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Department of History

Skills Modules

Skills Modules for Medieval, Early Modern and Modern History MA Programmes 

 

MA students can opt to take skills modules, sometimes from other departments inside Durham University, in order to enhance their reading and research skills.

Please note that we cannot guarantee the availability of all modules every year. The availability of modules will depend upon the pattern of student choice and, in some instances, staff availability

 

Palaeography: scribes, script and history from Antiquity to the Renaissance

Aims: To gain a specialist knowledge of the evolution of hand-writing, particularly book scripts, from the first to the fifteenth centuries AD, both in Latin and, to some extent, the vernaculars, and to gain experience in reading and transcribing them.

Content: The major script types practised during this long period of European history will be examined in chronological order; the forms of writing will be studied in relation to their contexts and functions, and practice will be given in learning how to read them.

Latin for Research (Department of Classics and Ancient History)

Aims: In accordance with the general aims of the MA in Classics, to promote self-motivated study of Latin as a preliminary to, and as providing an essential tool for, research in the general field of Classics and other disciplines that require knowledge of the language.

Content: The student will by the end of the module have sufficient knowledge of Latin to enable him or her to read original sources in the language with the requisite aids (dictionaries, grammars, commentaries) to hand.

Greek for Research (Department of Classics and Ancient History)

Aims: In accordance with the general aims of the MA in Classics, to promote self-motivated study of ancient Greek as a preliminary to, and as providing an essential tool for, research in the general field of Classics and other disciplines that require knowledge of the language.

Content: The student will by the end of the module have sufficient knowledge of ancient Greek to enable him or her to begin to read original sources in the language with the requisite aids (dictionaries, grammars, commentaries) to hand.

Old Norse (Department of English Studies)

Aims: to provide an intensive one-term introduction to the Old Norse language, culture and history, to enable students to gain an understanding of the grammar and syntax of the Old Norse language, and to enable students to gain a competent reading knowledge of Old Norse prose, and to introduce them to the metres and subject matter of verse.

Content: The seminars will include a period devoted to study of the Old Norse language and one devoted to translation of a set text and to discussion of its literary, cultural and historical issues. Typically the set text will be Gunnlaugs saga ormstungu ('The Saga of Gunnlaugr Snake-Tongue') but other texts may be substituted.

French Reading Skills for Research (Centre for Foreign Language Study)

Aims: In accordance with the general aims of an Arts taught MA, to promote self-motivated study of French as a preliminary to, and as providing an essential tool for, research in the general field of History and other disciplines that require a reading knowledge of the French language.

Content: Reading skills for academic French.

German Reading Skills for Research (Centre for Foreign Language Study)

Aims: In accordance with the general aims of an Arts taught MA, to promote self-motivated study of German as a preliminary to, and as providing an essential tool for, research in the general field of History and other disciplines that require a reading knowledge of the German language.  

Content: Reading skills for academic German.