Further Subjects continue the approach of the Optional Subjects in Prelims in being more defined subjects than outline papers. Looking forward, you may want to choose a subject near the field in which you wish to take your thesis although the latter cannot be largely based on the same sources. Further Subjects are focused around prescribed sources, on which in most cases the structure of the exam requires you to answer directly.
You will need to analyse the texts and other kinds of source such as images, archaeology, film and music using the standard range of questions historians ask of their primary material β who?
There are over thirty Further Subjects to choose from, ranging geographically across the globe, and conceptually from archaeology to political and social thought. They enable you to study subjects in which members of the Faculty are themselves actively engaged in research, and your choice may well arouse interests which you yourself wish to pursue subsequently. The fusion of Germanic, Celtic and Mediterranean traditions produced a material culture of astonishing richness and originality, including such internationally famous works as the Sutton Hoo grave goods, the Ruthwell and Bewcastle crosses and the Lindisfarne Gospels.
This is currently one of the liveliest areas of medieval history, as old discoveries are reassessed, and new ones especially in the areas of economy and settlement overturn accepted views. This course will afford students the exciting opportunity to trace the remarkable growth of English society and culture in response to external stimuli. This is the only paper in the Modern History School devoted to archaeology, and archaeology is defined in the widest sense, to include illuminated manuscripts, precious objects, coins, sculpture and buildings as well as sites and finds.
Other Further Subjects are based on a selection of primary texts, which undergraduates study with the help of secondary works. Thus the normal distinction between primary and secondary literature cannot be drawn so clearly, and the subject-matter covers a spectrum from the primary e. Mastering the art of using physical evidence, and of reading and criticising excavation reports, involves some initial intellectual effort but is highly rewarding.
