The first unit lays the groundwork by exploring local history through a variety of sources, in order to provide you with some of the key skills and concepts used by local historians. Unit two is period-based and considers early modern communities (c.1500 - c.1750) and their cultures, using local places to illustrate the changes in a community's cultural life during this time. The third unit is theme-based and examines the impact of the First World War on churches and church-going at the local level.
The course is taught by means of four Sunday day-schools per unit, making classes accessible even if you live some distance away from Cambridge.
Unit 1: Introduction to local history
4 day-schools from 10.00am – 5.30pm on Sundays 16 October, 6 November, 13 November (includes fieldtrip), 27 November 2016
In this first unit, we introduce you to local history through an overview of a wide range of sources from the medieval period onwards. The unit also gives you hands-on experience of how to read and critically analyse historical documents as it includes an introduction to palaeography, the study of historical handwriting. A fieldtrip to Godmanchester is also included where we consider how settlements developed and the various features that you can identify within a community setting.
Unit 2: Communities and culture in early modern England
4 day-schools from 10.00am – 5.30pm on Sundays 15 January, 29 January, 19 February and 12 March 2017
In this unit, we consider various aspects of culture in early modern England. Firstly, since it played perhaps the most important role in communal life, we look at religion, and the changes that were made to its practice. Next, as the size of population increased rapidly during the period, we consider the ‘sorts’ of people who comprised that population and also material culture in the period. Then, because the population growth increased the proportion of poor, we consider social relations between the poor and those who were better off, and how the latter provided for the former. Finally we look at culture in the neighbourhood, including neighbourliness, custom and memory, to investigate how people viewed each other and their surroundings.
Unit 3: The death of Christian England: the impact of the First World War on English churches and churchgoing
3 day-schools from 10.00am – 5.30pm on Sundays 7 May, 21 May and 18 June and an all-day fieldtrip on 4 June 2017
In 1914 religion mattered in England. Church and chapel provided the social framework for the lives of a large part of the population, and their rivalries constituted the main fault line in British politics. By 1918 all that, like so much else, had changed. How did such a major cultural shift happen in so short a time, and what difference did it make in the life of local communities?
What can I go on to do?
If you wish, you can develop your studies in this subject by taking Undergraduate Certificate in Local History II to claim a 120-credit Undergraduate Certificate of Higher Education in Local History. Or you can progress to the Undergraduate Diploma in Local History, the Undergraduate Advanced Diploma in Local History or the MSt in History.
Credit awarded by the Institute may also be transferred into the degree programmes of other higher education providers. However the volume of credit and the curriculum which can be transferred into degree programmes varies from institution to institution and is always at the discretion of the receiving institution.
