Teaching excellence

The expertise of Cardiff University scholars in developing the next generation of historians have been recognised with a prestigious award.

A Practical Guide to Studying History: Skills and Approaches aims to bridge the gap between further and higher education, providing students with a firm foundation to help them through their degrees. 14 historians from the School of History, Archaeology and Religion contributed to the publication, which spans ancient, medieval, early modern and modern history.

The book has been widely praised in academic circles. It recently won Best Textbook of 2018 in the Humanities category at the PROSE awards in Washington DC. Presented annually by the Association of American Publishers’ (AAP) Professional and Scholarly Publishing (PSP) Division since 1976, the PROSE awards recognise distinguished professional and scholarly books, reference works, journals, and electronic content.

Director of Teaching and Learning in the School of History, Archaeology and Religion, Professor Keir Waddington said: “We hope students considering a History degree at Cardiff will be inspired by our passion and commitment to teaching shown in this authoritative textbook. It is a showcase of what we as a department do every day – provide the very best education in a supportive and stimulating environment.”

Like the History degree at Cardiff, the book guides students on how to tackle the discipline as well as the methodological approaches that can be adopted, concepts of historical debate and the diversity of historical producers and audiences. It also provides advice on study skills, including useful study questions and further reading lists.

Inspired and edited by Dr Tracey Loughran, contributors to the guide include: Dr Lloyd Bowen, Dr Federica Ferlanti, Professor Helen Nicholson, Professor Kevin Passmore, Dr Toby Thacker, Dr Shaun Tougher, Professor Keir Waddington, Professor Garthine Walker, Dr Stephanie Ward, Dr Mark Williams, Dr Martin Wright, and Dr David Wyatt.

Professor Waddington said: “Cardiff historians are all specialists in their fields, so research and teaching goes hand in hand. We seek to encourage and nurture up-and-coming historians, who can take the critical thinking they gain and apply it to whatever career they choose.”