Master of Arts - Local History

The MA in Local History is a one-year programme (90 credits) in which participants complete a combination of compulsory and optional modules as well as a minor thesis on a topic agreed with the programme director and an assigned expert supervisor. A total of 40 credits are awarded for thesis preparation (semester 1, 10 credits) and thesis completion (year long).

Core modules introduce participants to key elements of historical research including literature review, historiography, theoretical concepts, methodological and ethical issues, bibliography, referencing and presentation. Lectures, seminars and in-class discussion illuminate the nature and main classes of evidence for local history, the background and biography of the sources, their potential and limitations, and the skills required to identify, assemble, examine and interpret them professionally and effectively.

Optional modules (10 credits each) cover aspects of Irish history from the Middle Ages to the twentieth century, typically including the following topics: heritage, conservation and cultural tourism; the evolution of the urban landscape; landed estates and designed landscapes; domestic architecture; war and revolution; rural settlement; the archaeology and history of medieval Ireland.