Your opinions on History Extension (1 Viewer)

[evasharman]

Hi guys ! I'm in year 11 at the moment and I am considering doing history extension. I love history so much and I was just searching for some opinions on the subject. I've heard a lot of conflicting ideas from my friends at school so I'd just like some clear opinions on this site, i.e. do you like it, is it worthwhile, what's the workload like, is it interesting etc.
Thanks!!

 

[superesse]

Well, I did History Extension last year and as you said, everyone's opinion is different however I can only give you my own opinion, so I hope it helps!

The course structure of History Extension is split into two parts, the first which is titled What is History? In this part, you will methodically and philosophically learn about history as a whole by learning about various historians. You will be able to ultimately choose which historians you want to use in writing your examination, for instance including Herodotus and Machiavelli. However, you also study an area of history in-depth, such as John F. Kennedy. I know this sounds heavy at first, but overtime it becomes apparent that these studies are not as intensive as they would be for Ancient of Modern History, since it is mainly about historiography (quotes and how historians perceive history) rather than what happened (content).

The second part of History Extension is History Project, better known as a 2500-word essay you compile over the duration of many months researching. In this case, you are able to choose whatever you wish to research, whether it is a personality or event in history. Personally, I did the conspiracies of 9/11, so all I had to research was what historians thought about the conspiracies regarding 9/11 and come up with a conclusion myself. During the project you should receive a lot of advice from your teacher, so do not worry about it if you find you need help! This project comes in stages which guide you towards the completion of your essay. You will have a logbook where you can insert weekly entries to mark the progress of your project, as well as completing a project (basically an expression of interest to what you will be researching) and finally as many draft essays you like that your teacher can mark!

With that said, there are a few important things you should know about History Extension to aid your decision about choosing it or not. As I said before, History Extension is all about historiography — how history has been written. Therefore, you will have to know a fair amount of quotes, analyse the context of sources and the background of historians. Whether this is something you are interested in or not is up to you. As for what the examination is like, there are only two essays you have to answer, both which only apply to What is History? Your History Project would have been completed before the time the HSC starts.

I would have to say that I did enjoy History Extension and it ended up being one of my favourite subjects in the senior year, if not my favourite. I found that it was a subject I could relax in and calm myself from the stress of other subjects. The workload is fair and if you contribute a little time to History Extension each week, you should be fine. I would say it is worthwhile, because the subject does get attuned to your tastes more than others and you have a lot of choice in what you can do. Hence, it is also interesting in that it has so much variety.

I might edit and clear up this post later since this is what I came up with the spot.

 

[InsoulvencyReaper]

History Extension, is the closest you'll ever get to university style work in the HSC. I enjoyed the independence of the personal project and the insight I gained from doing it.

I enjoyed the historiography section, although it didn't seem to reflect in my marks so I suppose my evidence didn't suit the question - I don't know.

At the end of the day it didn't matter what I got in the HSC because I genuinely enjoyed the subject (btw I got 40/50 - not too shabby...)

It's really worth developing your research and analytical skills.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[JBowers]

I'm not sure if you picked your subjects yet, but here's my perspective as a current Hext student

We just finished the What Is History? component of the syllabus and it has been amazing. A lot of that can be dedicated to my teacher, he's amazing and he enjoy's it just as much as us students. It really changes the way you perceive texts, not just history. The concept of historiography is also relevant to subjects such as modern where you deconstruct sources, and English in Mod A.
It's a highly philosophical subject and you have to be very open, analytical and adaptive to new concepts all the time, and compare and contrasting different ideas. The main point I'm getting to here is that it makes you think deeper than any other subject, and that's what I personally enjoy.

The Major Work so far has been fun, although very time consuming. The hardest part was actually making a decision in regards to a topic - I searched and searched until I found something I was passionate about, which I think is necessary.

A negative point is the amount of time needed vs units. As a one unit subject hext really places a heavy workload on students (atleast for me) and you have to acquire a solid work ethic and the ability to work independently.

So, overall amazing, if you are willing to put in the work. PM me if you have anymore questions (although I still have to do the case study section).

 

[deloving]

History Extension is a lot of work for 1 unit, but it's worth it. The What Is History? component is very interesting, and I actually found my half-yearly examination essay fun to write. The Project will consume a lot of your time, but if it's something you enjoy, you'll enjoy spending time doing it. I know it's obvious to say, start early blah blah, but choose your project topic early. Do your research early - I know, procrastination will kick in, but I suggest you get on http://www.jstor.org/ as soon as possible. It's a very useful website for this subject.

 

[evasharman]

Thank you all very much! I really think I will choose it. Would you advice doing 13 units, or should I drop a subject? (If I dropped one, it would be biology, I'm a bit worried because all my subjects are quite content heavy) Thanks again !!

 

[deloving]

Thank you all very much! I really think I will choose it. Would you advice doing 13 units, or should I drop a subject? (If I dropped one, it would be biology, I'm a bit worried because all my subjects are quite content heavy) Thanks again !!

For the average person I would suggest dropping a subject. 13 units is quiet a lot for the HSC... But it's up to you.

 

[JBowers]

I did 13 units for the first few weeks of year 12, just to get a feel of each subject (and the teacher especially!) and to ensure I wasn't missing out on anything that I would actually enjoy. At my school it was/is relatively easy to drop a subject. For me 13 units was too much of a workload, but since I spent those first few weeks with 13 units I was able to make an educated decision on which I would drop, and dropped it a few weeks before the exams. Personally would not recommend 13 units for the HSC, far too content heavy as you said.

 

[buriza]

Personally, I found History Extension very worthwhile and enjoyable. As for the work load, it really is not that bad as long as you contribute periodically. Not to mention that you should be guided through your project by the help of your teachers and the HSC exam for History Extension was probably the exam I was stressed for the least, given it is just two essays. Overall, there is a lot of flexibility in History Extension, so it is a great subject for individual choice.

 

[sweetalmond]

You should be:
- enjoy history
- independently driven
- focused and committed
- very good at writing. You need to have a sophisticated style of writing
- talk to your 2 unit teacher before taking it
- be confident in 2 unit history
- drop to 12 units for HSC
- have a wide knowledge of events in history
- do wide and extensive reading

 

[Tink]

Ace subject. Gotta love your history, though.

 

[limplict]

Ext History for me was probably my favourite subject after Modern History and IMO it was the course that I learnt the most from. Like others have said, it's a very philosophical subject and really opens your mind to a wide variety of perspectives not just in history, but in life in general (well, that's what it did for me). The skills you gain from it are incredibly valuable, and it's also helped me improve the way I write essays in Modern too.

I had the same dilemma as you last year in Term 4 'cause I was also on 13 units, and after a few weeks I was tossing between dropping 4u maths and ext history. In the end I (obviously) kept ext history and have no regrets because it's really helped me learn how to think critically, which is the most valuable lesson I've gained from the HSC