Module manager: Dr Kimberley Thomas
Email: k.e.thomas@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun) View Timetable
Year running 2025/26
This module is approved as a discovery module
Histories of Black Britain offers you the opportunity to examine the construction of knowledge about the past and consider how it shapes ideas about Blackness and Britishness today. You will learn key research skills to enable you to research Black British History, critically examine various sources of knowledge production from archives and libraries, to monuments and museums, to social media and cultural texts. You will be introduced to key concepts in Black Studies such as critical race theory and use them to develop your own syllabus.
You will learn how to think critically about how knowledge is produced and how this shapes our understanding of and access to Black British History. The module will engage with the long history of black history making and black history makers up unto contemporary debates around Decolonizing the Curriculum. You will investigate how race, gender, class and sexuality shape knowledge production about the past and learn how to research, find and interpret primary sources on Black British History. You will develop key research skills for carrying out independent research and provide excellent preparation for Final Year Projects.
On successful completion of the module you will have demonstrated the following learning outcomes relevant to the subject:
1. Apply different methodological and historical approaches to the study of Black British History.
2. Identify and critique historical works on the history of Britain.
3. Assess how present-day understandings of race, gender, class and sexuality shape the way in which we research and write histories of Britain and race.
4. Research, find and interpret primary sources on Black British history.
Skills Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the module students will have demonstrated the following skills learning outcomes:
5. Communicate complex ideas tailored to the needs of academic and public audiences.
6. Apply critical thinking to assess the validity of historical interpretations and primary sources.
Details of the syllabus will be provided on the Minerva organisation (or equivalent) for the module
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Supervision | 4 | 0.2 | 0.8 |
| Seminar | 11 | 2 | 22 |
| Private study hours | 177.2 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 22.8 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 200 | ||
You will be exposed to a wide range of approaches during this module. To maintain consistency and support, all seminars will be led by a single module leader who will act as the tutor / supervisor for the design and production of the two assessment pieces. Formative feedback will be provided throughout the seminar series via the module tutor leading and responding to you during sessions, comments on any informal presentations completed in class, and guidance on reading and ideas. At the same time, a structure of four supervision meetings across the year will allow you to develop your assessment pieces with your tutor and gain formative feedback on your progress. Two of these supervision meetings will be devoted to your group project and two for your essay assignment. For your essay assignment, you will have the chance to annotate up to four primary sources during the year for which you will receive formative feedback and can use as part of your final essay.
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Coursework | Group Project | 40 |
| Coursework | Historiographical Essay | 60 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 100 | |
Resit in the same format as the original. However, for the 40% assessment, you may need to carry out an individual rather than group project.
The reading list is available from the Library website
Last updated: 29/04/2025
Errors, omissions, failed links etc should be notified to the Catalogue Team