Pub Quiz

It's that time of the year again where we invite you to our staple-diet no-history pub quiz.

 

16th October, 8pm

Ryan's Bar, St Peters Street

 

£1 for members, £2 for non-membersWin some liquid prizes with percentage labels on them (and some without if you don't drink).

Hosted by our infamous quiz masters Dr Ian Whitehead and Dr Ruth Larsen.

 There will also be a raffle. We hope to see you all there!

Presidential Entry 01/10/12

Dear all!

Welcome to all new comers, and all old timers to (and back) to another year at UoD.  We at the History Society are celebrating our 5^th birthday, so we’re hoping to be able to make this year one to remember.

No matter if you’re studying history or just have an interest in it we hope to be able to provide something to suit all tastes. From our staple diet of our no-history-pub-quiz socials to trips planned further afield (which this year you the members are choosing) we’re looking forward to a great 12/13.

I’m your society president for this year, so if you have any questions, suggestions or anything you wanted to talk to me about, either about the society or a general query you think that your Students Union can help you out with don’t hesitate to ask either myself, or any one of the committee this year.  I’m hoping to be able to make this year a lot more transparent, helping the society committee to keep in touch with its members and be able to build on the previous 5 years in which we have truly gone from strength to strength. 

So enough from me for now, if you wanted more information about either myself, or the society, come and visit our mini-site on the UDSU webpage, follow us on Facebook and Twitter, or email us: udsuhistory@gmail.com.

No matter what you’re studying this year, I hope that we can add just a little bit to your experience at the University of Derby!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Simon Harvey
History Society President

Countdown to Freshers' Fortnight!

So with just over twenty-four hours until the official move in date for all your Freshers', we've decided to give you a few points to keep in mind as we all know how busy and excited you will be!

First of all, keep the following dates in your diary:

• 20th September 8.30pm is the first of our Ghost Walks. Sammie, our social secretary, will be meeting those who are unsure of Derby outside Nunnery Court at 8.15pm.
• 25th September is the Society Freshers' Fair in the Atrium at Keddie Road starting at 10am until 4pm.
• 27th September is the second and final of our Ghost Walks.

Last year, we had to put on a third due to all tickets being sold out! Don't miss out on a great night out where you'll also become familiar with our favourite bar in town (and where most of our pub quizzes are held!)

Find us during Freshers' Fair:
You'll be getting a free newsletter from us with more information about what to expect from us as a committee this year and how you can get more involved.

You will also be able to sign up to become a writer for our blog, vote for your end of year trip and talk to us about what you want to see happen this year. We'll be running competitions and getting you involved with RAG week as well as putting on some debate workshops and helping you build your professional portfolio.

You will be able to meet your committee at various points throughout Freshers' but please do not hesitate to get in touch with us if you have any questions or would like to find out more information.

How do I register?
If you would like to become a member of the History Society, then please head to our minisite page and click "Join Now" - the cost of membership is £4 and there is a 60p administration cost.

If you want to buy tickets, you can find them on the UDSU Derby Freshers' Fortnight events page.

Any questions?
Email us! udsuhistory@gmail.com You can also find us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter: @UDSUHistory

We look forward to seeing you all in a few days. Have a great time at Freshers' Fortnight (or refreshers for our returning members!).

Sammie,
Social Secretary

 

Book Sale

 

Can you donate your unwanted books to raise money for a good cause?

We can provide storage and you will receive our thanks.

 

If you can donate, email udsuhistory@gmail.com or you can message us on Facebook

 

All books will be accepted, particularly old course books. DVDs, CDs and small gift boxsets will also be accepted.

 

 

Many thanks,

UDSU History Society in partnership with Oxfam UK

Creative Writers - your chance!

Are you a creative writer, or perhaps studying a creative course at the University of Derby?

The History Society are looking for new writers to get involved from September 2012 to write articles on a range of different topics. These include your own personal experiences at the University, UDSU events, or articles relating to your course.

There will be a free-lance competition where you can write an article about whatever you like with the chance to win some great prizes.

If you would like to get involved, here are some things to keep in mind:

• You don't need to be a history student, but you do need to be a member of the History Society.
• You can contribute as much or as little as you like. We only ask that you contribute once a month just to keep things exciting.
• International students are welcome to contribute too.
• All content is subject to approval and will need to keep in line with UDSU policies.
• You will be required to attend a bi-monthly informal get-together where we can discuss the content of the blog and what you would like to see happen next.

Benefits:

• You'll be able to develop your creative writing and PR skills as well as add something to your CV.
• You will be able to interact and meet a wide range of people.
• Become a part of a growing Society at the University of Derby.
• Other perks along the way.

If you would like to get involved or wish to find out more information, then you can either send our social secretary Sammie Farrell an email at udsuhistory@gmail.com stating your interest and skills, or come along to Freshers' Fair on the 25th September where one of us will be happy to answer any of your questions.

Photographers:
We are also looking for volunteer photographers who will be happy to take photos of our events throughout the year. Interested? Send your details to Sammie via email with a few samples of your work.

Thank you and we look forward to seeing you all in September!

Ghost Walk

Tickets £4

Get them online now before they become sold out

20th September 2012

27th September 2012

Design work By Jay Farrell (Embiem Design)

Embarking a new successful year

The new academic year of 2012/13 marks the History Society's 5th birthday. This year, we want to mark this occassion with some exciting plans, developing further as an active society.

We're going to be hosting loads of different events such as the pub quiz, Ghost Walks, a charity book sale/auction as well as many other fun events for you to get involved in.

Here are some plans and ideas that you can expect to see happen this year:

• As a society, we would not be able to function without our members and so we want to get you involved this year with a variety of projects. As well as the events which we are hosting, we are also going to be hosting a competition for our blog. This is a great way for the creative writers among you to boost your CV and get actively involved with your Student Union.
• We will be setting up a forum page where you can discuss with us what you would like to see happen with the society. Also any events and social functions which you would like to volunteer with, then you can get in touch with Sammie the Social Sec, who will be happy to discuss your ideas further.
• We are planning an end of year trip outside of Derby as well as host another picnic at one of our local stately homes/National Trust sites. So far, there are talks of a trip to Ireland, Leeds and Winchester. We will be asking you to vote for where you would like to go, taking cost into consideration of course.
• At our last EGM, we were asked if we would host any more talks. This is definitely being looked into, and we are also going to be putting on some workshops, focusing on debating and so on.

These are just four focus points for us this year as a committee, and as the year progresses we are going to be involving you more and more. This is not our society, it is yours so get involved as much as possible.

Important notice:
We are currently asking for our members, non-members and friends to donate any books, CDs, DVDs for our fundraising book sale and auction to raise money for Oxfam. Storage can be provided, and if you want to find out more information you can get in touch by emailing us at udsuhistory@gmail.com.

Thank you and we look forward to seeing you at the Freshers' Fair in September.

Sammie Farrell
Social Secretary

Your Committee 2012/13

Hello everyone,

Following the History Society's AGM, May 8th 2012, your new committee for the academic year 2012/13 is as follows:

President - Simon Harvey
Treasurer - Jennifer Burgum
Secretary - Elissa Rowe
Social Secretary - Sammie Farrell

There have been some amendments to our constitution, so if you would like more details then please feel free to email the society at udsuhistory@gmail.com

Thank you for supporting your society, and we look forward to another successful year with you and our new members.

The Value of Great Men

The Value of Great Men

The idea of Great Men imprinting their desires and wishes on History is one that prevails and inspires in our world. However Thomas Carlyle’s assertion that ‘The History of the World is but the Biography of Great Men’ might be overstepping the mark. There is value in studying the ‘Great Men’ of History, it is inspiring to think what one person can accomplish, and we shouldn’t play down the effect some people have had on the course of history. However we must examine the potential problems of ‘Great Men’ History;

Great Women?

The Great Women branch of history is somewhat more unknown, to put it mildly. I might bet that when asked to think of 10 Great Men of History the list would conjure up many candidates, but that of Great Women might have more difficulty. The fact that many of the ‘top ten’ lists of Great Women are particularly inconsistent, and sometimes contain women who are often wives of Great Men should tell us something of a Historical bias.

Surprisingly the Great Men approach of history marginalises women. But hopefully points to the patriarchal nature of society, or history, or both? I wonder what Amazonian historiography would have looked like? Consider also the marital status of Great Women such as Elizabeth I, the virgin queen, or Catherine the Great, who had to suffer the accusation of having sex with a horse for her greatness. Another Great Woman, Florence Nightingale, opens up the charge of having her greatness constructed around her – which brings me to my next problem...

Can we trust ‘Great Men’ ?

Many Great men have been built up by others, many have taken steps to cover themselves. Churchill was keen to write his own version of history which, perhaps unsurprising to cynics, has been widely influential on Second World War Historiography. Many dictators and despots clearly controlled much of what was written about them through force. It is difficult to ascertain how much of a Great Man is mythical or reality. But on the other hand, Great Men in the spotlight often have official documents and public papers showcasing all of their actions, therefore allowing for a more objective route of inquiry. How certain people, perhaps fans of the Great Men or Great Men themselves, use this evidence is another matter.

How much agency can be ascribed to Great men?

It was Herbert Spencer who criticised the Great Man theory in his The Study of Sociology; he believed that the idea of Great Men shaping history was in principle unscientific, and that Great men are products of their society. “You must admit that the genesis of a great man depends on the long series of complex influences which has produced the race in which he appears, and the social state into which that race has slowly grown.”

How much control do men and women have over history? Anyone who has studied a Great Man has seen the limitations of imposing their will. Marx has been invoked to both criticise and champion the cause of individual actions in History; “Men make their own history, but not of their own free will; not under circumstances they themselves have chosen but given and inherited circumstances with which they are directly confronted.”

The Greatness of Great Men and Women can be seen as their ability to interact with the limitations and opportunities that fall upon them. Fundamentally though, I agree with Herbert Spencer on the Great Man, that “before he can remake his society, his society must make him.”

Kit Buchanan, 01/04/2012

The Value of Marxist Theory

The Value of Marxist History

You may be surprised to learn that in a BBC online poll in 2009, Karl Marx topped the list of the millennium’s greatest thinkers (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/461545.stm). Marx remains, as Matt Perry puts in his book Marxism and History, “the best hated man of his times,” for many “his ideas are either bankrupt or immanently relevant.”Marxism is associated with criticism of capitalism, but what Marxism can also do is give us a relevant framework of how capitalism functions.

It must first be said that Marxist history need not necessarily inform Marxist or Socialist politics of revolution – although it often does. The focus here is on the Marxist conception of history, not on the politics or desires of Marxists. The key difference is that historians have used Marxist theory to view society without agreeing with Marxist politics, people may refer to themselves in this instance as (lower case m) marxist historians or marxian historians.

A fundamental idea of Marxism is that labour sets humans apart from the animal kingdom. In that we do not hunt and gather what we need but organise society into ordered sections that produce a surplus.  The term surplus means production that exceeds the needs of society – so storing excess food and materials, or the accumulation of capital. For Marx the accumulation of surplus means exploitation, this is because the wage of the labour is kept as low as possible so that the employer may make a surplus. This is part of the dynamics of capitalism, because the employer is encouraged to do this in order to be competitive. So the term exploitation refers not to excessively poor wages or situations, but to the relationship between labour and employer and is a fundamental part of society.

Exploitation is considered an ongoing struggle between those who try to exploit and those who no longer accept the exploitation. This is the infamous class struggle, which is supposed to drive, and unite, society and history. Marxist history does not say that exploitation developed with capitalism, for example it can be applied to the phenomenon called the agricultural revolution – when humans began to farm the land and produce a surplus of food. Those with the power over this surplus become the exploiters and those without power who must offer their labour for a share in this power become the exploited.

So Marxism at its most basic splits society into (at least) two sections, the dominant exploiting class, and the dominated exploited class. As History develops and becomes more complicated, the number of differing relationships and modes of production require further development into the many theories and interpretations of class that exist today. The basic premise of Marxism then, is that society is propelled by a struggle between different opposing interests, and that a key insight into these interests is through a person’s relationship to the way things are produced.

Kit Buchanan

Rule Britannia

I shall refrain- as I sit outside in 29-degree weather in Indianapolis- from rambling on in some academic Freudian slip, like this was just another mindless, ‘deadline approaching’, ‘I better actually do this’ piece of coursework. As, well that’s just dull. No, this is not remotely academic…… Per se.

I thought I’d share how ‘History’ is taught here in the comfort of our transatlantic colonial cousins. Or if you will: ‘ those republican (small ‘r’ in part), federal, gun loving colonial commoners’, (sure that’ll give Simon a few laughs).

From the go things are dramatically contrasting to the academic norms to which I am now accustomed to at Derby. Take for example; a class I find myself in Monday’s and Wednesday afternoons enabled ‘From Prohibition to Pearl Harbor- America from 1917-1945’. “Monday’s and Wednesday’s”, I hear you say? Yes. Here at IU it is the practice to have a class split over two days. Two blocks of two hours, resulting in a total of 4-hour class time (good to see my math[s] is still in check). This split - whilst a surprise at first - really does work. It allows for a greater degree of debate and the eluded ‘discussion’ in class, we often are lectured to on a Monday, and those topics are debated and discussed on a Wednesday. Whilst this discussion and debate is far from academically and historically in depth, grandiose, opulent and rollicking as it often is at Kedleston Road it is however insightful to witness just how our cousins - as gun loving and Rick Santorum loving as they are - perform compared to the folk back in Ol’ Blighty, when wielding their historical arsenal.  As this class requires on average an entire book a week, - which cannot be avoided as we are required to submit reading reflections, and our ‘tests’ are based directly to the text - in class often the historiography of a topic is lost, and replaced with analytical book review talk.  Sigh.  I fear this is the danger of ‘over emphasizing the need to study excessive text’ week - in week - out by a Professor, oh sorry; I meant ‘lecturer’ - saying that, the texts are wonderful.  We used ‘Grapes of Wrath’ as a set-text for our debate on the ‘Great Depression’, which is just an incredible, illustrious and overly glorified commentary on ‘The American Dream’.  I’ll refrain for now from trailing off in to just how oxymoronically developed that statement is in 2012….. For now.

Whilst the debate and discussion of the average History Major class is a divergence from its Monarchial governed counterpart, and whilst I personally find the system and atmosphere of debate in ‘Derbados’ to suffice greater, things aren’t all that bad. What is wonderful here in the US are Humanities Students (or ‘Liberal Art’ students here) political positions, and political expressionism. Twice now I have been branded a ‘socialist’ by fellow classmates. Simply for expressing support for entities such as universal healthcare, and state funded and governed education! Yes, the US is still so retrogressive in certain social and socioeconomic practices, but that really is another story. The political atmosphere of debates here in US in classes is due to the politicization of education. From a young, ‘Elementary School’ age kids are taught the systems of Government, the Constitution, and all 43 Presidents I have discovered. Oh, for the record there have been 44 Presidents in theory, but Grover Cleveland held the office twice before the 22^nd Amendment was added in 1951 to prevent this…… (#pubquizknowledge). Anyway, whilst discussions and debate is often lost in the midst of ‘book reviewing’, the political weight of discussion seems to be greater than what I have experienced at home. However, being here I have missed the glorified and sought after ‘Fascism’ module with everyone’s favorite Anglo- German since George I, Tom Neuhaus.  So I may be wrong when I comment that I have experienced greater political weight in discussions here in classes that what I have in Derby, I hope I am.

I look forward to returning to Her Majesty’s shores in terms of academic life - oh and being able to legally buy beer - and a number of other ‘home comforts’. Yet I shall ‘miss’ the craziness of US college life, just not the constant Tornado drills. Not to worry, I can always revoke their Independence; they’ve had it for long enough after all.

Rule Britannia.

Daniel Matthews

UDSU Election Results 2012

University of Derby Student Union
Election Results March 2012

Defending and Extending Your Rights as Students

Student Union President - James 'Student Voice' Beckett
VP Academic Affairs - Dom 'Students Voice' Anderson
VP Welfare and Student Rights - Hollie O'Connor
VP Student Development - Jess MacDonald
Athletic Union President - Mark Farthing


Part-Time Officers:
Black Students' Officer - Eugene
Disabled Students' Officer - Kat White
Derby Theatre Rep - Elaine Archard
Ethics and Environmental Officer - Kirby
Markeaton Street Rep - Nathe Owen
Postgraduate Students' Officer - Atojoko
Raise and Give Officer - Eddie
Societies Officer - Christopher Dean
Sports Performance Officer - Kimberlee Wiliscroft
Union Council Chair - Trevor Austin
Women's Officer - Sally Dyer

On behalf of the History Society and its' members, we would like to congratulate all of those who were elected by the students of the University of Derby, and would like to wish them all a successful year.

Thank you
Sammie Farrell

The Value of Postmodernism

The Value of Postmodernism

In the words of F.R.Ankersmit “It is not easy to define the concepts of postmodernism satisfactorily.” The challenge of postmodernism is that Historiography as we know it does not refer to a tangible, objective past. The nuances of language mean that every text, whether historiography or source, can be interpreted differently. Nietzsche argued that the “being” of the world is essentially different from every perspective, that it is only from a perspective that a world can be seen – and so we must make do with what is relative. The most extreme postmodern position is that objective knowledge is impossible– and that nothing exists outside of the language we use to signify the past.

How can this benefit history without straying into a philosophic discussion about knowledge? Well, postmodernism is often applied as criticism of the Modernist ideologies. For example the perceived failure of Marxist premonitions (where is Socialism/Communism?) and the perceived dominance of Liberal democracy (the ‘End of History?’) are ideas which postmodernism are most appropriately applied to. The point is three fold;

First; that overarching meta-narratives (like that of Marxist history, and Whiggish Liberalism) are usually wrong, or at the least skew the possible interpretations of events disproportionately.

Second; that narrative as a way of writing history also focuses on the author’s bias, whether consciously or unconsciously.

Third; that words have relative and evolving meanings that different people will interpret differently. Often the use of a word requires discussion as to what it actually is, or what it actually means in the mind of the reader (and writer).

A particular example is ‘woman,’ which many postmodernists argue contains oppressive connotations and images in the same way that ‘man’ comes loaded with its own characteristics we immediately imagine. Just try to apply this in real everyday life- when does one go from being a boy/girl to becoming a man/woman? Or what is the difference between a woman and a lady? This is what gives birth to deconstruction; the process of showing that a term has had its positive and/or negative aspects constructed around it by society rather than being objectively true.

This is why Nietzsche’s criticism that “Historiography itself impedes our view of the past” is not unfair. Does this mean we should dismiss all historiography? Should we conclude as the postmodern position does that History is nothing but fiction? No, History can still try to reflect a past reality but the point is that it is extremely difficult.

The point of the postmodern challenge is that we should be aware of the inherent bias in every text, that history is an ongoing process, that meta-narratives are dangerous constructs that can lead us to ignore the truth or manipulate it instead of trying to discover it. In the words of F.R. Ankersmit; “Postmodernism does not reject scientific historiography, but only draws our attention to the modernists’ vicious circle which would have us believe that nothing exists outside it.”

By K. Buchanan, 11/03/2012

Presidential Blog Entry, 10/03/2012

Dear all,

I hope that you’re all well entrenched in your studies of yet another year.  For our History BA third years they are approaching the end of an era of 3 years of hard work and lasting friendships and memories.  For our second years (me included) we’re entering the busiest time we’ve known, and approaching a third year which will make that seem like child’s play, and finally for our first years the time is coming to shrug off the ‘fresher’ label and to an extent come of age in your university life.

The Union too has entered the best time in its year this week; the time that you, the students, hold those who have the honour of leading it to account, and although you might have more leaflets and flyers than your pockets can hold filled with election points and pledges, I would personally recommend that you all vote, regardless of who you vote for, to exercise your right as members of UDSU and take part in its future.

The History Society too is coming to another summer, and soon the committee will call an Annual General Meeting. This will be so that you, the members, can hold us accountable to make sure that we are going in the direction that you want us to.  This year we have undertaken our regular ghost walks, pub quizzes and academic talks but also tried to branch off and explore other possibilities like the Christmas Party and other social events.  For the future the committee is also working towards a day out in Buxton including a trip to ‘Go Ape’ to truly let our hair down at the end of another busy year.  We’re also planning on taking a trip to Kedleston Hall to have a summer BBQ in the shadow of one of Britain’s finest buildings and celebrate as well as to say arrivederci to our third years entering the wider world.

As the new blog takes a life of its own, thanks to Sammie, I thought it important that I take this opportunity to thank you most humbly in giving me this opportunity to be the History Society’s President.  I would, of course, be grateful for the opportunity to be able to take it into my third year, hoping to ensure that it continues to grow; but whoever holds the presidency next year I hope to be able to say that we as a committee have ensured that the society has many years of plain sailing ahead.

In true nautical fashion I wish you all calm seas and clear skies for your respective years.

Simon

President UDSU History Society

First Year at the University of Derby

As a first year undergraduate student the idea of starting university was nerve racking but the most exciting experience of my life so far! I never thought that I would make friends as quickly as I did, but here I am six months and still stuck with the people I met on the very first day!!

But when you have started university what do you do to make it the most memorable years of your life; Drink and party six days of the week? That just is not me at all. So I stood to become History Rep for my year. Standing in front of a hundred people you hardly know encouraging them to vote for you is terrifying, especially in a lecture theatre room!! But here I am; a proud elected peer of History.

As an elected member of my peerage, I have voting rights during Student Union Council meetings, which means I get to vote what happens within the University for those who do not participate. It is an interesting meeting to be a part of, and I am really glad I had the courage to stand up to be elected. However, it makes me sad that not many people actually know what is going off within their own Union. There are posters all over the place but do people really pay attention with what is happening? I think it will have to be my mission to get more people involved within the University, not just the people who are political or passionate about the rest of the student mass.

As well as the lovely Student Union Council meetings I attend, I also have meetings with the lectures that teach us. I can change how teaching happens, and inform lecturers about issues without the rest of my class even knowing that I am improving their education by mentioning the need of ten minute breaks, or that as first years we do not understand what happens during the three weeks we have off around Easter. It is the changes like these that make me proud of being a rep as I really have a positive influence on what can happen inside the classroom.

My first six months at university have been jam packed with activities such as this but I intend to keep it like this for the rest of my three years at University. But why would I want to change this influence I have? Plus it looks nice on a CV, which is why I encourage everyone to get involved and improve the university you will be with for three or more years. I hope this has inspired many of you, or if not, it has still been an interesting read!

E. Rowe, 2012

My University Experience - Kristofer Buchanan

How would I describe my University experience? I think perhaps the best word would be confusing.

One of my favourite quotes of all time, from the master of quotable sayings - the mysterious ‘anon,’ is “every day takes finding out how to live all over again.” I think that best summarises both my personal experiences and academic ones.

When arriving to the first module Historical methods and sources, I was probably as sure as many historians were in the objective, established and demonstrable facts of history. I knew what history was for sure, I simply wanted to get right into what happened. As time wore on throughout this module my reading slowly opened up to me, beyond the wars, politics and great men of traditional history, the vast realm of what people have decided to write about and the method in which they write about it. I was confused, overwhelmed. I no longer thought I knew what History really was.

Things came to a head with a discussion in the final week – the challenge of postmodernism. The more I read on the subject the more I was certain this ‘school of history’ couldn’t function on its own. The nature of postmodernism’s approach to facts prompted one (in)famous commenter of our cohort to exclaim “I think their brains fell out.”

On the road to understanding, I now find that a lack of confusion is actually a warning sign. Getting towards the truth should be difficult, it should be confusing. I am always mindful of the old saying “a good lie is easier to believe than the truth.” Replace the word lie with argument and you may have summed up a lot of History.

To become too concretely grounded in something is often dangerous. You should challenge your own ideas. To avoid the challenge to your beliefs is to betray the fear you hold of deconstructing them; a fear of letting go of the world you have constructed around you. As Nietzsche said “convictions are more dangerous enemies of truth than lies.”

The process of history is constantly moving, it is a constant desire to understand that does not stop when the conclusion is written, or published, but continues on as discussion. I have grappled with history constantly since the start of my degree, and every time I feel close tightening my grip on something concrete it slips through my fingers. Embrace the fluid nature of knowledge.

“Every day takes finding out how to live all over again.”

Written by K. Buchanan, 2012