The Bachelor in History effectively prepares students for entry into a Master's degree in History so that, once they have successfully completed their Master's programme, they can "explain the full complexity of the history of man and societies that have preceded us, and their links with the present day".
Bachelor in History graduates will have acquired:
- a broad knowledge of the main frameworks of Western history, from antiquity to the present day, and how they fit into world history,
- preliminary insight into other fundamental disciplines to gain a better understanding of man and societies,
- a basic theoretical and practical knowledge of the research methods specific to history studies (information gathering; critical analysis and organization of the data collected; writing of a balanced synthesis).
Over the three years of the Bachelor's degree course, students will have demonstrated an increasing ability to work autonomously. They will have developed their own study project, which they will take with them to Master's level, where they will move increasingly towards specific areas related to their chosen field of specialization, with a view to devising their own personal and professional plan.
On successful completion of this programme, each student is able to :
Specifically, graduates with a Bachelor in History will:
1. Demonstrate a knowledge and broad critical understanding of the main frameworks of Western history, from antiquity to the present day, and how they fit into world history.
1.1. Demonstrate a knowledge and critical understanding of the main frameworks of different periods in history (antiquity, the Middle Ages, the modern era, the contemporary period, present day);
1.2. Demonstrate a knowledge and critical understanding of the specific aspects of these different periods (political and institutional history; economic and social history; cultural and intellectual history; religious history);
1.3. Understand and be able to explain and analyse cross-cutting issues and/or adopt a broad approach, using their background knowledge of history where appropriate.
2. Maîtriser des connaissances et concepts de base d’autres disciplines, l’ouvrant à de grands courants de la pensée et de la culture occidentales ainsi qu’à d’autres sciences humaines et sociales (philosophie, histoire de l’art et archéologie, littératures, économie, anthropologie, …).
3. Have mastered the theoretical fundamentals of the methods specific to history studies and apply them to the particular topics the lecturers will have pre-defined and outlined (information gathering; critical evaluation of sources; critical analysis and organization of the data collected; writing of a balanced synthesis).
3.1. Draft the outlines of a topic and adapt it as their research progresses;
3.2. Gather together all the documents (sources and personal work [heuristics]), examining the sources to ensure they are valid and relevant to the research topic studied;
3.3. Conduct a critical analysis and evaluation of the documentation;
3.4. Use appropriate computer tools to organize and process the data and then interpret and define it;
3.5. Write an accurate, relevant synthesis (based on exercises, practical work and seminars);
3.6. Communicate the results of their research orally or in writing.
4. From an academic perspective, reflect on the development of history as a discipline (historiography) and on their own practices as budding historians.
5. Produce clear, structured and well-argued written and oral reports on history-related topics (information, thoughts, conclusions and knowledge).
6. Have attained a basic (vocabulary, morphology and syntax) or more advanced knowledge of an ancient or medieval language (Latin or Greek) and be able to understand, translate and grammatically analyse simple sentences and texts written in that language.
As with all bachelors in the Faculty of Philosophy, Arts and Letters:
7. Have a fundamental understanding of the fields of philosophy, history, art history, archaeology and literature.
8. Be able to understand and write competently on academic topics.
9. Be responsible for their own learning: organize their own workload (prioritizing, anticipating and planning all their activities over time), take a step back to critically assess the knowledge they have gained, how they have gained it and the work they have produced, and take the initiative to gain new knowledge and learn other methods and skills.
10. Be able to use the subject-specific knowledge and skills they have acquired to open their minds to other cultures and develop a sense of social responsibility and a critical approach to themselves, society and knowledge.
11. Have written and spoken fluency in at least one modern language (English, Dutch or German) with the ability to communicate clearly, coherently and in a well-argued fashion on general topics and subjects relating to their field of study.
12. Demonstrate a critical understanding and in-depth knowledge of the discipline(s) of their chosen minor subject.
