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This module is designed to get you thinking in new ways about the entire process of constructing History from initial evidence-gathering to the dissemination of findings. In this module, we want to get you:

• Thinking about material culture in order to engage with evidence beyond textual and image sources;
• Thinking about the historical construction of space and place;
• Thinking about London as a site of historical praxis (practice or action) and meaning;

Working in a small research team on a specific historical project over the course of the Spring term, you'll be asked to acquire deep and rich historical knowledge but also to think about how your findings can be communicated to audiences beyond the university. You'll be assessed via a combination of a blog (50%) and report (50%). Both of these outputs are produced collaboratively by your research group. Both are public-facing: although they will build on academic research, they are intended to exemplify excellent public history. Throughout the module you'll be assessed on your historical rigour, but also a big stress will be placed on the creativity and inventiveness of your work.

Making History encourages you to be reflective about History as a discipline and as a practice. In recent years historians have turned to the analysis of buildings and the objects that are found inside them, explored social change by examining histories of of cloth and clothing, and assessed how our construction of (and interaction with) lived spaces impacts on our beliefs and behaviours. New media such as electronic forms of communication, television, films and websites have raised new questions about historical methodologies and the politics of the preservation of historical sources. Your focus should be on historical process and method as much as on producing an historical narrative.

Unusually for the UCL History degree, your mark for this module will be determined by group performance. This means that you are all equally responsible for the work you produce. Learning to work effectively in a team, and to successfully resolve any potential bumps on the road, is a critical skill you will need to develop in order to succeed in this module. This skill-set has obvious relevance for life outside your degree programme, wither in volunteering or paid employment.