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My modules
This is a list of the modules i have taken whilst i studied for my BA (Hons) in History and Archaeology at Leicester University. I graduated in July 2005 with a Upper Second (2:1) classification.
Though all the following modules were enjoyable, my specialist areas are Industrial Archaeology and Economic and Social History from the 1700s onwards, but i enjoy excavating sites of all historical periods.
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First Year Modules 2002-3 | |
| AR1004/5 Archaeological Frameworks I and II | A course providing basic knowledge of world archaeology from Prehistory and Human Evolution to post World War Two. My essay topics were the development of Upper Palaeolithic Cave Art and the development of European castles between c. AD 1000 and c. AD 1300. |
| AR1007/8 Aims and Methods in Archaeology I and II | In this I studied the different techniques used by Archaeologists in their investigations. One area of my research for this module concerned writing a critique of a published excavtion report upon the Cattewater Wreck. |
| HS1005 The Crisis of the Monarchies | A history course examining England, France and Spain in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Four assignments were completed for this module including ones upon the relationship between population change and prosperity and also the effects of the reformation. I achieved a First for this module. |
| HS1015 Medieval Monarchy and Society | Looking at the period AD800-1300, English and French medieval monarchs were studied and compared, with reference to primary source material such as the Magna Carta. One essay that was written for this subject was about the role of women in Anglo-Saxon and Frankish society. |
| HS1053 The Making of Modern British Politics 1865-1945 | This module examined the development of the modern political system in Great Britain from the death of Palmerston to the end of the Second World War. It also included looking at the creation of the main parties. My essay topics concerned the power of the press in politics and the decline of the Liberals. |
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Second Year Modules 2003-4 | |
| AR2025 Issues in Historical Archaeology | Ranged from the fifteenth century to post World War Two and covers Britain, Europe and the Americas. My primary interests and research for this module were the Industrial growth of Britain, in particular the textile industry of the East Midlands, though one essay was upon the "designed landscapes". |
| AR2026 Fieldschool - Abbey Park, Leicester | A "hands-on" module where techniques such as excavation, geophysics and building surveyence were taught during the week-long fieldschool. In conjunction with a series of workshops upon post-excavation techniques including bone analysis, ceremics and illustration a personal field report was written upon our period of excavation of the medieval abbey. |
| AR2029 Theory and Archaeology | This module looked at the development and importance of theory in relation to archaeology. Each two hour lecture centred upon a particular theory school such as post-processualism, marxist and New Archaeology and included opportunities to discuss and reflect upon our opinions. This was also further developed in the form of a Journal/Workbook, and an essay about the study of Material Culture in archaeology. |
| HS2000 Historical Research Methods | This course was again split into two parts and designed to improve our research skills. The first section contained work such as textual analysis workshops. The second part of the module was centred around data analysis using census entries for Leicestershire. After a series of exercises, a project was conducted upon the composition of households in the county between 1851 and 1881. |
| HS2112 Britain and the First Industrial Revolution | Examined the development of Britian as the first industrial nation in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. My particular essays and research were the development of banking to 1826, the construction of canals in relation to Britian's economy and the employment of women and children in the eighteenth century. |
| HS2999 War and British Society 1688-1815 | This module was in relation to the effects of war upon the British in the 1700s and examined the social and economical effects due to the almost continous period of war Britain experienced. A data analysis exercise concerning the taxation and expenditure of the Government was completed, a presentation made using eye-witness accounts of sailors experiences of battle whilst at sea and an essay regarding the "Cult of the Heroic" in Art and Society were also submitted. |
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Third Year Modules 2004-5 | |
| AR3000 Dissertation | My 15,000 word dissertation was a result of my research into the location of Arkwright's earliest Cotton Mills in Derbyshire in the late 1700s. I examined in depth the reasons why the mills were located where they were and what contributed to the ideal location (Availability of power, labour supply and how to attract it to the region, location of raw materials and the purchasing markets, transportation systems and problems, cheap land and location of capital and investors). |
| AR3009 The Archaeology of Industrialisation | This module developed further my knowledge of 18th and 19th century Archaeology using case studies from Britain, Europe and the USA. It made use of examining the landscape for evidence building on the theory and knowledge learnt in AR2025. The industrial heritage was also examined through workshops and partitipation in a presentation to the class. I gained a mark of 76 (a First) for my essay upon the development of factory buildings in the textile industries and 67 (a high 2:1) overall for the module. |
| AR3032 Identification and Analysis of Archaeological Materials | |
| AR3044 Fieldwork Part B | For two weeks in July 2004, I worked with the Cornwall Archaeological Unit on a professional Iron Age/Romano British site excavating a series of Roundhouses (please see Digs for more information). This formed the basis for a fieldwork report i was required to submit for marking. Whilst working there I excavated an extremely rare, complete amphorae rim, never before found in Cormwall, and as a result have had my photograph in the British Archaeology Journal. |
| HS3606 Plebs and Patricians in Eighteenth Century England | |
| HS3607 Victorian Cities: the Physical Environment |