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The Excommunication of Portsmouth, 1450-1508

By on October 5, 2017 in Learning in Focus, Research in Focus

Dr Fiona McCall teaches on a first year module, Early Modern World, where we discuss the practice of the medieval Catholic church before the reformation, and a second year module, Crime, Sin and Punishment in Britain, 1500-1850, which looks at the extensive jurisdiction of the church courts in the early modern period, as well as the role of religious ideas in punishment. Below she relates how the town of Portsmouth was excommunicated in 1450, and what it had to do, fifty-eight years later, to end this predicament. This year, Patrick Johnson, one of the students who studied the above module last year, will be researching a dissertation on the social meaning […]

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Image courtesy of Oliver Stedman

The Final Year: A year of many ‘lasts’

By on September 20, 2017 in Learning in Focus

Are you just about to embark on your final year studying as a History student? In this blog one of last year’s History graduates, Callum Devine, reflects on his experiences as a third year student. He offers advice on how to work through the year, as well as how to go about planning for your future careers. Callum graduated in July with a 2.1. The third and final year of your history degree… The year that seemed so far away when you started, and yet has crept up so quickly. For most of you it will be the year of many lasts: the last essay, last seminar, or last purple […]

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Third Year & You: How to survive with your sanity intact

By on September 20, 2017 in Learning in Focus

Returning for your third year as a History undergraduate? This blog was written by former History student Taché Smith, and in it she reflects back on her final year of study and offers tips on how to work through it. Taché graduated in July 2017 with a 2.1 and is now looking for museum work in her home country of Bermuda. There’s a lot of things said about the third year, most of it revolving around how easy or how hard it is; however, it just isn’t that simple. The third year of university is one of the most satisfying and frustrating experiences you will ever have. It will challenge […]

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Image courtesy of Rebecca Hams

Two years done, and each year getting better!

By on September 19, 2017 in Learning in Focus

Are you just about to start your second year studying History? This blog is written by Jess Jenkins, and in it she thinks back on her second year of studies and offers advice on how to make the most of your experience. Jess is just about to start her final year. Two years done, and each year getting better! I am now going into my third year as a History student at Portsmouth University and my second year has only left me feeling ridiculously eager to proceed into my final year. The second year as a history student is a year that you can tailor to your interests and pursuits […]

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What to expect in your first year as a History student

By on September 16, 2017 in Learning in Focus

Are you just about to start your first year as a History student? Starting to wonder what it will be like? Then read this blog written by one of last year’s ‘freshers’, Eleanor Doyle. In the blog Eleanor reflects on her experience when starting this whole new chapter in her life, from induction week worries to enjoying life both inside and outside the lecture room. Eleanor is just about to start her second year of studies. When you start at university it can be difficult to know what to expect. For most people, it’s their first time away from home and there is a lot more independence than at school or college. It […]

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Re-using the past: history on film.

By on August 4, 2017 in Learning in Focus, Public History

In this blog Dr Rob James, senior lecturer in history, reflects on the issue of ‘truth’ in historical feature films, revealing how filmmakers have frequently used past events to comment about contemporary situations. Rob specialises in researching people’s leisure pursuits, and teaches a number of units on film and the cinema, including his second year option unit ‘The Way to the Stars: Film and cinema-going in Britain, c. 1900-c. 2000’ and the final year Special Subject strand ‘Cinema-going in Wartime Britain, 1939-1945’. As James Chapman has noted in his masterly book Past and Present: National Identity and the British Historical Film, ‘a historical feature film will often have as much […]

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