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first year, HIstory B.A. Denominated 
cead bliain

• Entry
• Aim of Course
• Structure of Course
• Assessment
• Blackboard: Your information central for 1st Year
• Communications with History Department
• Module Sections
• Head of Year
• The Writing Centre: The Academic Writing Centre is a free drop-in facility where students can come and work on a one-to-one basis with qualified tutors in an informal setting.

Entry

Apart from the regulations laid down for entry into the Faculty, no special requirements apply for entry to the B.A. History Denominated- candidates need not have studied History for the Leaving Certificate.  However, students who aspire to do well in History must have an interest in reading and an aptitude for writing.

Aim of the Course

The main purpose of the First Year course is to provide an introduction to the wide variety of time-periods and themes that are available to students of History at university level, the different types of sources for each topic, and the various ways in which practising historians carry out research.  The four lecturers involved in teaching the course have all researched widely and published in their respective areas.

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Structure of the Course

In First Year, BA History (denominated History) students follow the BA omnibus course. In First Year History Students take three 5 ECTS History modules for a total of 15 ECTS in the year. (What is ECTS? Click HERE)

HI111: War & Society in the Age of the Great War (Semester 1), HI112: War & Society in the Age of the French Revolution(Semester 2),   HI117: Writing the History of War & Society (all year)

• HI111 and HI112:
  • These modules are lecture modules and are given by full-time staff members of History.  Lectures are fifty-minute classes where the course lecturers present the major themes and debates in the subject area. Students are required to attend 3 one-hour lectures per week.  Each module is assessed by an end of term exam which makes up one third of the final 1st year mark.
  • Each module is divided up into two thematic areas:
    • HI111: War & Society in the Age of the Great War
      • Section A: Europe, 1914-20 (Dr Gearóid Barry)
      • Section B: Ireland, 1912-1923 (Dr Mary Harris)
    • HI112: War & Society in the Age of the French Revolution
      • Section A: Ireland in the 1790's (Niall Ó Ciosáin)
      • Section B: Europe, 1789-181 (Dr Caitríona Clear)
  
  

HI117: Writing the History of War & Society: In this module, students are assigned to small groups of no more than 20 students.  They are taught by experienced tutors under the supervision of the Head of Year. The purpose of this module is to focus on the points raised by the lecturers and encourage discussion with students.    The tutor will help the students with the essays by which this module is assessed and any other problems students may have with study, research or approach to the exams. This module runs throughout the year.  Attending HI117 is crucial, as the work given in this module makes up one third of the final mark for first year.

• First Session of HI117: HI117 groups will not meet in the first week of lectures. Assignment to groups within HI117 will take place after you have registered for your four subjects.
• Assignment to Groups within HI117: Information on assignment to your HI117 group will be given at the Introductory Sessions for History, in the first week of HI111 lectures and on the History website 

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Assessment 

Lecture Modules HI111: War & Society in the Age of the Great War (Semester 1), HI112: War & Society in the Age of the French Revolution (Semester 2)

The lecture modules HI111 and HI112 are assessed by written examination.

The examination for HI111: War & Society in the Age of the Great War  takes place in December and the examination for HI111: War & Society in the Age of the French Revolution takes place in May. 

Examinations are two hours in length. In each semester, students answer one document question (from a choice) and one essay question (from a choice) for each module sub-section.  (Four answers in all)

The written examination is one third of the final mark for the year.

Continuous Assessment Module HI117: Writing the History of War and Society

• Attendance:

Attendance at your HI117 group classes is expected and will make it much easier for you to do well in the History component of your first year. 

Essays:  HI117 is assessed continuously.  

Students will be required to write four essays over the year.

Students write an essay on a topic relating to each sub-section of the two lecture modules, HI111 and HI112. (Four essays in all.)  

The essays are 1,000 words in length and are document based.

Each essay is 20% of the overall mark for HI117

Writing Skills Component:

• You will have a series of lectures on developing writing skills and avoiding plagiarism
• You will do an on-line Writing Skills test via Blackboard
• The result of this test is 20% of your mark for HI117

The mark for HI117 is one third of your total mark for History

Blackboard: Your Information Central for First Year History

Your first year History course uses Blackboard as its means of communication with students on all aspects of the course: group assignment, essay assignments, deadlines, and any other information that the lecturers and tutors may have for you.  When you register for History as one of your four subjects in 1st year, you are automatically given access to Blackboard for HI111, HI112 and HI117. It is important that you familiarise yourself with Blackboard and consult the relevant modules often to receive important information throughout the year.

Communications with the History Department

Your Head of year, module lecturers and tutors will use your NUI, Galway e-mail address to inform you of important information about the First Year course. IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO CHECK YOUR NUI, GALWAY E-MAIL ADDRESS REGULARLY.

Module Sections, 2011-12

 

Semester 1 : HI111: War & Society in the Age of the Great War 

Section A: War and Society: Europe, 1914-20. (Dr. Gearóid Barry)
The purpose of this section is to examine the rich theme of war and society through the prism of the first truly 'total war' - the First World War which transformed the map of Europe, killed millions of Europeans and ushered in hugh social, economic and political change.  To begin with, students are introduced to European diplomacy and the delicate balance of power in Europe at the turn of the twentieth century.  Various interpretations of the origins of the war are explored before a detailed examination of the war as a military phenomenon wherein outmoded tactics were exposed, with much bloodshed.  The increased emphasis on new technology and modern firepower from the Marne and the Somme transformed war itself into a static, trench-based ordeal, with movement restored only in 1918.  The war as a cultural phenomenon is also central to this module with themes of nationalism, militarism and intellectual mobilisation explored in depth..  Nor can the economic and social aspects of war be overlooked, especially the redefinition of gender roles in wartime.  Finally, the political and cultural legacy of the war in terms of the peace settlement and war literature form a coda to the course.

Section B – War and Society: Ireland, 1912-1923 (Dr Mary Harris)
This section examines the dramatic transformation of Irish politics in the years 1912-23, and the impact this transformation had on Irish society.  This eventful period witnessed mass demonstrations, drilling on the part of various armies, an uprising, hunger strikes, a war of independence and a civil war.  It also witnessed rioting in Belfast, and the expulsion of thousands of shipyard workers from their place of work. During these years those who had been marginalised campaigned for better treatment: women campaigned for the right to vote and workers joined the ITGWU, hoping to improve their situation. This module looks at such developments, the background to them and the context in which they took place.  It considers why these events were important at the time and in the long run. Drawing on newspapers, memoirs and other historical documents, it provides insights into how these developments appeared to those who lived through them. It introduces students to various analyses by historians and politicians in more recent times, and to controversies surrounding the commemoration of these events.

Semester 2: HI112: War & Society in the Age of the French Revolution 

Section  A - War and society : Europe, 1789-1815 (Dr. Róisín Healy)
This section examines the theme "war and society" in the years from the outbreak of the French Revolution to the Congress of Vienna.  The Revolution of 1789 marks a new phase in European history, dividing the early modern from the modern period, in that it saw the repudiation of the old regime in favour of the ideals of equality before the law, popular sovereignty and reason.  Yet, although the revolutionaries condemned the expansionary military practices of old regime monarchs, within just three years they too had initiated a war, which would last for over twenty years and involve all of Europe. This module explores domestic and international conditions in the early 1790s to discover why.  It also looks at the impact of the war on political developments in France, especially the Terror and the drift of aujthoritarian government, culminating in the elevation of Napoleon, himself a leader made by war, to Emperor in 1804.  The social impact of the revolution and war, especially on religious life and gender roles, will also receive attention.  Events in France had a powerful impact on those beyond its borders and their responses offer additional insights into the relationship between war and society.  France's colonial subjects provided a fascinating test of the revolutionaries' commitment to equality for all.  the hopes of Poles that the French would help them achieve independence offer an interesting point of comparison with Ireland.  Germans' experience of the French invasion encouraged them for the first time to consider seriously political unification.  Spain's formidable resistance to the French showed the limits of French military might.  the module concludes with an exploraiton into the collapse of the French army in the Russian campaign and the eventual reordering of the European map at the Congress of Vienna.

Section B: War and society: Ireland, 1790s. (Dr. Niall Ó Ciosáin)

This section of the course looks at the tumultuous 1790s, the most violent decade in modern Irish history and the most influential as regards the nature of the state and political activity over the following two centuries. Ireland was afftected profoundly by the French Revolution and the subsequent long war betweeen Britain and France.  The first introduced a new vocabulary of universal rights into Irish politics; the second brought about the military mobilisation of the Catholic majority and its accompanying admission into the political process. The course traces two processes which resulted: firstly, militarisation, by which increasing numbers of males spent time in uniform, either in state armies and militias or in unofficial, paramilitary organisations; and secondly, politicisation, that is, participation in regional or national political organisations, and the creation of a wider political consciousness. Both processes culminated in the rebellion of 1798, the most deadly war in the last three centuries in Ireland. Throughout the course, the emphasis will be on the use of primary documents of different kinds, mostly from the 1790s themselves, such as contemporary pamphlets, newspapers and police reports, along with later documents such as the reminiscences of those who took part in the rebellion.

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Head of Year

Dr Roisin Healy
Rm 415
Tower 1 Floor 2  
roisin.healynuigalway.ie
Tel: 091 492551

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For Academic Calendar (teaching) click HERE

 

    

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