MITRA4040 – Research and Writing Training in History III

Schedule, syllabus and examination date

Course content

Research and Writing Training in History encompasses three consecutive modules (MITRA4020, 4030, 4040) that are taught over the course of three semesters in the form of seminars, excursions and exercises. It is designed to help students acquiring the skills necessary to conduct advanced bibliographical and archival research, design a research project and write a thesis. The Research and Writing Training accompanies and supports students at all stages of their work, from identifying a topic and fruitful primary sources to designing the empirical project, gaining an overview of the scholarly field and projecting the thesis. In the first semester, students are introduced to the basics of historical research. Starting from the question what distinguishes history from other disciplines and a reflection on the role of theory, method and sources in historical research, MITRA4020 shows students how to conduct bibliographical research and approach primary sources. This includes excursions to archives. In the second semester (MITRA4030), students design their master’s thesis projects and work on a project description with guidance from a teacher and feedback from their fellow students. The third module (MITRA4040) assists students continuing their reading of secondary sources during the Field Term and results in a bibliographic essay.

Learning outcome

After you have taken this module you are expected to:

  • have gained an overview of a body of scholarly literature that is relevant for your master’s thesis
  • have an advanced understanding of how historians challenge existing interpretations, develop new questions and approaches and study empirical cases to propose new arguments
  • be able to independently conduct bibliographic research and write a critical bibliographic essay
  • be able to give and take feedback from peers

Admission to the course

Students who are admitted to study programmes at UiO must each semester register which courses and exams they wish to sign up for in Studentweb.

If you are not already enrolled as a student at UiO, please see our information about admission requirements and procedures.

The course is only available to students admitted to Modern International and Transnational History (master).

Formal prerequisite knowledge

To be able to attend and complete this course, students must have completed and passed MITRA4030 – Research and Writing Training in History II.
A good ability to read and understand English is required for this course.

Teaching

Students circulate draft bibliographic essays among selected peers for review and comments. Students are expected to organise the review process themselves. Guidance on how to do this is provided by the lecturer of the course.

Resources and further information on this course will be given in Canvas.

Examination

Students submit a bibliographic essay. The assignment is specified on the Canvas page for the course.

Language of examination

The examination text is given in English, and you submit your response in English.

Grading scale

Grades are awarded on a pass/fail scale. Read more about the grading system.

More about examinations at UiO

You will find further guides and resources at the web page on examinations at UiO.

Last updated from FS (Felles studentsystem) Oct. 15, 2026 8:26:34 AM

Facts about this course

Level
Master
Credits
5
Teaching
Autumn
Examination
Autumn
Teaching language
English

Contact

Department of Archaeology, Conservation and History