History (MA)

Applications and Selections

Who Teaches this Course

Historians in the Department of History teach most modules offered in the MA and PDip in History. However, faculty members in other departments also offer modules that can be taken for these courses. 

Dr Róisín Healy

M.A., PhD.

Senior Lecturer
Dept. of History
Room 415 Tower 1
Arts Science Building
University of Galway
View Profile

Dr Kevin O'Sullivan

BA Ph.D

Senior Lecturer
History
Room 413 Tower 1
Arts/Science Building
Central Campus
View Profile

Dr Laurence Marley

B.A, M.A, H Dip, PhD.

View Profile

Prof Enrico Dal Lago

PhD

Established Professor of History
Department of History, School of History and Philosophy
University of Galway
View Profile

Dr Gearóid Barry

BA, PhD

View Profile

Ass. Professor Sarah-Anne Buckley

BA, Ph.D

Senior Lecturer
History
College of Arts, Social Science
& Celtic Studies
Room 408, Tower 1, NUIG
View Profile

Dr Shannon Devlin

BA, MA, PhD

Lecturer - Contract Type A
School of History and Philosophy
University of Galway
View Profile

Dr Chris Doyle

B.A, MA, Ph.D

Lecturer Above The Bar
E: cdoyle@universityofgalway.ie
View Profile

Dr Tomás Finn

BA., MA., PhD

View Profile

Prof Alison Forrestal

PHD

Professor
School of History and Philosophy
NUI Galway
H91 TK33
View Profile

An tOllamh Breandán Mac Suibhne

PHD, MA, BA

View Profile

Prof Pól Ó Dochartaigh

BA, BA, PhD, DLitt

View Profile

Dr Jackie Uí Chionna

B.A., M.A., H.Dip.Ed., PhD

View Profile

Requirements and Assessment

Glossary of Terms

Year 1 (90 Credits)

RequiredHI6104: Making History: evidence and interpretation

HI6104: Making History: evidence and interpretation

Semester 1 | Credits: 15

With a view to the development of the student as a historian, the module has a practical focus. It encompasses thesis design, research methods, oral presentations and responding to oral presentations, as well as engagement with primary sources. Students will participate in at least one field trip, actively engage in the weekly History Seminar, make a formal presentation, respond to scholarly presentations, and critically assess selected primary sources for History. A number of students may opt to take a work experience placement in lieu of the primary sources assignment.
(Language of instruction: English)

Learning Outcomes

1. to prepare a proposal for an academic thesis
2. to give an oral presentation based on their own original research
3. to critically engage with a historiography related to their academic interests
4. to critically assess primary source materials for History
5. to make a logical historical argument while observing scholarly conventions in referencing

Assessments

• Continuous Assessment (100%)

Teachers

•  HELENA CONDON 🖂
  
•  JOHN CUNNINGHAM 🖂
  
•  RÓISÍN HEALY 🖂
  

Reading List

1. "The Pursuit of History: Aims, Methods and New Directions in the Study of History" by John Tosh
   Publisher: Routledge
2. "Comparison and History" by Deborah Cohen and Maureen O'Connor
   ISBN: 0415944422.
   Publisher: Routledge
3. "History in Practice" by Ludmilla Jordanova
   ISBN: 97817809333.
   Publisher: Bloomsbury
4. "The Oral History Reader" by R.Perks & A.Thomson
   Publisher: Taylor & Francis
5. "Customs in Common: Studies in Traditional Culture" by Edward Palmer Thompson
   Publisher: New Press

RequiredHI503: Historical Debates & Controversies: Studies in Historiography

HI503: Historical Debates & Controversies: Studies in Historiography

Semester 1 | Credits: 15

This team-taught module examines perceptions of History as a discipline and methodological approaches to different periods and themes. It looks at perceptions of the groups, issues, events and periods considered worthwhile subjects for historical investigation and explores the role of ideology in framing historical questions. Each year the module addresses a number of specific historical fields and some of the major debates animating their history-writing to demonstrate the dynamic nature of history as a discipline. The particular field covered may vary in individual years owing to availability of staff members to teach their specialisms. Perennial questions will include: why do historians disagree? Is “value-free History” possible? Why do certain historical topics and come into and go out of fashion?
(Language of instruction: English)

Learning Outcomes

1. show awareness of the dynamic and evolving nature of historical scholarship over time
2. identify methodological approaches relating to different historical periods
3. demonstrate knowledge of the different views about how and to what extent we can gain knowledge about the past
4. understand the interplay between ideology and wider cultural perceptions in the framing of historical questions, now and in the past
5. write essays showing how such debates are reflected in the history-writing of specific events, movements or issues from the past

Assessments

• Continuous Assessment (100%)

Teachers

•  GEARÓID BARRY 🖂
  
•  CAITRIONA CLEAR 🖂
  
•  HELENA CONDON 🖂
  
•  JOHN CUNNINGHAM 🖂
  
•  ENRICO DAL LAGO 🖂
  
•  KEVIN O'SULLIVAN 🖂
  
•  MARY CLANCY 🖂
  

Reading List

1. "History: Why It Matters" by Lynn Hunt
   Publisher: Polity
2. "Why History Matters" by John Tosh
   Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
3. "Historiography: An Introduction" by Eileen Ka-May Cheng
   Publisher: Continuum

RequiredHI509: Dissertation

HI509: Dissertation

15 months long | Credits: 30

All students carry out original research and produce a dissertation of 15,000-20,000 words. Students may research an area of their choice as long as the project they envisage allows them demonstrate the competencies being tested and an appropriate supervisor in the area is available.

Learning Outcomes

1. tbc

Assessments

• Research (100%)

Teachers

•  HELENA CONDON 🖂
  
•  KEVIN O'SULLIVAN 🖂
  

OptionalPI6103: Knowledge and Value in Modernity

PI6103: Knowledge and Value in Modernity

Semester 2 | Credits: 10

This module will examine the issues of value and knowledge in the historical context of modernity. Attention will be given to such issues as the character of human subjectivity, the relation between mind and world, objectivity, the status of natural science and human values, and the character of modern culture. A range of modern philosophers will be discussed, including Hume, Kant and Nietzsche. Attention will also be given to the intersections between modern and contemporary arguments
(Language of instruction: English)

Learning Outcomes

1. Discuss the defining features of modernity
2. Discuss the role of natural science in modern philosophy
3. Examine arguments with regard to the nature of mind and world in modern philosophy
4. Discuss arguments with regard to the status of human value in modern philosophy

Assessments

• Continuous Assessment (50%)
• Department-based Assessment (50%)

Teachers

•  TSARINA DOYLE 🖂
  
•  MARIA BERNAL-NAVARRO 🖂
  

Reading List

1. "The Nietzsche Reader" by Ansell Pearson, Keith and Large, Duncan (eds)
   Publisher: Blackwell
2. "Hume, David, A Treatise of Human Nature" by Edited by L. A. Selby-Bigge, revised by P.H. Nidditch
   Publisher: Clarendon Press
3. "Kant, Immanuel, Critique of Pure Reason" by Edited by P. Guyer, and A. Wood
   Publisher: Cambridge University Press
4. "The Cambridge Companion to Kant and Modern Philosophy" by Guyer Paul
   Publisher: Cambridge University Press
5. "Projection and Realism in Hume's Philosophy" by Kail, P.J.E
   Publisher: Oxford University Press
6. "Nietzsche and Morality" by Leiter, Brian and Sinhababu
   Publisher: Oxford University Press

OptionalHI6106: Issues in Irish Local History

HI6106: Issues in Irish Local History

Semester 1 | Credits: 10

Drawing on monographs, general studies, and archival sources, this module invites students to consider how different social groups experienced the profound changes that transformed urban and rural communities across Ireland from the mid-eighteenth through the early twentieth century. Although the course traces political developments, it pays equal attention to socioeconomic and cultural issues, including the shift from high fertility to sexual restraint; patterns of emigration, consumption and social unrest; improvements in education and literacy; linguistic change; changing devotional practices and cultural ‘revival’ in the late 1800s
(Language of instruction: English)

Learning Outcomes

1. will be familiar with the major sources for Irish local history
2. critically analyse major social, cultural and political developments in Ireland, c.1750-1920s
3. engage in a critical fashion with the historiography of the period covered by the module
4. demonstrate an advanced capacity to discuss orally and in writing the key topics in the history of the period
5. have an understanding of the development and application of research methods

Assessments

• Oral, Audio Visual or Practical Assessment (30%)
• Research (70%)

Teachers

•  HELENA CONDON 🖂
  
•  JOHN CUNNINGHAM 🖂
  
•  Breandán MacSuibhne 🖂
  

OptionalDJ6125: Investigating Miscarriages of Justice

DJ6125: Investigating Miscarriages of Justice

Semester 2 | Credits: 10

This module will give students an introduction to the wrongful treatment of people by the state and powerful institutions and the investigative journalism techniques that can be used to highlight and report on gross injustices in Ireland and internationally.
(Language of instruction: English)

Learning Outcomes

1. Demonstrate an understanding of the fundamental causes of miscarriages of justice.
2. Showcase applied investigative journalism skills.
3. Employ research and investigative skills and communicate effectively.
4. Display an understanding of the complex nature of working independently and as part of a team on a multifaceted long-form investigation.
5. Demonstrate awareness of critical failings in the justice system.
6. Display knowledge of how advanced DNA testing can unearth and potentially prevent miscarriages.

Assessments

• Continuous Assessment (100%)

Teachers

•  UINSIONN MAC DUBHGHAILL 🖂
  
•  KAREN M WALSH 🖂
  
•  TOM FELLE 🖂
  
•  Kelly Fincham 🖂
  
•  Don Duncan 🖂
  
•  Mei-Ling McNamara 🖂
  

Reading List

1. "Betrayal: The Crisis in the Catholic Church" by Investigative Staff of the Boston Blobe
   ISBN: 978031627153.
   Publisher: Back Bay Books
2. "The Framing of Harry Gleeson" by Kieran Fagan
   ISBN: 9781848892460.
   Publisher: The Collins Press
3. "Convicting the innocent: where criminal prosecutions go wrong" by n/a
   ISBN: 978067406611.
   Publisher: Harvard University Press
4. "Maamtrasna" by Jarlath Waldron
   ISBN: 9780946130078.
   Publisher: Edmund Burke Publisher

OptionalPI6102: Political values in the modern world

PI6102: Political values in the modern world

Semester 2 | Credits: 10

This course will look at the ways in which political values interact with the modern world. It will begin with an introduction to central political and ethical theories along with exploration of key distinctions that tend to be relied upon, whether implicitly or explicitly. It will then focus on current issues in political theory, concentrating on themes such as justice, equality, freedom, toleration, and genetics. it will look at how these themes are contested in modern diverse democracies.
(Language of instruction: English)

Learning Outcomes

1. distinguish and understand different political concepts and theories
2. distinguish and understand different ethical concepts and theories
3. analyse the role of different political and ethical distinctions in practice
4. analyse current national and global political issues in the light of 1,2 and 3
5. effectively participate in class discussion and present work to peers
6. successfully research and write an MA quality essay

Assessments

• Continuous Assessment (100%)

Teachers

•  RICHARD HULL 🖂
  

Reading List

1. "A companion to Contemporary Political Philosophy" by Goodin & Petit (eds),
2. "A companion to ethics" by Singer, P. (ed),
3. "Contemporary Political Philosophy" by Kymlicka, W.
4. "Liberals and communitarians" by Mulhall, S. & Swift A.,
5. "Multicultural Citizensip" by Kymlicka, W.,
6. "From Chance to Choice" by Buchanan, Brock, Daniels & Wikler,

OptionalHI6108: Everyday Lives: an Intimate History of 20th Century Women

HI6108: Everyday Lives: an Intimate History of 20th Century Women

Semester 2 | Credits: 10

This module offers an intimate history of the everyday lives of women in the United States, Britain and Ireland. We will explore the lives, roles, experiences and perceptions of 'ordinary' women across the twentieth century. Students will be introduced to an array of sources – including popular and visual culture, objects and digital sources, oral testimony and literature (fiction and memoir) – and to what they reveal about the manner in which women were perceived and represented; how women viewed themselves; and how women of different generations experienced, negotiated and reacted to social change. Fashion, consumerism, courtship, sexuality, and advertising are among the areas considered for what they reveal about women and the world around them. Such themes will be analysed within the context of continuity and change across the twentieth century and three geographical perspectives. The module will conclude by questioning the extent to which women’s movements were representative of 'ordinary' women.
(Language of instruction: English)

Learning Outcomes

1. Demonstrate an understanding of everyday lives in relation to broader women’s history,
2. Demonstrate the ability to address historical problems in the field through the sophisticated use of primary sources,
3. Demonstrate a broad understanding of historiographical approaches to selected themes in the study of ordinary lives,
4. Demonstrate the ability to develop and sustain sophisticated synthetic arguments.

Assessments

• Research (100%)

Teachers

•  HELENA CONDON 🖂
  
•  Ciara Meehan 🖂
  

OptionalHI6107: Historical Perspectives on Race and Ethnicity

HI6107: Historical Perspectives on Race and Ethnicity

Semester 2 | Credits: 10

This module explains the historical evolution of concepts of race and ethnicity over the course of the early modern and/or modern periods. It examines the impact of factors such as religious beliefs, scientific enquiry, labour policy, and gender norms on these concepts and the implications for diverse populations beyond Europe, It involves an engagement both with the historiography on race and ethnicity and with research on specific examples from the past.
(Language of instruction: English)

Learning Outcomes

1. engage in a critical fashion with the historiography of the period covered by the module
2. identify the ways in which the past has influenced modern concepts of race and ethnicity
3. demonstrate an advanced capacity to discuss orally and in writing the key topics in the history of the period
4. have an understanding of the development and application of research methods as they relate to race and ethnicity

Assessments

• Continuous Assessment (100%)

Teachers

•  HELENA CONDON 🖂