A Practical Guide to Studying History Skills and Approaches

A Practical Guide to Studying History is the perfect guide for students embarking on degree-level study. The book:

- introduces students to the concepts of historical objectivity, frameworks and debate
- explains the differences in aims, methods and audiences for different types of history
- explores the relationship between the skills developed during a history undergraduate degree and the practice of professional history
- helps students develop the practical skills required to read historical writing critically, write good essays, and participate in historical debates
- includes study questions, further reading lists, text boxes, maps and illustrations

The book incorporates case studies taken from a range of regions and periods, reflecting the varied nature of historical study at university, and helps students to understand history, and to practice it successfully: it is an indispensable guide to studying history.

Introduction - Tracey Loughran (Cardiff University, UK)
Part I: Framing Histories
Introduction: Frameworks and Perspectives - Tracey Loughran
1. Nations – Mark Williams (Cardiff University, UK)
2. Periodization - Shaun Tougher (Cardiff University, UK)
3. Comparative Histories - Chiara Beccalossi (Oxford Brookes University, UK)
4. Biography - Toby Thacker (Cardiff University, UK)
5. People's History - Martin Wright (Cardiff University, UK)
6. Identities - Siobhan McGurk (University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA)
Part II: The Historian's Craft
Introduction - Tracey Loughran
7. Archives - Federica Ferlanti (Cardiff University, UK)
8. Documents, Editions and Translations - Helen Nicholson (Cardiff University, UK)
9. Historical Research - Garthine Walker (Cardiff University, UK)
10. Evidence and Interpretation - Kevin Passmore (Cardiff University, UK)
11. Reading and Writing History - Tracey Loughran
12. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Sources for Essays - Keir Waddington (Cardiff University, UK)
Part III: History in Public
Introduction - Tracey Loughran
13. History in Schools - Lloyd Bowen (Cardiff University, UK)
14. History and Policy - Matthew Grant (University of Essex, UK)
15. Historical Novels - Tracey Loughran
16. History and Heritage - Stephanie Ward (Cardiff University, UK)
17. Exhibiting History - Jane Hamlett (Royal Holloway, University of London, UK)
18. Taking History into the World - Dave Wyatt (Cardiff University, UK)
Index