Admission requirements
For Research Master students only.
Description
The Research MA History programme is concluded by a 40 EC Research MA-thesis. The thesis is based on original research in primary sources and will be ca. 30.000 words in size (excluding footnotes, literature or appendices). The Thesis has to meet a high scholarly standard; it should be possible to rework the results of the Thesis ino an article for an academic journal. Students are guided in writing their thesis by thesis supervisors.
By starting the work on the Thesis, the student will have to set up an individual “Graduation Plan”. The Graduation Plan informs the Board of Examiners and the coordinator of studies about: – Time schedule for thesis and graduation (incl. deadline thesis) – Supervisor and topic – Individual study plan
The Graduation plan is submitted by means of a digital form
The Graduation plan is compulsory. When your plan is adjusted (deadline/supervisor), you will need to submit a new Graduation Plan.
Six weeks before the planned date of graduation students have to apply for entry to the final examination and obtain his or her (Research)Master grades list at the secretary’s office in the Huizinga Building. This can be done by following the several stages of the Graduation Procedure
The Research MA History is rounded off with an oral examination of approximately 45 minutes, during a public ceremony, in which students have to defend their ResMA thesis and be able to discuss additional scholarly literature.
Course objectives
General learning objectives
The student has acquired:
- The ability to independently identify and select literature, using traditional and modern techniques;
- The ability to independently identify and select sources, using traditional and modern techniques;
- The ability to analyse and evaluate a corpus of sources with a view to addressing a particular historical problem;
- The ability to analyse and evaluate literature with a view to addressing a particular historical problem;
- The ability to independently formulate a clear and well-argued research question, taking into account the theory and method of the field and to reduce this question to accessible and manageable sub-questions;
- The ability to independently set up and carry out an original research project that can make a contribution to existing scholarly debates;
- The ability to give a clear and well-founded oral and written report on research results in correct English, when required, or Dutch, meeting the criteria of the discipline;
- The ability to participate in current debates in the specialisation;
- The ability to participate in a discussion of the theoretical foundations of the discipline.
- The ability to integrate knowledge and handle complexity, and formulate judgments with incomplete or limited information, including the ability to reflect on social and ethical responsibilities linked to the application of knowledge and judgments;
- The ability to reflect on one’s own professional integrity and moral conduct;
- The ability to provide constructive feedback to and formulate criticism of the work of others and the ability to evaluate the value of such criticism and feedback on one’s own work and incorporate it;
- An understanding of the relevance for society of the historical discipline in general and the specialisation in particular;
- The ability to focus on, manage and analyse a potentially complex corpus of sources;
- The ability to set up and carry original research which raises new questions, pioneers new approaches and/or and points to new directions for future research
Learning objectives, pertaining to the specialisation
- Thorough knowledge and comprehension of one of the specialisations as well as of the historiography of the specialisation, focusing particularly on the following:
in the specialisation Ancient History: unification processes in the Graeco-Roman World, 400 BC – 400 AD; insight into the recent large-scale debates in the field with respect to both the history of mentality and socio-economic history;
in the specialisation Colonial and Global History: how global (political, socio-economic, and cultural) connections interact with regional processes of identity and state formation; hence insight in cross-cultural processes (including the infrastructure of shipping and other modes of communication) that affect regions across the world such as imperialism, colonisation, islamisation, modernisation and globalization (in particular during the period 1200-1940);
in the specialisation Europe 1000-1800: broader processes of political, social and cultural identity formation between about 1000-1800; awareness of problems of periodization and impact of ‘national’ historiographical traditions on the field;
in the specialisation Cities, Migration and Global Interdependence: the manner in which migrations (of people, goods and ideas) between and within states have led to shifts (in cohesion, ethnic composition, policies, imaging, culture, and power relations) in the period 1600-2000, with a focus on (urban) networks (within and across borders);
in the specialisation Political Culture and National Identities: political practices, symbols and perceptions, nationalism, and national identities in a cultural and societal context from 1800;
in the specialisation Archival Studies: archiving in a colonial context; insight into the significance of archiving processes for the way in which a society deals with its documentation heritage in general and its historical practice in particular; disclosure, including digital disclosure, of archives as part of the broader heritage sector.
- Thorough knowledge and comprehension of the theoretical, conceptual and methodological aspects of the specialisation in question, with a particular focus on the following:
in the specialisation Ancient History: the comparative method; application of socio-scientific methods; specialised source knowledge, in particular of documentary sources, and more specifically epigraphy;
in the specialisation Colonial and Global History: empirical research from a comparative and connective perspective;
in the specialisation Europe 1000-1800: the ability to analyse and evaluate primary sources from the period, if necessary with the aid of modern translations; ability to make use of relevant methods of quantitative and qualitative analysis to interpret sources in their textual and historical context;
in the specialisation Cities, Migration and Global Interdependence: the interdisciplinary approach (application of theories and methods from social sciences), the comparative perspective (diachronic and synchronic) and working with a large variety of primary sources;
in the specialisation Political Culture and National Identities: international comparison and transfer; the analysis of the specific perspectives of secondary studies; a cultural-historical approach of politics and a political-historical approach of culture;
in the specialisation Archival Studies: theoretical foundations of archivistics; assessment and selection of archives;
Timetable
Not applicable.
Mode of instruction
- Individual supervision
Course Load
40 EC = 1120 hours
Assessment method
Assessment
- Written paper ca. 30.000 words
Measured learning objectives 1-17
The Thesis should meet the following ‘knock out criteria’:
1. Contains a clear, well-argued and original research question, taking into account the theory and method of the field.
2. Is convincingly situated within theoretical, conceptual and methodological debates of the specialization.
3. Accounts for the chosen research method(s).
4. Is based on critical research and interpretation of an independently collected and selected sizeable and/or complex corpus of sources.
5. Contains an analysis and evaluation of a large body of independently collected scholarly literature.
6. Is a well-structured and consistent argument.
7. Is written in correct English, when required, or Dutch, meeting the criteria of the discipline.
8. Displays thorough knowledge and comprehension of the relevant specialization and its corresponding historiography.
9. Displays thorough knowledge and comprehension of the theoretical foundation of the discipline and of its position vis-à-vis other disciplines.
10. Is an original contribution to scholarly debate.
Only theses that meet all these criteria may be marked as sufficient.
Weighing
Written paper: 100 %
Deadlines
The Graduation plan is leading. When a plan is adjusted (deadline/supervisor), student needs to submit a new Graduation Plan.
Resit
Should the overall mark be unsatisfactory, the paper is to be revised after consultation with the instructor.
Blackboard
Reading list
Not appicable.
Registration
By submission Graduation plan
Contact
Coordinator of studies Esther Buizer
Remarks
None