Diving into historical research
Our undergraduate historian, Keisha, explored issues of 19th century and modern misogynoir in her dissertation
Keisha was first drawn to study history at Loughborough due to the variety of modules on offer which appealed to her interests. Over the course of her degree, she was able to pursue further study in these areas, with the help of members of staff who encouraged and enabled her to succeed.
BA History
The history course at Loughborough offers a wide range of interesting modules that challenge students to improve their historical knowledge as well as their perspective. The lecturers at Loughborough were really good at their jobs and had a vast knowledge of the material that they were teaching. This made it easier to enjoy learning these modules as you could tell how invested our lecturers were in the respective module areas.
Dr Pete Yeandle
The quality of teaching at Loughborough was amazing. The lecturers were all so supportive and made the experience one that was enjoyable. Feedback on assignments was useful and the majority of lecturers also had drop-in sessions where you could go to them to ask for support with an assignment, book recommendations but also for advice in relation to careers and opportunities. In particular I'd like to shout out Pete Yeandle and Catherine Armstrong as two lecturers who have both conducted such interesting research in their respective periods of study.
For her final year dissertation, Keisha chose to research Sara Baartman, a South African Khoikhoi women who was exhibited as a 'freak show' attraction in 19th-century Europe. She investigated the way Sara's body was ‘othered’ by contemporary audiences and then drew comparisons with modern attitudes to Serena Williams and Caster Semenya.
In the process of researching for her dissertation, Keisha was able to visit archives such as the National Archives and the British Library to view nineteenth century primary sources in person. She was supported throughout by her dissertation supervisor, Pete Yeandle.
Pete was my dissertation supervisor. I really enjoyed working with him and he is one of the reasons why I was able to execute my dissertation in the manner in which I intended. As a lecturer he was both supportive and understanding, encouraging me to raise the bar and to think critically.
After completing her dissertation, Keisha was selected to write a post about it to feature on the International Relations, Politics and History division's Students as Researchers blog. The blog exists to highlight the most innovative research produced by the division's undergraduate study body.
Keisha, who is now training to be a history teacher, is part of the Teach First Leadership and Development Programme, which aims to train teachers to work in the most challenging schools in order to create a fair education for all. Inspired by her time at Loughborough the staff who guided here there, she is keen to share her love of history with the next generation of historians.
She has the following advice for prospective Loughborough history students:
I would advise that students talk to their lecturers. They are your best asset during your degree. I have never been turned away by a lecturer, they genuinely want to help you and see you do well in a subject that they love and care about. I definitely wish that I did this more in my first year in terms of helping me with getting settled with the academic demands of my degree.
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