Module Identifier HY34520  
Module Title HISTORY'S MYSTERIES: THE 'AMATEUR' & 'ACADEMIC' HISTORIAN  
Academic Year 2004/2005  
Co-ordinator Professor William D Rubinstein  
Semester Semester 2  
Mutually Exclusive HY32920, HY33020, HY33120, HY 33420, HY 33620, HY 33720, HY 33920, HY 34320, HY 34420  
Course delivery Seminars / Tutorials   20 Hours 10 x 2 hour seminars  
Assessment
Assessment TypeAssessment Length/DetailsProportion
Semester Assessment 2 X 1,500 WORD ESSAYS(40%) & 1 X 4,000 WORD PROJECT (60%)  100%
Supplementary Assessment NO RESIT PERMITTED IF WRITTEN WORK NOT SUBMITTED ON TIME   

Learning outcomes

On completion of this module, students should be able to.
better understand the critical skills of the academic historian

contrast the approach of academic and non-academic historians

become familiar with some of history?s popular controversies

Brief description

This module will examine a number of well-known historical events which have in common that they have typically been written about by `amateur? historians but ignored or virtually ignored by academic historians. These topics will include the assassination of President Kennedy; the identity of `Jack the Ripper?; the real authorship of Shakespeare'r plays, and the fate of the `little princes in the Tower? under Richard III. The modular aim, however, is to enlarge and extend the critical skills of university-trained historians by looking at how `amateur? historians have typically treated these topics, and how these contrast with the approaches and skills of the academically-trained historian.

Aims

This module aims to teach the skills of the critical historian and the evidence he or she employs, based on an examination of well-known topics examined by `amateur historians?.

Content

1. Introduction: "Amateur Historiography" vs Academic Historiography
2. The Assassination of JFK I
3. The Assassination of JFK II
4. "Jack the Ripper" I
5. "Jack the Ripper" II
6. Who Was Shakespeare?
7. Richard III and the "Little Princes in the Tower"
8. The Mysteries of Rudolf Hess
9. Ancient Mysteries I
10. Ancient Mysteries II; Conclusion and Summary

Reading Lists

Books
** Recommended Text
Gerald Posner (1993) Case Closed
Paul Begg (2002) Jack the Ripper: The Definitive History
John F. Mitchell (1999) Who Wrote Shakespeare?
Bertram Fields (1998) Royal Blood: Richard III and the Mystery of the Princes
Lynn Picknett, Clive Prince, and Stephen Prior (2000) Double Standards

Notes

This module is at CQFW Level 6