Simon Mackley

January 2014 to May 2015

HIH1401 Approaches to History

In the second semester of the 2013/14 academic year I worked as a Graduate Teaching Assistant in the Department of History, planning and leading seminars on the newly-established HIH1401 Approaches to History module.

This module enables students to examine the different ways that historians have approached (and continue to approach) historical research, whether these are based on differences in methodology, theoretical influences, or subject matter. Its aim is to  provide students with an understanding of the diversity of approaches and their changes over time that will underpin their future study of history at degree level. In my position as a Graduate Teaching Assistant on this module, I teach seminars on the topics of the politics of the archive, postmodernism, local history & microhistory, ethnicity & religion, class & economic history, and gender. I also take on a leading role in terms of providing guidance for students with regards to their end of module assessment.

I taught the module again in the 2014/15 academic year, running a modified programme of seminars with new sessions examining ideas of culture, politics, and intellectual history. I also served as one of three Lead Tutors for the module, coordinating the grading of assessments and assisting the module convener in the delivery of module workshops.

September 2013 to December 2014

HIH1400 Making History

I started work as a Graduate Teaching Assistant in the Department of History in the first semester of the 2013/14 academic year, planning and leading seminars on the newly-established HIH1400 Making History module. I taught Making History again for the 2014/15 academic year, and additionally acted as one of three Lead Tutors on the module, delivering cross-module workshops and coordinating the work of my colleagues.

The module provided students who take History as a principal part of their degree programme with some of the essential tools for studying the past. Seminars focussed on essential skills such as constructing bibliographies, assessing books and articles, writing and structuring essays, presentation findings, and reflecting on academic development. The seminars I taught also provided a framework for students to work on historiographical research projects related to my research expertise on British politics and the British Empire.

January 2013 to March 2013

Shadowing: HIH1000 History Foundation & HIH1240 Understanding the Modern World

In the first year of my doctoral studies I undertook a shadowing programme as preparation for work as a Graduate Teaching Assistant in the Department of History. This involved a number of tasks, including:

  • Shadowing and contributing to seminars on Local History and Postmodernism (HIH1000), and Globalization, Decolonization and International Institutions (HIH1240).
  • Co-leading a seminar on Gender History (HIH1000).
  • Planning and teaching a seminar on the New Political History (HIH1000).

I also completed stages 1 and 2 of the LTHE programme during this time (see professional development).