BA History & Modern Languages | Final Honour School (Second Year) - Course Handbook

2024-27

Welcome!

This handbook applies to students starting the Final Honour School in History and Modern Languages in Michaelmas Term 2024, for examination in Trinity term 2027.

Welcome to the Final Honour School of History and Modern Languages. You have probably completed Prelims in History and Modern Languages, and therefore know your way around Oxford and the academic requirements of the History school. The next two years will enable you to use the skills acquired in the first year to study in much greater depth and breadth, both drilling down much more fully into societies and their surviving sources, and ranging more widely around the world to make bigger connections between the various parts of your accumulating knowledge.

You will become theoretically more sophisticated, and methodologically more competent, which will culminate in writing your own piece of research, and also enable many of you to take on further study in History or perhaps another academic discipline. You will also continue to develop the more general abilities and transferable skills which will equip you to tackle the very wide range of careers open to History graduates.

It is perhaps worth emphasizing here that the final year of the course is very intensive, with both the special subject to be tackled in all its detail, and a thesis to be written, before revision and the final exams. It is therefore important not only to make some time for academic work in the long vacation between the second and third years, but also to ensure that your second-year work is in a good state before the final year, since there will be no time for it in the first two terms of that year.

What follows is the Faculty’s formal Handbook to guide you through the Final Honour School: as well as basic information about facilities and resources and official regulations about courses and examinations, it includes fuller guidance to help you choose amongst the various options, and advice on a range of matters which are new to the course at this stage, such as designing and writing a thesis, professional referencing, and tackling special-subject sources through the specialized practice of writing ‘gobbets’. You will of course also receive plenty of information and guidance from your colleges too, and ideally Faculty and colleges will complement each other.

You probably won’t want to read the Handbook all at once, but do consider its contents so that you know what is available for reference in the course of the next two years; and there may be sections which catch your eye now as of particular interest or relevance to you. We hope that you will continue to make the most of the opportunity of reading History at Oxford, and to enjoy doing so.

Dr Ian Archer and Prof Lucy Wooding
(Directors of Undergraduate Studies, History)

Dr. Laura Lonsdale
(Director of Undergraduate Studies, Modern Languages)

The information in this handbook may be different for students starting in other years. This is version 1.0 of the Final Honour School in History and Modern Languages Handbook, published online in October 2024.

If there is a conflict between information in this handbook and the Examination Regulations then you should follow the Examination Regulations.

If you have any concerns please contact the History Faculty Undergraduate Office: undergraduate.office@history.ox.ac.uk.

The information in this handbook is accurate as at date of publication; however it may be necessary for changes to be made in certain circumstances, as explained at http://www.ox.ac.uk/coursechanges and http://www.graduate.ox.ac.uk/coursechanges.

If such changes are made the department will publish a new version of this handbook together with a list of the changes and students will be informed.

The Final Honour School of History and Modern Languages is a three-year course run by the Faculty of History and the Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages. The second and fourth years are divided by a year spent abroad.

The course consists of nine papers, plus an oral examination. The formal Examination Regulations may be found at Appendix 1. The next sections briefly describe the nine units, and full descriptions of each paper are available on Canvas at the links below.

The knowledge and skills you will acquire over the whole course are outlined in Section 2 | Teaching and Learning, which build upon the basic skills you will have developed in the first year.

 

1| Course Content and Structure

The course is divided into two parts, a first year examined by a Preliminary Examination, and a second and final year, divided by a year spent abroad, examined by a Final Examination.

Final Examination
1 One period of European & World History as specified for the Honour School of History.
2 A Bridge Essay of between 8,000 and 10,000 words on an interdisciplinary topic, designed to draw together interests and develop skills from both sides of the course.
3 & 4 Two language papers (Honour School of Modern Languages Paper I and Honour School of Modern Languages Paper II A and B).
5 A period of literature (Honour School of Modern Languages, one of Papers VI, VII or VIII).
6 A Modern Languages paper in Linguistics (IV, V), Early Texts (IX), Modern Prescribed Authors (X, XI), or a Special Subject (XII).
7,8 & 9

Either a) a Special Subject as specified for the Honour School of History (two papers, paper (b) of which is an extended essay) and one of items (b), (i), (ii), (iii) or (iv) below.

Or (b) any three of the following four items:

  1. Any period of The History of the British Isles as specified for the Honour School of History;
  2. A Further Subject as specified for the Honour School of History;
  3. Any one of the papers IV, V, IX, X, XI, XII not already offered, as specified for the Honour School of Modern Languages;
  4. A Dissertation as specified for the Honour School of Modern Languages or a thesis based on original research as specified in Regulation VI for the Honour School of History.

[Candidates studying Celtic should note that the balance between European & World History and British History papers required is reversed: please see regulations.]
10

An Oral examination. Candidates will be required to attend for an oral examination in the language they offer. A candidate failing to appear for the oral examination, without good cause shown, will be deemed to have withdrawn from the whole examination.

In the oral examination candidates will be required to show in the language they offer competence in the following:

  1. comprehension of a passage or passages of text
  2. a short discourse
  3. conversation. Reading aloud may be required of candidates as a further test of their pronunciation.
Choice of Papers

As with all courses, the framework of the syllabus is set, but there is a good deal of room for you to combine options in the best way possible for your interests and expertise.

You may choose, for example, to shift the balance of your subjects towards history or towards your modern language. This can be done most easily in the final year, when you may choose, for example, to do a Special Subject in History together with another paper in History, or to do a paper in the History of the British Isles, a History Further Subject, and a Dissertation in the language or another Modern Languages paper.

You should, of course, pay some regard to overlap and to load. Seven papers are taken in the main History School, nine and an oral examination in the main Modern Languages School. In the Joint School there are nine papers and an oral examination. Since the History Special Subject counts as two papers, it makes some sense to take it as a final-year option, independent of the fact that it is the high-point of the History course, an in-depth study based on a critical reading of primary sources. You should note that the History Special Subject’s second paper is examined by an extended essay that is submitted at the beginning of Hilary Term of your final year. Modern Languages Special Subjects are normally taught in the Hilary Term of the final year. You will need to plan so that you are also able to submit your Bridge Essay, by mid-day on Tuesday of ninth week of Hilary Term.

There is also a strong case to be made for designing your course to ensure some sort of linkage between your history and literature papers. Some students simply enjoy the freedom to combine a medieval historical paper with a very modern literature paper, or vice versa. Too much overlap is in fact discouraged by the Regulations because it is felt to be unduly narrowing. You are allowed in the Final Examination, for instance, to offer the Modern Languages Early Texts in Italian as well as the History Further Subject, Culture and Society in Early Renaissance Italy, 1290-1348, but if you do offer both papers you may not answer on Dante in the History Further Subject paper. Neither may you make the same text or texts by an author studied for both a Modern Languages and a History paper, for example Zola, the principal subject of answers in both papers. This is not the same as building connections between the two halves of the course, which is to be encouraged. It enables you to explore the relationship between literature, culture and history within a specific context. For example, you may want to combine a study of Golden Age Spanish writers with the equivalent period of European and World History. Studying literature and history in the same period should also give you ideas and material for the Bridge Paper essay which you will be writing.

There are various ways in which your choices may be limited in the Final Honour School:

(i) History: Capping of Further and Special Subjects. In order to ensure that there is adequate teaching provision, certain popular Further and Special Subjects have to be ‘capped’ at a pre- determined number of takers for the year. The definitive lists of available Further and Special Subjects and their capacity will be sent to students before they make their choices; there is then a randomized ballot to determine the distribution of students in cases where applications exceed places. Further Subjects applications are currently processed at the beginning of the second year in Michaelmas Term. Special Subjects applications are currently processed at the start of Trinity Term of the final year.

(ii) Overlap: While you are encouraged to cross-fertilize between different papers so as to enhance your historical thinking, there are some slight limits on the use you can make of material derived from one paper in answering questions in others. Furthermore, your thesis cannot be primarily based on the same sources as your Further or Special Subject. See below Examination Conventions, ‘Overlap’, for precise detail on this point.

(iii) Your European & World History paper in Finals must not overlap with the one you took in Prelims. Here is a list of the illegal combinations:

EWP1 The Transformation of the Ancient World, 370-900

with EWF1 The World of Late Antiquity, 250-650

or EWF2 The Early Medieval World, 600-1000

EWP2 Communities, Connections and Confrontations, 1000-1300

 with EWF3 The Central Middle Ages, 900-1300
EWP3 Renaissance, Recovery, and Reform, 1400-1650

with EWF5 The Late Medieval World, 1300-1525

or EWF6 Early Modern Europe, 1500-1700
EWP4 Society, Nation, and Empire, 1815-1914 and EWF10 The European Century, 1820-1925

 

(iv) You may choose both the both the History Further Subject Culture and Society in Early Renaissance Italy 1290-1348 and the Modern Languages Early Texts paper in Italian. Where candidates offer both the Further Subject and Early Texts papers, they may not answer on Dante in the Further Subject paper.

(v) Candidates offering a paper from the Honour School of Modern Languages and a paper from the Honour School of History, both of which involve the study of the same author or authors, may not make the same text or texts the principal subject of an answer in both the papers. The same regulation applies to the use of material in the Bridge essay and any other papers.

Please be aware of these limits on your choices from the outset. It is your responsibility, and not your tutors’, to ensure that your choices fall within the regulations.

In general, please remember that the arrangement of your teaching, and particularly of tutorials, is a complex business, over which tutors take a great deal of time and trouble.

When your tutor asks you to make a choice, do so promptly, and at all events by the date specified: otherwise it may not be possible to arrange teaching in the subject you want.

 

HML Finalists take, alongside their language-work (nos 3-4 in the Regulations)

1 a paper in European & World History [EWF] (either a period paper or a theme paper)
2 a Bridge essay
5-6 one period and one more specialist literature paper
7-8-9

three additional papers:

a. either a Special Subject in History [SS] (which counts for two papers) & another paper or thesis/essay in either History or ML, i.e. one of the following

b. or three of the following:

(i) a paper in the History of the British Isles [BIF] (either a period or a theme)

(ii) a Further Subject in History [FS]

(iii) an additional paper from 6 above (but not a 2nd paper XII)

(iv) (x) a Dissertation in Literature or (y) a Thesis in History.

 

This produces a large number of possible combinations. The two pathways at 7-8-9 a and b each produce four formal possibilities, with additional permutations dictated by (i) whether a paper XII is included in the whole roster (whether at no.6 or 7-8-9.b.iii) and (ii) whether the 7-8-9.iv paper is a History Thesis or a ML Dissertation, which affects the balance of the degree as a whole. The factors and narratives below provide the parameters which will guide the timetabling of students’ choices. Each student, however, will need to talk through their own pathway and timetabling carefully with their History and ML tutors.

(In what follows, ‘MT2’ means Michaelmas Term of the second year, etc.)

Papers with no or limited flexibility
  • The History Special Subject (7-8-9.a) must be taken in MT4; it counts double, and involves an Extended Essay due at the start of HT4; it is therefore not practical to timetable any other teaching for this term.
  • ML paper XIIs (6 or 7-8-9.b.iii) are nearly all taught in HT4, with a few exceptions.
  • The History Further Subject (7-8-9.b.ii) must be taken in HT, normally HT2 but possibly HT4; teaching is quite intense and it would be possible to study a maximum of half of one other paper alongside it; it is therefore hardly compatible with a ML paper XII.
  • A few other ML papers are more fixed in their teaching-time, e.g. Italian IX, MT4.

(Note also that the Bridge essay, ML Dissertation and History thesis are submitted at the end of HT4)

Flexible Papers
  • The period-papers in Literature (5: ML VI-VII-VIII) and the Outline papers in History (1 EWF & 7-8-9.b.i BIF) can usually be taught at different times, and split across terms. While all these would normally be studied in the second year, it is possible to split them across the second and fourth years.
  • Theses, the ML Dissertation, and Extended Essays can also be worked on with some flexibility, although most of the work for them is ideally done in the fourth year when students are more mature.
Further Constraints
  • One potential difficulty is imbalance in subjects: a student might end up with a second year almost all on one side, and a fourth year all on the other. It is desirable to try to find ways round this where it occurs – although in some cases students may have deliberately chosen their portfolio of papers to maximize one side of the school.
  • While some papers normally taken in the second year can be taught in the fourth, the reverse is less true: History SSs, ML paper XIIs and either a History Thesis or ML Dissertation are all fourth-year papers, and it would thus make for a crowded fourth year to choose them all.

A

 Combinations involving a History Special Subject (7-8-9.a)

The History SS, studied in MT4, can be paired with, in effect, any one of five options under menu 7-8-

9.b. These are mostly flexible in their teaching-time and can be distributed through the second year (BIF), or even split across the second and fourth years (ML no.5, some no.6s, as well as EWF). The papers that are fixed to particular terms are generally compatible with the History SS.

  1. If the other paper is the History FS (b.ii), it would be taken in HT2.

 

  1. If a ML paper XII is chosen (at no.6 or 7-8-9.b.iii), it would be studied in HT4.

 

  1. If a History Thesis or ML Dissertation is chosen (7-8-9.b.iv) this would be worked on in HT4. There are two provisos to this:

(a) if a ML paper XII has been chosen under no.6, this creates the crowded-fourth-year scenario, in which the History SS and ML paper XII would occupy the teaching weeks in MT4 & HT4, and the Thesis or Dissertation would have to be fitted around it. This could be mitigated by doing work on the Thesis or Dissertation in the year abroad: but students would have to be prepared to do most of the work at that stage.

(b) if a History Thesis is chosen alongside the History SS, and no ML paper XII is chosen, the fourth year would be History-heavy, with the ML side represented only by language- work and (partially) the Bridge paper.

B

 Combinations without a History Special Subject (7-8-9.b) This involves choosing three of the four (in fact five) options under 7-8-9.b. The timetabling of almost all these combinations is technically unproblematic. However, pathways which do not involve a History Thesis risk a History-heavy second year, when BIF and the History FS are normally taught, and an almost History-free fourth year with only half the Bridge paper on that side. This can be mitigated by moving some or all EWF teaching into the fourth year, but each specific portfolio of options will dictate how much space there is in that final year.

C

 Combinations without ML paper XII

If no paper XII is selected, under either no.6 or 7-8-9.b.iii, then there is considerable flexibility. The only fixed points are that BIF is normally taught in MT2 or TT2 in Year 2, and that the History FS must be taken in HT2 or HT4. If a ML Dissertation is chosen (b.iv.x) rather than a History Thesis (b.iv.y), then – in order to ensure some History representation in the fourth year – either EWF can be studied in MT4 (with the Dissertation in HT4), or, more likely, the History FS could be taken in HT4 (and the Dissertation in MT4).

D

 Combinations with ML paper XII (at 6 or 7-8-9.b.iii)

If a paper XII is chosen, whether under no.6 or as a third ML paper at 7-8-9.b.iii, most of the available options are taught in HT4. (The few exceptions to this change the picture and will need to be carefully thought through with tutors.) There are seven possible permutations, with varying degrees of timetabling challenge.

1. BIF (i), History FS (ii) and ML paper XII (iii):

The fixed points are the History FS in HT2 and ML paper XII in HT4. The other papers can be taught flexibly in the other terms. In order to ensure History representation in the fourth year, the EWF paper should be wholly or partly taught in MT4.

2a BIF (i), History FS (ii) and ML Dissertation (iv.x)

(with ML paper XII chosen under no.6).

The fixed points are the History FS in HT2 and ML paper XII in HT4. The ML Dissertation would normally then be studied in MT4, but this makes for a ML-heavy fourth year. To mitigate this half of the EWF tutorials could be done in MT4.

2b BIF (i), History FS (ii) and History Thesis (iv.y)

(with ML paper XII chosen under no.6).

This is straightforward, with the Outline and Period papers taught flexibly across MT2 & TT2, the History FS in HT2, the History Thesis in MT4 and paper XII in HT4.

3a BIF (i), ML paper XII (iii) and ML Dissertation (iv.x)

The only fixed point is paper XII in HT4. The Dissertation would then naturally be studied in MT4. This is a ML-heavy option and students choosing it may not mind having no History in the fourth year. However, to achieve some, half of the EWF tutorials could be taken in MT4.

3b BIF (i), ML paper XII (iii) and History Thesis (iv.y)

This is unproblematic, with the Outline and Period papers taught flexibly across the second year, the History Thesis in MT4 and paper XII in HT4.

4a History FS (ii), ML paper XII (iii) & ML Dissertation  (iv.x):

The fixed points are the History FS in HT2 and ML paper XII in HT4. The ML Dissertation would normally then be studied in MT4, but this makes for a ML-heavy fourth year. To mitigate this half of the EWF tutorials could be done in MT4.

4b History FS (ii), additional ML paper XII (iii) & History Thesis (iv.y):

This is straightforward, with the Outline and Period papers taught flexibly across MT2 & TT2, the History FS in HT2, the History Thesis in MT4 and paper XII in HT4.

The programme aims to enable its students to:

  • acquire a knowledge and understanding of humanity in past societies and of historical processes, characterised by both range and depth, and increasing conceptual sophistication;
  • engage and enhance their critical and analytical skills to identify and analyse key concepts
  • approach the past through the work of a wide variety of historians, using a range of intellectual tools; and thus appreciate how History as a subject itself has developed in different societies;
  • learn the technical skills of historical investigation and exposition, above all how primary evidence is employed in historical argument;
  • enhance a range of intellectual skills, such as independent critical thinking, forensic analysis, imagination and creativity;
  • develop their ability to present their own critical understanding of the issues studied to tutors and peers, and to engage in dialogue with them;
  • learn or develop languages, or numerical and statistical tools;
  • analyse and argue persuasively in writing, and engage in interactive oral discussion to deepen understanding;
  • develop the ability to work independently, and to plan and organize time effectively.

Details of Modern Languages papers that can be taken in the FHS can be found on Canvas in the relevant FHS language-specific handbook:

https://canvas.ox.ac.uk/courses/20010

European and World History is divided into fourteen periods, which cover much of the last two millennia. Papers vary in their focus, with some being centred on particular regions and others offering the opportunity to think on a more ‘global’ scale, or to look at different parts of the world and their relationships within particular periods. Some papers are badged as both ‘European’ and ‘world’ and you may choose your focus; while others are badged as one or the other. You can study times and places not covered in the Preliminary year, and periods are studied in greater depth, requiring you to examine the distinctive features of individual societies as well as to grasp broad themes. There are in addition three Theme papers on offer this year. Theme papers challenge you to study an issue or problem in depth across chronological and geographical boundaries. You will be able to explore how a theme (such as gender and sexuality, technology, religion and war) manifests itself in different ways across time and space, and how it has been approached by historians who have very different skills and interests. All European and World History Theme papers have more than one geographical ‘badge’ – see the ‘Geographical Requirement’ section of the Handbook for precise information about the geographical ‘badges’ for each Theme paper. However, you will not acquire a chronological ‘badge’ when doing a Theme paper so keep this in mind when making your other paper choices.

As in your British Isles History papers you should take the initiative in devising your tutorial programme so that it makes the most of both your own and your tutor’s interests.

Teaching: 8-16 lectures, usually in Trinity Term; 8 tutorials in either Michaelmas or Trinity Term, for most of which an essay or some other output such as a presentation will be required.
Assessment: A 3-hour written examination takes place during the Trinity Term of year 3. This accounts for one ninth of your overall mark.

Course information for each of the European and World History options available can be found at:

https://canvas.ox.ac.uk/courses/22234/pages/ewf-paper-options?module_item_id=209547

 

The History of the British Isles outline papers will be familiar from Prelims. You are not permitted to take the same period, and the paper will be different in a number of different ways.  It will be assessed by a three-hour timed written examination during Trinity Term of year 4.

You will have some freedom to follow your own interests in the period. In the knowledge that there will be a wide range of questions, and time to do some extra reading, you will be able to probe the history of different societies in the British Isles, and to prioritise political, intellectual, social, cultural or economic history as you choose. Indeed, Finals British History has always demanded greater depth, in terms of closer engagement with specific issues in the period, of reading in monographic literature and perhaps in primary sources too, and of greater historiographical awareness. You therefore have some scope to shape your own course and can take the initiative in discussing with your tutor what you wish to cover during the term.

Nevertheless, the most impressive scripts will also demonstrate breadth – in terms both of the whole chronology of the period and the differences and similarities between the various parts of the British Isles. And they will be imbued with a sense of the interaction of different types of development – economic, cultural, social, intellectual and political. Your tutorial preparation should not therefore be too narrow in chronological, geographical or thematic terms.

Whereas outline papers encourage you to study one period in depth, Theme papers challenge you to study an issue or problem in depth across chronological and geographical boundaries. You will be able to explore how a theme (such as gender and sexuality or the state and national identity) manifests itself in different ways across time and space, and how it has been approached by historians who have very different skills and interests.

Please note that you will not acquire a chronological ‘badge’ when doing a Theme paper so keep this in mind when making your other paper choices. History of the British Isles Theme papers will also be assessed by a three-hour timed written examination during Trinity Term of year 4.

Teaching

8-16 lectures usually in Michaelmas Term; 4 lectures in Trinity Term (except for BIF7, for which there are 8); 8 tutorials in either Michaelmas or Trinity Term, for most of which an essay or some other output such as a presentation will be required.
Assessment

A three-hour timed written examination during Trinity Term of year 4.  This accounts for one ninth of the overall mark.
Content and scope  Candidates are encouraged to follow their interests into any part of the history of the British Isles in this period: this includes the history of England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland, and of other territories in so far as they are specifically connected with the History of Britain. Candidates are also encouraged to display some breadth of knowledge, whether thematically, geographically or chronologically.

 

Course information for each of the period or theme options available can be found at: https://canvas.ox.ac.uk/courses/22234/pages/bif-paper-options?module_item_id=209542

Further Subjects continue the approach of the Optional Subjects in Prelims in being more defined subjects than outline papers. You may wish to take a subject ‘further’ to a period you have covered, so that you start from a basis of knowledge; but you do not have to do so. 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 – who? when? where? And, above all, for what purpose? And you will need to relate them to the scholarly literature and to understand their role in constructing historians’ current understanding of the subject.

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 teaching of Further Subjects is partly based on the usual essay-plus-tutorial format, but this is balanced by Faculty classes for eight-to-twelve students, in which you will develop your ability to work effectively in a group. All students will be encouraged to participate in the discussion which constitutes the main form of teaching in these classes, and students are also asked to set the agenda for the classes or to give presentations on the material.

Most Further Subjects focus the classes around the set texts – section A of the exam paper – and use the tutorials for study of the substantive topics in section B; but patterns of teaching vary from subject to subject.

Further Subjects are examined in a single paper in the Final Honour School. You are required to answer three questions, including at least one from each of Section A (usually focused on the prescribed sources) and Section B, and to illustrate your answers as appropriate by reference to the prescribed texts.

Capping: The number of students who can take each paper is determined by the teaching resources available to each subject. Some are therefore ‘capped’, and where demand for these exceeds the number of places, students are allocated by a random ballot. Students choosing such subjects therefore need to have backup choices, at least one of which must be a subject which is unlikely to fill its quota: such subjects are flagged on the ballot form. This process takes place early in Michaelmas Term of the second year. If you have a special reason for studying a particular Further Subject, you can make a request to do so using the Special Case Form. Contact your College Tutor about making such a request. Please bear in mind your fulfilment of the geographical requirement when you are making your choices.
Teaching: Twelve contact sessions, usually 6 tutorials and 6 classes, held over Hilary Term of year 2. Note that finalists may not attend Further Subject classes again in their final year.
Assessment: A 3-hour written examination takes place during the Trinity Term of year 4. This accounts for one ninth of the overall mark.

Course information for each of the options available can be found at: https://canvas.ox.ac.uk/courses/22234/pages/further-subject-paper-  options?module_item_id=209550

Special Subjects are normally studied by candidates in History and its Joint Schools in their final year; the papers are taught in the Michaelmas term of the final year. Special Subjects get you the closest to the scholarly study of a subject of all the prescribed papers in the History School. This depth is signalled by the fact that the paper is examined in two ways, and counts for two-sevenths of your Final mark. Your comprehension of how historians use sources is extended beyond that required in the Further Subject, and your specific knowledge of the set texts will be the focus of the written exam. This exam paper requires you to write short commentaries or ‘gobbets’ on brief unseen excerpts from the set sources, in order to decode the full meaning of the passage, its context both textual (or material) and factual, and its place in the scholarship. But you also have the opportunity to arrive at your own conclusions about the subject through your Extended Essay based on the sources. Some subjects constitute their teacher’s current research project, and in discussion and through your writing you may be able to contribute to their work.

In these subjects the balance between (college) tutorials and (Faculty) classes tips further towards the latter, of which there are eight, weekly through the final Michaelmas Term.

There are up to six tutorials, of which four are commonly used for the writing of essays or ‘gobbets’, and one or two for individual advice on your Extended Essay. On the basis of even more detailed and intensive study of the material you will be able to deploy your skills in discussion and presentation from the Further Subject and Disciplines, and thus take more control of class- and tutorial-discussion; indeed it is to be hoped that students will learn more from each other than their teachers. (Note that subjects vary in whether they require the writing of essays for tutorials or the giving of presentations in classes, and whether they focus preparation for gobbet-writing on tutorials or classes.)

The Extended Essay provides you with the opportunity not only to demonstrate your knowledge of an aspect of the subject in very great depth, encompassing both the relevant sources and historiography, but also to come to your own conclusions on the basis of close study of these. As a short scholarly piece of work it also acts as a warm-up to the thesis you will write in the following term, not least in that it requires proper academic presentation and referencing. The guidelines for these are the same as those for the thesis (see section below); the lecture on thesis-preparation offered to second years is also relevant to this essay. The eight-question paper is published half-way through term, and you then receive individual tutorial advice to help choose a question and refine your approach to it, and to discuss a plan. The tutor or class teacher is permitted to read and comment on a plan, but not a draft, of the essay. The essay must be submitted digitally via Inspera by 12 noon on Friday of week 0 of the following Hilary term. Instructions on how to submit your work will be sent out in the course of Michaelmas term.

The three-hour exam paper taken at the end of the course requires you to write commentaries on twelve out of twenty-four short passages or images from the prescribed sources. There are guidelines on the writing of gobbets below (Appendix 5). The key aim is to elucidate the passage in a number of different but connected ways: the essential meaning of the passage (including any technical terminology), its place within its text or location or the oeuvre of its author, how it relates to other evidence, and how it has been used and understood in the scholarship. You only have fifteen minutes to write each gobbet, and the structure of the paper requires you to answer across the whole range of the set sources. This therefore requires a very thorough knowledge of the texts, and is one reason why reading them all in the long vacation before the Michaelmas Term is important.

Capping:

As with Further Subjects, the number of students who can take each paper is determined by the teaching resources available to each subject. Some are therefore

‘capped’, and where demand for these exceeds the number of places, students are allocated by a random ballot. Students choosing such subjects therefore need to have backup choices, at least one of which must be a subject which is unlikely to fill its quota: such subjects are flagged on the ballot form. This process takes place in the course of Trinity Term of the second year. If you have a special reason for studying a particular Special Subject, you can make a request to do so using the Special Case Form. Contact your College Tutor about making such a request. Please bear in mind your fulfilment of the geographical requirement when you are making your choices.
Teaching: 6 tutorials and 8 classes, held over Michaelmas Term of year 3.
Assessment: Paper 1 (Gobbets): A 3-hour written examination during the Trinity Term of year 3. This paper accounts for one seventh of the overall mark.

Paper 2 (Extended Essay): an extended essay of not more than 6,000 words, to be submitted by Friday of week 0 of the Hilary Term of year 4. This paper accounts for one ninth of the overall mark.

 

For further information about individual papers go to: https://canvas.ox.ac.uk/courses/22234/pages/special-subject-paper- options?module_item_id=209553

The purpose of the Bridge Essay in Modern Languages and History is to link the two parts of this joint course and to show how the two disciplines influence one another. The Essay is between 8,000 and 10,000 words in length, and is analogous to the Extended Essay in Modern Languages. You choose the subject of the essay yourself although the title must be approved by the Joint Committee in History and Modern Languages. You must begin to think about your essay in the 2nd year in order to make use of relevant classes and to organize supervisors.

Areas of interaction between language, literature and history may include

  • The representation of a historical event or figure in novels, drama, cinema or poetry
  • The impact of historical events on literature
  • Literature as a historical source or vehicle of social criticism
  • Diaries and memoirs as a historical source
  • The production, transmission and reception of literary works, whether ‘high’, ‘popular’ or ‘mass’
  • The history of reading or the history of the book
  • History writing as a form of narrative
  • The shaping of language by historical factors and the shaping of historical identities (political, national, gender, ethnic, religious) by the discourses of historical actors and groups
  • The evolution of literary forms such as biography or letter-writing
  • Persuasive arts: theatre, cinema and song
  • Literature as an event, scandal, cause célèbre, the censorship and repression of writers and works

Expand All

1. A number of tutors, lecturers and professors in the Faculties of History and Modern Languages have agreed to act as supervisors for the Bridge essay. Your College tutor will help you to identify and approach academics with the relevant expertise. You should normally have one History supervisor and one Modern Languages supervisor during the research and composition of your Bridge Essay. You are entitled to a total of five tutorial hours of supervision, which can be flexibly split between the History and the Modern Language supervisor. This will include introductory sessions devoted to identifying a topic, formulating a research question, and thinking about sources and approaches, before you go on your year abroad (normally take place in the HT or TT of your second year), as well as a discussion of your first draft during your final year. The supervisors may each read one draft of the essay and comment on it.

2. A series of classes on ‘Literature and History’ is organised each year in Hilary Term to guide and stimulate your thinking about the relationship between language, literature and history. You should attend these classes in your second year, to allow you plenty of time to decide upon a topic and how to treat it.

3. A list of essay titles submitted by previous candidates and approved is included in Appendix 2 below.

The bridge essay represents a single unit in the Final Honours Examination, and should not be longer than 10,000 words or shorter than 8,000 words, including footnotes, but excluding bibliography and, in cases for which specific permission has been obtained from the convenor of the joint school, appendices. Students are advised to leave quotations in the original language, but to provide translations in English in the footnotes. Only the original quotation and not the translation will count towards the word limit (you will have to deduct the number of words in the translated quotes manually). (Bridge Essays are normally marked by one historian and one modern linguist; the historian may not be fluent in your language.)

Each bridge essay must include a bibliography, listing all materials, documents, book and articles used in its preparation. The bibliography should give clear and accurate details of locations, places and dates of publication. Only primary and secondary works actually read should be included. In the text, all quotations or evidence or ideas derived directly from books, articles or documents should be acknowledged precisely in footnote references. Poor presentation in these matters (for instance the inability of examiners to identify a book or to locate a quotation) may be penalized.

Format. All bridge essays must be word-processed, in double spacing for the main text, and single spacing for the footnotes and bibliography and in no less than 11 pt type face.

For detailed guidance (which must be followed) on presentation including how to quote references and construct your bibliography, see the documents on Canvas listed below:

https://canvas.ox.ac.uk/courses/17231/pages/bridge-essay?module_item_id=363367

The declaration of authorship certificate for each bridge essay will be automatically submitted at the same time as the essay, and the student will be deemed to have agreed to its provisions, which are detailed below.

You will be agreeing to the following:

I have read and understood the University’s disciplinary regulations concerning conduct in examinations and, in particular, the regulations on plagiarism (University Student Handbook, Section 8.7);

I have read and understood the Education Committee’s information and guidance on academic

good practice and plagiarism at www.admin.ox.ac.uk/edc/goodpractice.

The bridge essay I am submitting is entirely my own work except where otherwise indicated.

It has not been submitted, either partially or in full, for another Honour School or qualification of this University (except where the Special Regulations for the subject permit this), or for a qualification at any other institution.

I have clearly indicated the presence of all material I have quoted from other sources, including any diagrams, charts, tables or graphs.

I have clearly indicated the presence of all paraphrased material with appropriate references.

I have acknowledged appropriately any assistance I have received in addition to that provided by my [tutor/supervisor/adviser].

I have not copied from the work of any other candidate.

I have not used the services of any agency providing specimen, model or ghostwritten work in the preparation of this bridge essay. (See also section 2.4 of Statute XI on University Discipline under which members of the University are prohibited from providing material of this nature for candidates in examinations at this University or elsewhere: http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/statutes/352-051a.shtml#_Toc28142348)

The bridge essay does not exceed 10,000 words in length, including footnotes, but excluding bibliography; any appendices for which specific permission has been obtained, and any English translations of passages quoted in another language. I have spent no more than five hours in preparatory or advisory meetings with my College History Tutor or bridge essay supervisors; only the first draft of the bridge essay has been seen by my bridge essay advisers.

I agree to retain an electronic copy of this work until the publication of my final examination result.

I agree to make any such electronic copy available to the examiners should it be necessary to confirm my word count or to check for plagiarism.

A title and a short statement of about fifty words of how you intend to treat the subject, together with a note from your tutor approving your topic, must be submitted for approval to the convener of the Joint School c/o the History Faculty, by the Monday of the 6th week of the Trinity Term of your second year. The Bridge paper is intended to be a project that you will pursue during your year abroad; if for any reason you are not taking a year abroad you will have to do most of it during your second Long Vacation. If you decide in the light of work you have undertaken to modify the title you have submitted, you must submit this to the convener of the Joint School with approval from your tutor by the Friday of 4th week of Hilary Term of your final year.

The bridge essay must be submitted electronically by 12.00 midday on Tuesday of ninth week in the Hilary Term of the undergraduate’s fourth and final year.

The essay must be submitted as a single document via Inspera. Detailed submission instructions will be sent to all students.

Failure to submit a bridge essay or lateness in submission are both extremely serious. If a bridge essay is submitted late and without explanation it may not be marked, or in cases of lesser delay will be penalized by the examiners and is likely to be reduced by a full class. Where a candidate for any written examination in which a bridge essay (or other exercise) may be, or is required to be, submitted as part of that examination wishes on some reasonable grounds to be permitted to present such a bridge essay (or other exercise) later than the date prescribed by any statute, or regulation, the procedure shall be as follows:

  1. the candidate shall apply in writing through the Senior Tutor to the Proctors for such permission enclosing the grounds for the application;
  2. the Proctors shall consult the chair of examiners about any such application and shall then decide whether or not to grant permission

This must be done in advance and you will be asked to provide supporting medical or other evidence to justify the delay.

Please note that in the rare cases where students are dispensed from the requirement to spend their third year abroad, the deadline for submission of the completed Bridge essay is (FHS 2025) noon on Friday of noughth week of the Trinity Term preceding the examination. In these cases, students should submit any changes of title to the convenor of the Joint School with a covering letter from your tutor by (FHS 2025) the Friday of 4th week of Hilary Term of the final year.

Plagiarism can result in very harsh penalties. Please follow the guidelines below in Chapter 2.2.1 Plagiarism and Good Academic Practice

Research Integrity

The University is committed to ensuring that its research involving human participants is conducted in a way that respects the dignity, rights, and welfare of participants, and minimises risk to participants, researchers, third parties, and to the University itself. All such research needs to be subject to appropriate ethical review. More information can be found at the Research Ethics website and an online training course can be accessed on Canvas.

The History and Modern Languages course offers up to five different opportunities for you to submit work written in your own time rather than do closed examination papers. Although you can do five pieces of submitted written work, you need to think very carefully about the greatly increased workload this would impose on you. It is recommended that in practice you don’t do more than four pieces of submitted written work.

The following grid with an overview of deadlines may help you make your choice. Deadlines (including whether they are at noon or 4 pm) may change between now and the final examination – please check Examination Regulations, take note of any communications from Faculties and check with your tutors when you make your final choices.

Paper Status Deadline for title Submission deadline

History Special Subject Extended Essay (6,000 words)

 Compulsory if you take a History Special Subject. You choose the title from a question paper issued in Week 4 of Michaelmas Term of your 4th Year. Friday, Week 0, Hilary Term, 4th Year.
History Thesis (12,000 words) Course option 9 (b) iv, but cannot be done together with the Mod Lang Dissertation. Friday, Week 6, Michaelmas Term, 4th Year, but you can get the title approved as early as the Trinity Term of your 2nd year. Friday, Week 8, Hilary Term, 4th year.

Bridge Essay (8,000 - 10,000 words)

 Compulsory. Monday, Week 6, Trinity Term in 2nd Year. Tuesday, Week 9, Hilary Term, 4th Year. *

Dissertation for Modern Languages (6,000 to 8,000 words)

 Course option 9 (b) iv, but cannot be done together with the History Thesis. Wednesday, Week 2, Michaelmas Term, 4th Year. Monday, Week 10, Hilary Term, 4th Year.
Modern Languages Special Subject (Paper XII) Course option 6 and 9 (b) iii. Deadline for entering as for all other papers, in Michaelmas Term, 4th year. Monday, Week 10, Hilary Term, 4th Year.
History Optional Additional Thesis Completely optional. Friday, Week 1 Hilary Term, 4th Year. Monday, Week 1, Trinity Term, 4th Year.

[* Note: special arrangements exist for students who do not take a year abroad.]

You will need to take these deadlines into account when choosing your options.

The Bridge Essay has already been described. The other options are described below:

Dissertation in Modern Languages (Paper XIV)

Candidates may choose, as one of their papers, to write a Dissertation not exceeding 8000 words on a subject of their own choice which falls within the scope of the Honour School of Modern Languages, as approved by the Faculty. Please consult Examination Regulations for Joint Schools restrictions. The Dissertation (Paper XIV) offers an opportunity to carry out an independent research project which counts as a full content paper. This can be a new topic or a means of broadening existing interests. Please see the Examination Regulations for further details.

A thesis based on original research in History

You may offer a thesis in History as one of your options. The thesis should not exceed 12,000 words including footnotes but excluding bibliography and should be written and supervised according to the regulations and guidelines laid out for the compulsory thesis (Regulation VI) for the Honour School of History (see the History FHS Handbook:

https://canvas.ox.ac.uk/courses/22234

The thesis title must be submitted by Friday of Week 6 of Michaelmas Term of your final year, and the thesis itself by Friday of Week 8 of Hilary Term. You will need to plan carefully if you are doing both a thesis and a bridge essay in the Hilary Term of your final year.

An extended essay on your History Special Subject

If you do a Special Subject in History, you MUST do an extended essay of 6,000 words on a topic chosen from a question paper issued in the middle of the Michaelmas Term of your final year. The submission deadline for your Special Subject extended essay is Friday of Week 0 of Hilary Term.

Modern Languages Special Subject

You may choose a Special Subject in the same way as any of your other papers. A number of the Special Subjects have an historical dimension and are well suited for study in the Joint Degree. Most are examined by submission of a single long essay or a portfolio of essays; some by three-hour closed examination. The list of subjects available in any given year and details of examination methods are published on Canvas by the beginning of 5th week in Trinity Term one year before your Final Examination. For further details, see the Modern Languages Course Handbook and relevant language-specific FHS handbook on Canvas.

An Optional Additional Thesis

If you are very interested in a particular topic and prepared to put in extra work and commitment, you may want to offer an optional additional thesis in History (Regulation VII of the History main school regulations) in addition to the full range of course options for the History and Modern Languages degree. This can help to enhance your final degree result. The mark for the optional additional thesis may be used to replace that of the weakest ‘content’ (i.e. non-language) paper with a mark over 50.

Undergraduates doing the Joint School in History and Modern languages are expected to spend a year abroad after their second year like their contemporaries studying single honours Modern Languages. This year is an integral part of the course and clearly offers time to deepen their understanding of the language, literature, culture and history of the country they are studying. It also affords more time to think about and work on the Bridge paper, together with the extended essay, ML dissertation or History thesis if that option has been chosen. See the Modern Languages Course Handbook as well as the dedicated section on Canvas: https://canvas.ox.ac.uk/courses/20010

Modern Languages Papers in joint schools with Modern Languages

Paper

Comments on kind of teaching, provider, amount and timing
Oral Examination – compulsory in all languages

This is taught in typically weekly oral classes throughout the second year and final year, organised by colleges for French and German and by the Faculty for other languages. (Note that for EMEL students ‘second’ year means ‘third’ year)
Papers I and II are compulsory language papers in all languages

They are taught in typically two classes a week throughout the second and final year, organised typically by colleges for French and German and by the Faculty for other languages

Papers IV and V are optional Linguistics papers, though compulsory for those reading a Modern Language and Linguistics

They are taught in lectures and typically 8 tutorials. Lectures are provided across the terms every year, though tutorials may be in any term in the second or final years.
Papers VI, VII and VIII are period of literature papers. Typically at least one of these papers is a requirement in each language offered. They are taught in lectures and typically 8 tutorials. Lectures are provided across the terms every year, though tutorials may be in any term in the second or final years.
Paper IX is a typically optional medieval texts paper. They are taught in lectures and typically 8 tutorials. Lectures are provided across the terms every year, though tutorials may be in any term in the second or final years, except that in Italian this paper is taught in MT of the final year.
Papers X and XI are typically prescribed author papers and optional They are taught in lectures and typically 8 tutorials. Lectures are provided across the terms every year, though tutorials may be in any term in the second or final years.
Paper XII Optional Special Subjects

These are taught 5-8 classes or tutorials (depending on examining method: A typically 8, B 5-8, C 5) in HT term of the final year, except for certain subjects by special arrangement. The classes and tutorials are the responsibility of colleges, though the organisation may be done centrally.
Paper XIII General Linguistics Only available to candidates offering certain combinations and compulsory for those taking a language and linguistics. Taught in lectures across the year, and 8 college tutorials, 4 typically taken in second year, 4 in final year.
Paper XIV Dissertation

This is an optional extra for most students, though in certain joint schools may be offered as a compulsory paper. Title is approved at start of final year.

Preparatory work is done during year abroad and the essay completed for the end of HT of final year.

Students have individual contact with supervisor: first to discuss ideas, approach and bibliography; and then for comments on first draft.

 

History Papers Year 2

Paper Term Dept/Faculty College Comments
Lectures Classes Tutorials Classes
[1.] History of the British Isles 1- 7, and Theme Papers A and B MT 16   8*   8-16 lectures usually in MT and 8 tutorials in either* MT or TT. In TT, there will be 4 lectures for BIF 1-6, and 8 for BIF 7; NB tutorial teaching can be flexible for joint school students.
HT        
TT     8*  
[2.] European and World History 9 and 11, Theme Papers A and C MT 8-16   8*   8-16 lectures in MT and 8 tutorials in either* MT or TT for these papers, can be flexible for Joint School students.
HT        
TT     8*  
[3.] European and World History 4-7, 8 and 10, 12 MT     8*   16 lectures in HT and 8 tutorials in either* MT or TT for these papers, can be flexible for Joint School students.
HT 8-16      
TT     8*  
[4.] European and World History 1-8, 13 and 14, Theme Papers B and D MT     8*   8-16 lectures in TT and 8 tutorials in either* MT or TT for these papers, can be flexible for Joint School students.
HT        
TT 8-16   8*  
[5.] Further Subjects MT         Taught via 6 classes and 6 tutorials, which take place in HT. (Some tutors have asked to deliver their subject in 7 classes and 5 tutorials.)
HT   6 6  
TT        
[7.] Bridge Essay HT   4     Bridge Essay classes every two weeks in HT; one hour of advice from supervisor in TT
TT     1  
[8.] Optional Thesis MT         Introductory lectures and workshops in HT and TT of year 2; at least one session with college tutor or external supervisor in TT.
HT 2      
TT 2   1  

BA in History Year 3

Paper Term Dept/Faculty College

Comments

Figures in this table are in hours unless otherwise stated.
Lectures Classes Tutorials Classes
[1.] Special Subjects 1-31 MT   8 6   8 Classes and 6 tutorials for each Special Subject, all taught in MT. Submission of Special Subject Extended Essay at start of HT.
HT        
TT        
[2.] Optional Thesis MT     4   Maximum of 4 hours advice from supervisor/s during MT and HT. Timing is flexible. Submission at end of HT.
HT      
TT        
[3.] Bridge Essay MT         Students may have up to a total of five hours of advice from their supervisors, usually one in TT of year 2 and 4 in MT and HT of year 4. Submission Tuesday of week 9 HT.
HT     4  
TT      
[4.] Revision MT         One revision class may be offered at some time in TT for the Further Subject, and one revision class or tutorial for the EWF paper.
HT        
TT   1 1  

Appendices

Honour School of History and Modern Languages 2023-24

A 

  1. The subjects of the examination in the Honour School of History and Modern Languages shall be (a) History, and (b) those modern European languages and literatures studied in the Honour School of Modern Languages.

  2. All candidates must offer both (a) and one of the languages in (b) with its literature.

  3. No candidate shall be admitted to examination in the School unless he or she has either passed or been exempted from the First Public Examination. 

  4. The examiners shall indicate in the lists issued by them the language offered by each candidate obtaining Honours or satisfying the examiners under the appropriate regulation.

  5. The Honour School shall be under the joint supervision of the Boards of the Faculties of History and Modern Languages, which shall appoint a standing joint committee to make proposals for regulations concerning the examination. Such proposals shall be submitted to the boards of the two faculties which shall make regulations concerning the examination and which, in case of difference of opinion, shall hold a joint meeting at which the matter in dispute shall be resolved by the vote of the majority.

  6. The lists of specific papers available in this School from the Honour Schools of History and of Modern Languages will be published by the relevant Faculty Boards at the dates defined in the regulations for those schools.

  7.  

    • (i) The examiners in the Honour School shall be such of the Public Examiners in the Honour Schools of History and Modern Languages as shall be required.

    • (ii) It shall be the duty of the Chair of Examiners in the Honour Schools of History and Modern Languages to consult together and designate such examiners as shall be required for the Honour School, whereupon the number of examiners shall be deemed to be complete.

B

Candidates will be examined in accordance with the examination regulations set out below.

They will also be required to spend, after their matriculation, a year of residence in an appropriate country or countries, and to provide on their entry form for the examination a certificate that they have done this, signed by the Head or by a tutor of their society. Candidates wishing to be dispensed from the requirement to undertake a year of residence abroad must apply in writing to the Chair of the Medieval and Modern Languages Board, 41 Wellington Square, Oxford, OX1 2JF, stating their reasons for requesting dispensation and enclosing a letter of support from their society. [see Code of Practice for Dispensation on Canvas]

Candidates should during this year abroad undertake a programme of activity acceptable to their college or society.  They will also be expected to carry out during this period such academic work as their society may require.   Candidates will agree with their College Tutor in advance of their year abroad an independent course of study to be followed during that period.

Save in a Special Subject, each candidate shall offer in his or her language and literature papers one language and literature only.

Oral Examination: as specified for the Honour School of Modern Languages.

Certain combinations of papers within or between the two parent schools will be illegal, or subject to advice about duplication of material; these will be specified in the Handbook for this School.

Every candidate shall offer:

  • 1.  An Outline or Theme paper in European & World History as specified for the Honour School of History (except for candidates offering Celtic, who shall offer a paper in The History of the British Isles as specified for the Honour School of History). No candidate may offer a period similar to one offered when passing the Preliminary Examination. Illegal combinations will be specified by the History Board.

  • 2. A bridge essay of between 8,000 and 10,000 words on an interdisciplinary topic, designed to draw together interests and develop skills from both sides of the course. The limit of 10,000words includes footnotes, but excludes bibliography, and, in cases for which specific permission has been obtained from the convenor of the joint school, appendices. Candidates must follow the guidelines on word count, presentation, and referencing as outlined in the course handbook.

    The candidate will submit a title and short statement of up to fifty words on the manner in which he/she proposes to treat the topic, together with a note from his/her tutor approving the topic, addressed to the convener of the Joint School of History and Modern Languages, c/o the History Faculty, no later than Monday of sixth week of Trinity Term of the first year of the Final Honour School. Titles will be approved by the convener of the Joint School of History and Modern Languages. Notification of whether or not approval is forthcoming will be given by eighth week of Trinity Term.

    Changes to the title must be submitted to the convener of the joint school at the latest by the Friday of fourth week of the Hilary Term of the final year of the Final Honour School. Notification of whether or not approval is forthcoming will be given no later than sixth week of the Hilary Term of the final year of the Final Honour School. Candidates must submit their bridge essay electronically by not later than noon on Tuesday of week 9 of the Hilary term of the final year of the Final Honour School using the approved online submission system. Procedures governing this process will be published by the Board. In the rare cases when a candidate is dispensed from the requirement to spend a year abroad after their second year, that candidate shall not be required to submit their Bridge Essay until noon on Friday of noughth week of the Trinity Term of the final year of the Final Honour School. Any changes in title for such candidates should be submitted to the convenor of the joint school by the fourth week of Hilary Term of the final year. Notification of whether approval is forthcoming will be given no later than sixth week of Hilary Term of the final year of the Final Honour School.

    A first draft of the bridge essay may be read and commented on, but not corrected in matters of detail and presentation, by the bridge essay adviser.  

  • 3. Honour School of Modern Languages, Paper I.

  • 4. Honour School of Modern Languages, Papers IIA and IIB.

  • 5. Honour School of Modern Languages, one paper chosen from Papers VI, VII, or VIII. (VII not available in German)

  • 6. Honour School of Modern Languages, one paper chosen from Papers IV, V, IX, X, XI, XII, or XIV.

  • 7, 8, 9. Either (a) a Special Subject as specified for the Honour School of History (two papers, paper (b) of which shall be examined by extended essay) and one of the items (b), (i), (ii), (iii), or (iv) below.

    or (b) any three of the following four items:

    • (i)  An Outline or Theme paper in The History of the British Isles as specified for the Honour School of History; (except for candidates offering Celtic, who may offer a paper in European & World History as specified for the Honour School of History);

    • (ii) A Further Subject as specified for the Honour School of History;

    • (iii) Any one of the Papers IV, V, IX, X, XI, XII or XIV not already offered, as specified for the Honour School of Modern Languages; except that a candidate who has chosen a Special Subject (Paper XII) at clause B6 above may not choose another such Special Subject;

    • (iv) A Dissertation (Paper XIV) as specified for the Honour School of Modern Languages or a thesis based on original research as specified in Regulation B6 for the Honour School of History, except sub-clause 5 of that regulation should read ‘beginning of Trinity Full Term of the academic year preceding that in which the candidate spends a year abroad’.

Optional Additional Thesis

In addition to the compulsory papers for this School, candidates who so desire may offer an optional additional thesis in accordance with Regulation B7 An Optional Additional Thesis of the Honour School of History q.v., modified as follows:

(a) the subject shall, to the satisfaction of the examiners, fall within the scope of the Honour School of History and Modern Languages;

(b) Candidates must submit their theses electronically using the approved online submission system;

(c) Sub-clause 10. for 10. 'The Final Honour School Examiners will arrive at a formal degree result […] all papers awarded a mark below 50 will be included.’ read ‘The Final Honour School Examiners will arrive at a formal degree result for candidates who submit an Optional Additional Thesis by taking the marks awarded for the 2 language papers and the oral examination, together with the highest seven marks out of the eight content papers submitted, except that the Optional Additional Thesis may not substitute for a mark lower than 50. Thus, the papers to be included are determined by the following procedures:

(i) In the event that the Optional Additional Thesis is awarded a mark below 50, it will be disregarded and the formal degree result will be determined solely by the marks awarded for the compulsory papers.

(ii) In the event that the Optional Additional Thesis is awarded a mark of 50 or above, the content paper awarded the lowest mark of 50 or above (which may be the Optional Additional Thesis) will be disregarded. All other content papers awarded a mark of 50 or above, and all content papers awarded a mark below 50, together with the marks awarded for the 2 language papers and the oral examination, will be included.'

The synopsis is intended to clarify for the Chair of Examiners the field of your dissertation, the questions it will address, and the methods and sources it will use to do this; it will also thereby help you crystallize your thoughts well in advance of Hilary Term. As the synopsis may not be longer than 50 words, it must be succinct, and focused on these essentials; and it must therefore have been properly thought-through, rather than offering general preliminary ideas as to a possible field of exploration.

  1. The synopsis should locate the area of study in which the bridge essay falls, in terms of both themes and location in time and space; e.g. ‘From remembrance to reproof: representations of the Second World War in the Italian novel’ or ‘Ein weites Feld: Günter Grass, Theodor Fontane and Responses to (Re)Unification’.
  2. It should then define precisely the problem or problems which the bridge essay will seek to address. This may arise from discussion of the sources, or of the historiography, or both; but whatever the case, the bridge essay must be directed towards discussion of a clearly-defined problem. It is not enough to indicate the general field in which exploration will take place.
  3. Often the problem will be defined by reference to existing historiography: either the issue will not have been addressed (or not adequately so) by current writing on the subject, in which case it should be made clear exactly what has and has not been done; or, the bridge essay will address an argument which has been put forward but which needs further testing or indeed challenging. Either way, the historiographical context needs to be spelt out clearly.
  4. The synopsis must then identify the sources which will be used to address the problem, and thus also the precise area of study in terms of time and place (which may have been explained under 2). The methods by which these sources will help address the problem should also be explained as precisely as possible.
  5. The title should describe the field of the bridge essay as precisely but also as succinctly as possible. It is not customary for bridge essay titles to be framed as questions.

In practice bridge essay-topics are refined in the process of research, as the sources themselves suggest new questions, and thinking about problems leads one to look at new sources. (And students commonly only fulfill a part of the agenda they had originally set themselves.) Note that the completed bridge essay is not judged against the submitted synopsis.

It is nevertheless important for the Examiners to have a clear idea of what you are planning at this stage, so that they can identify suitable examiners in advance of submission; changes of topic are rarely so radical as to require different examiners. Moreover, you need to start research with a topic which has been as clearly defined and thought-through as it can be, so as to be sure that your topic is viable and will not fall apart in Hilary Term once you begin to probe it properly.

EXAMPLES OF RECENT BRIDGE ESSAY TITLES

  • Evocation and construction of collective memory in the literature of the Paris Commune : Emile Zola’s La Débâcle and Jules Vallès’s L’Insurgé.
  • The female soldier in street literature and oral culture in the German speaking lands, c. 1600-1950: a marker of changing gender relationships?
  • East German Literature and the issue of Republikflucht, 1945-63
  • From La Femme libre to La Voix des femmes : women’s literary endeavours and the emergence of feminism in France, 1830-1850
  • Lieutenant Bilse’s Aus einer kleinen Garnison and the culture and politics of the German officer- corps.
  • Plays written in Lyon during the revolutionary era: 1789-99
  • Au tens plain de felonnie: examining the problems that beset the 1239 crusade, through the chansons de croisade they inspired.
  • An analysis of the historical novel Quatre-vingt-treize by E. Tourville in relation to Victor Hugo’s novel of the same name.
  • Trauma and memory in the works of Marguerite Duras
  • ‘Famn leve famn doubout’: examining the shifting identity of Antillean women through literature in
  • the period c 1970-1985
  • The writings of Leonardo Sciascia and their impact on Italy’s attitude towards the Mafia
  • The end of the People’s Republic: history versus literature in contemporary portrayals of Louis- Napoleon’s coup d’état of 1st December 1851
  • Memories of ‘les années noires’: explorations and re-evaluations of France’s Second World War experience during the later twentieth century
  • La Bête est morte: the Second World War and national identity in French bande dessinée
  • Robespierre’s self-representation: why literary analysis is of value to the historian.
  • Mohammed Dib, Malek Haddad and Marcel Moussy: the Algerian War of Independence through three different perspectives.
  • Pierre Drieu La Rochelle, decadence and the New Order
  • The influence of the ministeriales upon German Vernacular Literature to 1300
  • Boris Godunov and the Pretender Dimitrii, portrayals of historical conflict in nineteenth-century Russian drama.
  • ‘Nevsky Prospekt’ – a cultural history of St Petersburg’s main street
  • Russian literature of the Caucasus in the early-mid nineteenth century: the imperial politics of identity
  • From dispersion to expulsion: Christian perspectives on the Morisco community in Spain from c.1560-c.1620.
  • The evolution of the arbitrista tract in the late 16th and early 17th centuries
  • The memory and representation of the First World war in German drama and prose, 1916-1930
  • Generation gaps: remembering members of the National Socialist Regime in perpetrators’ family
  • narratives
  • The price of laughter: censorship and political satire in Wilhelmine Germany The use of history in selected works by Stefan Heym published in the GDR
  • The portrayal of the Mexican Revolution contained in the fictional works written by Mariano Azuela
  • in comparison with contemporary sources and later historians’ accounts
  • Explore the relationship between history and literature in Dario Fo’s play Morte accidentale di un anarchic
  • Vico’s concept of science: the Neopolitan context.
  • The legacy of the Struthof concentration camp in the poetic oeuvre of Jean-Paul Klee: the suitability of poetry as a way of commemorating historic events
  • ‘Terra estrangeira’: Brazilian literary responses to Polish immigration to southern Brazil, 1869-1914

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