History (1 Viewer)

[Smithereens]

Sorry for all these array of posts, but I'm kind of confused at the moment. I loved history (in general) in Year 12, and I would like to pursue it in university. However, if I do do that, should I go for subjects that I have already done in school and consolidate my basic knowledge (European History, WWI, WWII, Cold War) or do I go for other areas of history such as the Middle Ages or China or the Middle East to expand my knowledge. Any advice will be appreciated! =D

 

[DeepDarkRose]

Anything you learned at school was really basic compared to what you'll do at uni so just pick stuff that sounds interesting to you, there's no point in doing a subject about something you don't care about at all cause you'll end up not paying attention and getting bad marks.

 

[Smithereens]

Thanks. But I'm debating over whether I should go with something that I love and researched over the past few years (20th Century Europe), or go with something that I have a good interest (Middle Ages) in, but haven't done in the past few years.

 

[flamhorn]

Yeah I had the same problem too when choosing my 1st year history subjects.

I did HSTY1076 (American History from Lincoln to Clinton) and HSTY1044 (20th Century Politics and Culture). I found American history too concerned with the cultural/social sides of history, whereas I prefer the political aspects.

HSTY1044 is basically HSC Modern History (WWI, Germany, Cold War) condensed into 13 weeks. Ironically, I found that the HSC course was more enriching than HSTY1044, as the lecturer basically glosses over the main topics in order to teach the whole century within a semester.

Personally, I wish I had done some ancient history subjects instead. Junior history subjects don't seem to have enough depth for those who have studied the topics before, since they have to be catered for beginners to the subject. If I were you, I'd definitely choose some junior level Middle Ages stuff in first year, and then perhaps pick some senior Modern hsty subs after that.

 

[Triangulum]

Thanks. But I'm debating over whether I should go with something that I love and researched over the past few years (20th Century Europe), or go with something that I have a good interest (Middle Ages) in, but haven't done in the past few years.

normally you'd do two HSTY subjects in first year, so why not do both the medieval course (semester 1) and the 20th century course (semester 2)? it doesn't matter too much what you do in first year anyway - whichever junior units you do, you're still able to pick any of the senior units, so you can dabble in anything that interests you once you hit second and third year.

 

[Smithereens]

Well I'm doing a combined degree and I'm looking at some HSTY courses to fill in my junior and senior electives. My plan is to the Middle Ages (Sem 1) and ASNS3617 (Citizens and Politics in China Today) for Semester 2. For ASNS3617, it states that I must have done 12 credit points from junior level Asian Studies, or other subject areas listed in Table A in the Faculty of Arts Handbook. So if I did, say, Australian politics and Middle Ages in Sem 1, would I be fine?

For my senior units, I'm aiming to do HSTY2606 (China and its World in the 19th Century). It states that:

Prerequisites: 12 credit points of junior History, Ancient History, Economic History or Asian History and Culture.

Would I be fine if I did the Middle Ages subject and ASNS3617 to get the 12 junior cp?

And has anyone had experience with PACS2002 (History and Politics of War and Peace).

Thanks!

 

[spence]

Well I'm doing a combined degree and I'm looking at some HSTY courses to fill in my junior and senior electives. My plan is to the Middle Ages (Sem 1) and ASNS3617 (Citizens and Politics in China Today) for Semester 2. For ASNS3617, it states that I must have done 12 credit points from junior level Asian Studies, or other subject areas listed in Table A in the Faculty of Arts Handbook. So if I did, say, Australian politics and Middle Ages in Sem 1, would I be fine?

Yeah I'm pretty sure this means you can do it as long as you've done any 12CP from the arts faculty

For my senior units, I'm aiming to do HSTY2606 (China and its World in the 19th Century). It states that:

Prerequisites: 12 credit points of junior History, Ancient History, Economic History or Asian History and Culture.

Would I be fine if I did the Middle Ages subject and ASNS3617 to get the 12 junior cp?
Thanks!

I don't think so. I'm pretty certain it has to be a full 12CP in one of those areas, so it would be a good idea to do 2 junior HSTY units. This allows you to do all senior HSTY, ANHS or ASNS, as well as some other areas

 

[Smithereens]

Thanks for the information. This might seem like a stupid Q, but can we still obtain junior points within second year?

 

[spence]

^ Yes as long as you haven't already used up all the junior points available in your degree. For a BA, you're only allowed 48 junior credit points (one years worth)

 

[Smithereens]

Did you do any HSTY units? If so, how did you find them?

 

[KarmaKitten]

Its like one of the earlier poster said. Just because you researched it in High School does not mean you will like it or understand it the same way. Lecturers run their subjects differently, some look at social aspects, some at political aspects etc etc.

I'd say do what Triangulum says and dabble in a bit and then decide which you prefer. In high school I loved American history but I have hated in University. Instead I have gone with Australian history. So its all about dabbling

 

[spence]

I haven't done HSTY, I've done one ANHS and loved it. I'm continuing this year and possibly going to major in it

 

[Hello2U2]

I have a question I hope someone can answer me

Why is ancient history not under the HSTY and instead is called ANHS?

Say I wanted to major in history, would doing ANHS still count as doing 'history' units?

It sounds right, but can someone please confirm this for me?
Thanks.

 

[KarmaKitten]

Ancient history and HSTY are two different subject areas. ANHS is run by the Department of Classical and Ancient History while HSTY is run by the Department of History.

In order to qualify for a major in History, you need to do 12 junior credits in either Asian Studies, Ancient History or History.

You then need to to 36 senior credits in history although they allow up to 3 subjects to be cross listed (A cross-listed unit of study is a senior unit of study taught by another department in the Faculty of Arts that can counted as part of a major in History)

Im not sure how many ANHS are included in the cross listing for History. But you can check the Arts website for that.

 

[spence]

I'm pretty sure all ANHS are cross-listed to HSTY, and vice versa

 

[Hello2U2]

Thanks for replying!

Well so far I think I want to do these two

ANHS 1600 Foundations of Ancient Greece
ANHS 1602 Greek and Roman Myth

They should count toward a history major right?

 

[spence]

The junior units themselves don't count towards the major, but it does set the foundation for a history or ancient history major

 

[Hello2U2]

okay thanks!

 

[ReservoirTutors]

You will probably find that most first-year history units will try to give you a broad overview of the history that you are looking at (ie, Modern or Ancient). Second and later years will give you more opportunity to pursue types of history (eg social history or political history) or particular times/places/themes that have caught you interest in the earlier units.