History

Students may select four courses from the following (4 x 12.5% = 50%). Students will then do their dissertation (50%). Students will be required to discuss their dissertation topic with Associate Professor Steve Mullins (email: s.mullins@cqu.edu.au, 07 49309662) of the History discipline during the first six months of their program.

History Theory

Credit: 6 Units of credit (12.5%)

Term: Terms 1 & 2

Contact: Associate Professor Steve Mullins

Description: This course is an introduction to the theory of history which guides students through readings dealing with the concepts of patterns and systems in history, and the debates about meaning and significance which have always characterised the modern discipline. It also confronts the more recent challenges to the validity of traditional historical explanation from structuralism to post-structuralism.

Nazi Germany

Credit: 6 Units of credit (12.5%)

Term: Terms 1 & 2

Contact: Associate Professor Steve Mullins

Description: This course examines the phenomenon of Nazism and Hitler's Germany. It's divided into six themes: Germany from its creation in 1870 to the outbreak of the First World War in 1914; Hitler and Nazism; the Nazi regime; support for and opposition to the regime; the Second World War; and Nazi atrocities (including, of course, the Holocaust). Within each theme three essays are posed. Assessment consists of two 3000-word essays and a bibliographical exercise.

Maritime History

Credit: 6 Units of credit (12.5%)

Term: Terms 1 & 2

Contact: Associate Professor Steve Mullins

Description: This course explores the relationship between Australians and the sea, by way of an historiographical overview of Australia's maritime tradition with particular emphasis on the 19th century. Students study the literature of coastal exploration; colonial immigration; the development of ports; the maritime industries, in particular whaling and pearl-shelling, and the western Pacific labour trade. The course concludes by considering the impact the sea has had on Australian culture.

Australian Environmental History

Credit: 6 Units of credit (12.5%)

Term: Terms 1 & 2

Contact: Dr Mike Danaher; Associate Professor Steve Mullins

Description: This course uses an historical perspective to examine the interaction between people and their environment in the Australian setting. It looks at the underlying reasons why and how past generations have used and shaped their natural environment, noting their goals, values and technologies. It aims to develop skills in using environmental histories as a means of problem solving and for better resource management and policy-making. This course is made up of a series of prescribed readings.

Local and Regional History

Credit: 6 Units of credit (12.5%)

Term: Terms 1 & 2

Contact: Dr Barbara Webster

Description: This course is specifically designed to meet the needs of students intending to undertake the writing of an honours thesis in local or regional history in an Australian context; however, it will also assist those working in other areas of Australian history.   The course examines the emergence of this genre of historical investigation, its nature and methodology, and position within broader historiography; explores how a local or regional history is shaped by the socio-cultural and political context of a particular geographical setting; and undertakes a critical evaluation of a selection of history publications.

Media Traditions

Credit: 6 Units of credit (12.5%)

Term: Terms 1 & 2

Contact: Professor Denis Cryle

Description: This Course will provide students with a broad overview of seminal developments in the field of communication and media history. Drawing on a range of prominent theorists (Innis, Carey, McLuhan, Williams), it examines the impact of a range of media technologies on society and culture through time. The Course will be based around the collection of Readings in the Set Text. Assessment will take the form of research essays in specific fields of interest.

History Dissertation A and B

Credit: 24 Units of credit (25%): 12ucs for A and 12 ucs for B

Term: Terms 1 & 2

Contact: Depending on Supervisor: Associate Professor Steve Mullins; Prof Denis Cryle; Dr Mike Danaher; Dr Barbara Webster

Description: The objectives of the History Dissertation are:

• To test students' ability to choose a subject of special interest to them which is also of some historical significance and which has not yet been adequately explored by historians
• To allow students to explore a subject in far greater depth and detail than is possible in the preparation of essays and assignments in undergraduate courses.
• To test students' ability to prepare and present a thesis of no less than 15,000 and no more than 20,000 words (excluding footnotes/endnotes, bibliography, and appendices).