Overview
What is history? How do historians know what is? This unit will equip you with the knowledge required to offer responses to these questions by surveying critical perspectives in historical inquiry through the lens of strategic debates in historiography – the history of histories. Key orientations in historical inquiry to be surveyed include liberal, conservative, historical materialist, feminist, structuralist/post-structuralist and decolonial/post-colonial approaches. Each orientation in historical inquiry will be interrogated in relation to strategic debates between and within these contending approaches, meaning that students first consider how and why the questions informing historical inquiry are derived, before reflecting on the consequences for the present differing interpretations of history. By successfully completing the advanced coursework in this unit, you will gain the requisite analytical foundations of historical inquiry for professional practice or further tertiary study.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
Admission to CC10 or completion of 90 credit points in CA10, CB94, CC13, CG85, CC24 or CC43.
Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).
Offerings For Term 1 - 2025
Attendance Requirements
All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 6-credit Postgraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.
Class Timetable
Assessment Overview
Assessment Grading
This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of 'pass' in order to pass the unit. If any 'pass/fail' tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully ('pass' grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the 'assessment task' section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%). Consult the University's Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades.
All University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
You may wish to view these policies:
- Grades and Results Policy
- Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework)
- Review of Grade Procedure
- Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure - Domestic Students
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure - International Students
- Student Refund and Credit Balance Policy and Procedure
- Student Feedback - Compliments and Complaints Policy and Procedure
- Information and Communications Technology Acceptable Use Policy and Procedure
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
- Identify key methodological orientations that inform dominant approaches in historical inquiry
- Offer an immanent critique of one or more approaches to historical inquiry as demonstrated by one or more interlocutors in historiography
- Critically evaluate contending methodological approaches to historical inquiry
- Demonstrate the ability to deploy rigorously one or more approaches to historical inquiry.
N/A
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1 - Written Assessment - 30% | ||||
| 2 - Presentation - 30% | ||||
| 3 - Essay - 40% | ||||
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1 - Knowledge | ||||
| 2 - Communication | ||||
| 3 - Cognitive, technical and creative skills | ||||
| 4 - Research | ||||
| 5 - Self-management | ||||
| 6 - Ethical and Professional Responsibility | ||||
| 7 - Leadership | ||||
| 8 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures | ||||
Textbooks
There are no required textbooks.
IT Resources
- CQUniversity Student Email
- Internet
- Unit Website (Moodle)
All submissions for this unit must use the referencing style: Turabian
For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.
j.collins2@cqu.edu.au
Module/Topic
Australian historiography?
Chapter
Learning resources on Moodle
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
World historiography?
Chapter
Learning resources on Moodle
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Ontologies of historical inquiry?
Chapter
Learning resources on Moodle
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Epistemological breaks in historiography?
Chapter
Learning resources on Moodle
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
History from the top down
Chapter
Learning resources on Moodle
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
History from the bottom up
Chapter
Learning resources on Moodle
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
History as celebration
Chapter
Learning resources on Moodle
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
History as commiseration
Chapter
Learning resources on Moodle
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Discourse
Chapter
Learning resources on Moodle
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Archives
Chapter
Learning resources on Moodle
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Narratives
Chapter
Learning resources on Moodle
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Praxis
Chapter
Learning resources on Moodle
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
1 Written Assessment
Students are required to write a book review of 1500 words (+ or - 10%). The review must offer a critique of ONE of the following books:
McQuire, Amy. Black Witness: The Power of Indigenous Media. Brisbane: University of Queensland Press, 2024.
Synge, Lesley. Know Their Names: The Queensland Government's Aboriginal Workers and the System that Exploited Them. Brisbane: Zing Stories, 2024.
The books below are two volumes of the same work so are considered to be one book for the purposes of the review:
Blainey, Geoffrey. The Story of Australia's People: The Rise and Fall of Ancient Australia. Melbourne: Penguin, 2015.
Blainey, Geoffrey. The Story of Australia's People: The Rise and Rise of a New Australia. Melbourne: Penguin, 2016.
Detailed instructions and assessment criteria are included in the assessment tile on Moodle.
Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence agents (Gen AI)
Within this assessment, the use of Gen AI agents is acceptable in the following ways only:
• Gen AI content is used to generate ideas and general structures.
• Gen AI can be used for content editing.
• Gen AI content generation for you to critique and review.
Week 4 Wednesday (2 Apr 2025) 11:45 pm AEST
Week 6 Wednesday (23 Apr 2025)
The book review is an essay and essays are marked on three principle criteria that can be summarised as CREW. This stands for: Content, Research, and Essay Writing.
Content:
• presentation of accurate, relevant and unbiased historical evidence
• evidence that the relevant(s) lecture has been listened to
Research (and referencing):
• evidence drawn primarily from scholarly texts
• acknowledgement of all sources of ideas/evidence (footnote) and any quotations
(footnote and quote marks)
• correct use of the Turabian referencing style
Essay Writing:
• meeting the required number of words, the bulk of which should be own wording
• logical structure/organisation of ideas
• clear, concise and correct written English
• presentation in formal essay style and layout
- Identify key methodological orientations that inform dominant approaches in historical inquiry
- Critically evaluate contending methodological approaches to historical inquiry
2 Essay
Students are required to write an essay of 2000 words (+ or - 10%) that responds to the following question:
What is your preferred methodological approach to historical inquiry and why?
The following sources are mandatory reading for this essay:
Bloch, Marc. The Historian's Craft. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1954.
McQueen, Humphrey. "Taking a Strong Stand." in Historians at Work: Investigating and Recreating the Past, edited by David Duffy, Grant Harman and Keith Swan. Sydney: Hicks Smith & Sons, 1973.
Further sources and instructions will be provided in the assessment tile on Moodle.
Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence agents (Gen AI)
Within this assessment, the use of Gen AI agents is acceptable in the following ways only:
• Gen AI content is used to generate ideas and general structures.
• Gen AI can be used for content editing.
• Gen AI content generation for you to critique and review.
Week 8 Wednesday (7 May 2025) 11:45 pm AEST
Week 10 Wednesday (21 May 2025)
Essays are marked on three principle criteria that can be summarised as CREW. This stands for: Content, Research, and Essay Writing.
Content:
• presentation of accurate, relevant and unbiased historical evidence
• evidence that the relevant(s) lecture has been listened to
Research (and referencing):
• evidence drawn primarily from scholarly texts
• acknowledgement of all sources of ideas/evidence (footnote) and any quotations
(footnote and quote marks)
• correct use of the Turabian referencing style
Essay Writing:
• meeting the required number of words, the bulk of which should be own wording
• logical structure/organisation of ideas
• clear, concise and correct written English
• presentation in formal essay style and layout
- Identify key methodological orientations that inform dominant approaches in historical inquiry
- Offer an immanent critique of one or more approaches to historical inquiry as demonstrated by one or more interlocutors in historiography
- Critically evaluate contending methodological approaches to historical inquiry
- Demonstrate the ability to deploy rigorously one or more approaches to historical inquiry.
3 Presentation
Students are required to prepare and deliver a public oration of no longer than 10 minutes that demonstrates their preferred approach to historical inquiry. The oration must critically engage with the following claim:
"A people without history are not a people at all."
This claim is articulated by Professor Stan Grant in an essay published in February 2025. Students are to read this essay, which is available in the assessment tile on Moodle, in preparation for their oration. The speech must engage directly with Grant's claims, discerning the methodology at work in Grant's analysis. Student's must then offer their own preferred methodological approach to historical inquiry that engages with the prevailing orientations in Australian historiography. Finally, the tone and register of the oration must be appropriate for an audience of the general public. Students must assume that the intended audience has no formal training in historical inquiry.
Detailed instructions on the submission process are available in the assessment tile on Moodle.
Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence agents (Gen AI)
Within this assessment, the use of Gen AI agents is acceptable in the following ways only:
• Gen AI content is used to generate ideas and general structures.
• Gen AI can be used for content editing.
• Gen AI content generation for you to critique and review.
Week 12 Wednesday (4 June 2025) 11:45 pm AEST
Exam Week Wednesday (18 June 2025)
The oration will be assessed according to the following criteria:
1. Tone - the tone of the speech is appropriate for a public oration with an audience comprised of interested members of the general public who do not have formal training in historical inquiry - i.e., undergraduate studies in history.
2. Content - the speech must engage with the prevailing orientations in Australian historiography as per the unit content contained on the Moodle learning resources.
3. Argument - the oration must articulate a concise and coherent argument that indicates unambiguously what exactly is the student's preferred methodological approach to historical inquiry.
4. Form - the speech must be no longer than 10 minutes and must adhere to the assessment criteria and instructions in the unit profile and in the assessment tile on the Moodle site.
- Identify key methodological orientations that inform dominant approaches in historical inquiry
- Offer an immanent critique of one or more approaches to historical inquiry as demonstrated by one or more interlocutors in historiography
- Critically evaluate contending methodological approaches to historical inquiry
- Demonstrate the ability to deploy rigorously one or more approaches to historical inquiry.
As a CQUniversity student you are expected to act honestly in all aspects of your academic work.
Any assessable work undertaken or submitted for review or assessment must be your own work. Assessable work is any type of work you do to meet the assessment requirements in the unit, including draft work submitted for review and feedback and final work to be assessed.
When you use the ideas, words or data of others in your assessment, you must thoroughly and clearly acknowledge the source of this information by using the correct referencing style for your unit. Using others’ work without proper acknowledgement may be considered a form of intellectual dishonesty.
Participating honestly, respectfully, responsibly, and fairly in your university study ensures the CQUniversity qualification you earn will be valued as a true indication of your individual academic achievement and will continue to receive the respect and recognition it deserves.
As a student, you are responsible for reading and following CQUniversity’s policies, including the Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure. This policy sets out CQUniversity’s expectations of you to act with integrity, examples of academic integrity breaches to avoid, the processes used to address alleged breaches of academic integrity, and potential penalties.
What is a breach of academic integrity?
A breach of academic integrity includes but is not limited to plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, cheating, contract cheating, and academic misconduct. The Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure defines what these terms mean and gives examples.
Why is academic integrity important?
A breach of academic integrity may result in one or more penalties, including suspension or even expulsion from the University. It can also have negative implications for student visas and future enrolment at CQUniversity or elsewhere. Students who engage in contract cheating also risk being blackmailed by contract cheating services.
Where can I get assistance?
For academic advice and guidance, the Academic Learning Centre (ALC) can support you in becoming confident in completing assessments with integrity and of high standard.
What can you do to act with integrity?
