MSt in Historical Studies

The course will be taught during three weekends in October, December, and January, and a further dissertation workshop in April. Seminar classes will build upon the skills and knowledge acquired in the Postgraduate Certificate year and focus on the development of research skills, as well as the methodological and theoretical approaches underpinning modern historical research. Individual supervisors are appointed for dissertations.

The course will build upon the research and writing skills developed in the Postgraduate Certificate and encourage students to engage actively with theoretical and historiographical approaches underpinning modern historical research. It will prepare students to undertake original archival research and develop a theoretical framework for their dissertation. It will guide and support the planning and writing of the dissertation, promote learning through discussion and practice, and provide training for progression to doctoral programmes in history in Oxford and elsewhere.

This course is designed for Postgraduate Certificate in Historical Studies students who want to take their historical study further through advanced research, and is ideal if you want to:

• Build upon the historical knowledge, skills and methodologies acquired in the Postgraduate Certificate in Historical Studies
• Advance your knowledge and understanding of the theoretical and historiographical approaches underpinning historical research
• Deepen your critical and analytical skills to interpret and evaluate historical evidence
• Develop your ability to undertake original research in national, local or private archives, galleries or museums and to search and use electronic research resources
• Receive support in researching and writing a substantial dissertation.

The course is delivered in three weekend units providing 38 hours of teaching, seminar discussion and presentations. Students will additionally receive up to 5 hours individual supervision for their dissertations. Students are expected to spend at least fifteen hours per week in independent study preparing for the weekend residences and researching and writing their dissertations.

Tutors and supervision will be provided by research-active academic staff from Oxford Lifelong Learning and by historical specialists drawn from the University of Oxford and other institutions.

Students will be members of the Department’s Graduate School and able to attend its training, research and social events. They will also be able to attend research seminars run by the History Faculty and have full access to the University’s Libraries, Archive and Computing facilities.

Course content

The three units for the forthcoming academic year are:

Unit 1: Using Archives and Analysing Sources

In this unit students examine the key documentary and material sources and resources for their specialist period selected from three parallel strands covering the medieval, early modern and modern periods. They are encouraged to sharpen their critical and analytical skills and to reflect upon the challenges and opportunities particular sources or categories of source present to users. They are introduced to the main historical methods informing the design of research projects, for example macro and micro approaches, quantification and the use of material evidence. Training is also offered in the use of electronic search engines, catalogues and databases and guidance provided on using archives and their catalogues.

Unit 2: Theoretical Approaches to History

Students examine themes and theoretical approaches that have provided the critical framework for, or have influenced, approaches to historical research. Four seminars are offered each year. In the first instance, these will cover gender, space, and violence and identity. There is assigned reading but students are also encouraged to consider the application of the chosen approaches to their own research and to subjects that interest them. Students are required to give short presentations, for example, introducing key texts.

Unit 3: Writing History

Students are encouraged in this unit to reflect upon the challenges historians face in framing, structuring and presenting their research findings. A visiting lecturer and members of the course team share their experience of planning and writing books and handling conceptual issues such as causation, problem solving and controversy and the challenges of presenting qualitative and quantitative research findings. Students give short presentations on their dissertations and take questions and comments from tutors and students.

There will be a total of 6 hours palaeography sessions for medievalists and early-modernists. There will be a workshop to discuss the organisation and presentation of the dissertation in April.

Matriculation

Oxford College affiliation

As a matriculated postgraduate degree student, you will become a member of one of the University’s multidisciplinary colleges, enabling you to encounter new perspectives in your field or learn more about many other subjects from fellow college members.

The collegiate system makes studying at Oxford a truly special experience. Oxford colleges are friendly and diverse communities, where you could find yourself absorbed in fascinating conversations with students and academics from a variety of disciplines at college seminars, dinners, and informal occasions.

For a list of colleges that accept students on the MSt in Historical Studies, please see the Graduate Admissions course page.

To find out more about Oxford University colleges, please consult the University’s Graduate Admissions website.

The course will be taught by the course direction team, members of Oxford Lifelong Learning’s teaching staff, and visiting lecturers.

Professor Andrew Hopper is Professor in Local and Social History. He is a historian of religion, politics and society in early modern England with research expertise on the British and Irish Civil Wars.

Professor Yasmin Khan is a Professor in 18th to early 20th century British History. Her research interests are in the nineteenth- and twentieth-century history of the British Empire, particularly in South Asia.