History of Family MA

at University of Limerick

The central purpose of the MA in the History of the Family is to combine the strengths of two traditions: that of the independent researcher into family history and that of established disciplines in history particularly the well developed sub discipline of the history of the family. The objective is a history that is fully contextualised, culturally significant and academically grounded.

Students who sign up for this course seek to obtain formal training in the methodologies and concepts of history of family.  They enjoy the course because it allows them to develop key academic skills while being supported in their quest for intellectual and moral autonomy. A key attraction of the course is the wide range of themes that are covered in each of the modules, and the feeling of community that undertaking research as part of a class engenders.

Over the course of the year students will master the art of academic writing and develop advanced research skills through in-class training and via field trips to libraries and archives conducted in both semesters.  By the end of the course successful students will have acquired the necessary skills to present historical research to a publication standard, and to conduct historical research at a doctoral level.