y presennol, yn ogystal â'r nifer o ffyrdd y mae haneswyr yn cyfleu eu gwaith i gynulleidfaoedd ehangach. Byddwch hefyd yn dechrau datblygu'r sgiliau ymchwil, ysgrifennu a chyfathrebu allweddol sy'n hanfodol i astudio hanes yn y brifysgol. Byddwch yn adeiladu ar lawer o'r sgiliau a'r syniadau hyn yn y modiwl Heriau Byd-eang a gynhelir yn ail semester eich blwyddyn gyntaf. Bydd y modiwl hwn yn eich paratoi ar gyfer eich taith hanes ym Mhrifysgol Abertawe ond bydd hefyd yn eich helpu i feddwl yn feirniadol am y byd ehangach.
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HIY105
The Early Modern World, 1500-1800
Across the three centuries of the early modern period, from 1500 to 1800, the globe became increasingly connected as a consequence of what is often referred to as the European overseas expansion. Travellers, traders, missionaries, and colonists found their way from Europe to Africa, Asia, the Americas, and Australasia, with profound and often tragic consequences for the native peoples, cultures, and ecosystems with which they came into contact. The lives of non-Europeans and Europeans became more closely intertwined than ever before; a truly global economic system began to emerge; empires rose and fell. In this module, you will explore the processes by which the world was transformed over the course of three centuries, and reflect on the long-term significance of the outcomes, many of which have shaped the world as we experience it today.
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HIY105C
Y Byd Modern Cynnar, 1500-1800
Ar draws tair canrif y cyfnod modern cynnar, o 1500 i 1800, daeth y byd yn fwyfwy cysylltiedig o ganlyniad i'r hyn y cyfeirir ato'n aml fel yr ehangiad tramor Ewropeaidd. Gwnaeth teithwyr, masnachwyr, cenhadwyr a gwladychwyr ddod o hyd i'w ffordd o Ewrop i Affrica, Asia, cyfandiroedd America, ac Awstralasia, gyda chanlyniadau dwys, a oedd yn aml yn drist iawn, i'r bobl, y diwylliannau a'r ecosystemau brodorol y daethant i gysylltiad â nhw. Daeth bywydau pobl nad oeddent yn Ewropeaidd a'r bobl Ewropeaidd yn fwy cydblethedig nag erioed; dechreuodd system economaidd fyd-eang go iawn ddod i'r amlwg; gwelwyd cynnydd a chwymp ymerodraethau. Yn y modiwl hwn, byddwch chi'n archwilio'r prosesau a drawsnewidiodd y byd dros gyfnod o dair canrif, yn ogystal â myfyrio ar arwyddocâd hirdymor y canlyniadau, y mae llawer ohonynt wedi llunio'r byd rydyn ni'n byw ynddo heddiw.
