Student and tutor module reviews

I enjoyed this course. A lot of people found it heavy going especially the reformation set book (I read this before the course started, which I recommend that you do, as you are then able to dip in and out, when required, as the course progresses with a deeper understanding of the authors views).

As it is a compulsory course for history, it is good in guiding you into the world of histography - a must for a history student; a non history student would probably find this section a bit boring.

Margaret Weston

Course starting: October 2011

Review posted: May 2013

I was really apprehensive about taking this course as there were so many negative comments about its difficulty. Please do not be put off by them!

Yes, the course is a step up from Level 1 and it does take some time to adjust to. But I am studying for a degree to learn more about the world and broaden my horizons, and this course certainly does that and I soaked it all up like a sponge!

The topics on slavery and the Belgians in The Congo deeply affected me and after the course I bought books on both of these subjects to further my understanding. These were subjects I had never thought about (slavery) or heard about (Belgians) before.

Now I am studying at level 3 I am grateful to A200 for the grounding it has given me and look back on it with great fondness. Although there are areas which are difficult, like all the different historian's points of view for example, the course is great and certainly not as intense as a Level 3.

Course starting: October 2011

Review posted: April 2013

I found this course almost unbearable and was actually loking forward to the exam as it meant the end. The content in itself was sometimes interesting, but could be mind-numbing elsewhere. As this is a compulsory course, I felt an extra effort should be made to make it interesting and enjoyable. The workload was enormous and, as it was a new presentation, there were a lot of errors in the material. There was a lot of confusion over the aim of the TMAs and their guidance notes. The worst thing about this course was the forum. It was negative and bad-tempered. I avoided it because it was demoralising and often made insecurities much worse. I wouldn't recommend it if it's not compulsory.

Course starting: October 2011

Review posted: February 2013

I had a a great helpful tutor for this course, he was always there offering advice if needed via email or phone. I could not get to the tutorials, so he would email me the notes, which was really helpful!

The course materials were heavy going at times, especially the Reformation (religious) aspect. I hate reading about it and believe me there is a lot of it, which overshadows most of the blocks, it goes to show you that religion has a lot to answer for through the ages, it was cruel and dictated how people had to live.

I found the slavery block very interesting, but small in comparison to the religious aspects.

The TMA guidance was constantly confusing, and very unhelpful, as were the example exam questions of what to expect in the actual exam, to me they were way off! So try and revise a few blocks for the exam so you have more choice.

I just passed the exam which for me was awesome as I was sure I'd fail due to being constantly confused.

Be prepared for spending a lot of money on printer ink and paper.

Overall even though at times I hated the course and most of the blocks, it's not that bad.
If I hadn't had the tutor I had I would have given up. I wish I had him for my current course!

Be aware that recently for every history course the tutors all want a different style and structure for the assignments so make sure you know what "they" want early on so they don't slash your marks!

Course starting: October 2011

Review posted: January 2013

I really enjoyed this course. I have always enjoyed history, but never had the chance to study it at this level. It was a steep learning curve, but after the first 2 TMAs, I realised how I was expected to construct my answers. I was very clear about the 3 concurrent themes of the module - by far the most interesting was the development of the nation state, but the reflection on how this intertwined with religious change and commerce was fascinating. I feel that I have a wholly different perspective on the EU and its current struggles!

Most of all the course proved addictive, to the extent that I am now studying A207 and hope to progress to history at Level 3. There is a lot of work and huge breadth - fortunately my professional background is such that I wasn't fazed by that aspect.

The problem was getting inside the historian's head and realising that this course is as much about studying the historians and their interpretation of events(historiography)as it is about the history.

Elizabeth Lynne Jones

Course starting: October 2011

Review posted: October 2012

To put it bluntly, whilst I did not like this course I passed with a far better grade than I expected. There were many niggles with A200. As mentioned previously, the October 2011 version was a rewrite and there were many mistakes that were picked up on by other students. Having less general knowledge of historical events than many others, I did not often pick up on these problems and the gradual revealing of them on the forums meant that a lot of time was wasted in regularly checking that I hadn't missed something. I feel the course team could have been better at advising of the problem in each instance. The course is not cheap but a lot of people felt they were being shortchanged in being used as virtual 'proofreaders' for the course.

The timeline of the course should have been interesting but the actual subjects selected and the TMA questions were very limiting and, in my opinion, not engaging at all. As said before the TMA guidelines were not helpful and advice from a tutor was vital, if that advice had arrived a little quicker it would have been ever better. The course schedule was a challenge when it came to TMAs, the reading weeks finished on a Saturday and the TMA deadlines were the following Thursday at 12pm. For those working during the day the pressure was on to get the TMA in by the Wednesday evening leaving just four days to produce the relevant words. Despite the possibility of extensions this was a tight schedule to keep.

Also as mentioned before the forums were a challenge to say the least. There were many with a lot of time on their hands and several rather aggressive posters that put a lot of people off. A huge shame as these should have been a vital source of aid for many of us but proved to be too intimidating.

The advice for revising exams given below is useful, do not try to revise too many blocks but make sure you cover at least two for each question (this does become clear later in the course) to ensure you have the choice on the day.

My only advice if you are doing this course, be organised, make appropriate notes, try to link the (obscure) themes throughout the blocks and speak to your tutor at every opportunity. I didn't, my tutor wasn't terribly helpful to me in my struggles with the course, and I found the whole thing harder than I should have done.

Course starting: October 2011

Review posted: August 2012

The course is unnecessarily complicated, to the point it became tedious and distressing, tried to cover far too an extensive period in as little detail as possible. The course was far too disjointed, the primary source materials were on some occasions tediously linked to the TMA questions set, instead, I had to rely on forum posts, with forum tutors and students suggesting various primary sources from a vast array of websites (top marks from only using the OU Materials? thing of the past!), which I must say is unlucky for those who didn't put in the hours required to wade through the hundreds of useless forum posts.

I did this course, which is a second year course, in the third year of my degree. The TMA questions I considered poorly constructed and incomprehensible, in contrast to every course I had previously undertaken. Upon seeking assistance, my tutor was completely inadequate, not helpful in the slightest. Only after consistently pushing for guidance, did I finally receive any, however, after taking all the tutors advice on board, I was rewarded with my lowest mark of not only the course, but my whole Open University studies. The only time I believe I received just results was on the two occasions when my assignment was marked by a different tutor.

I would rate my experience of A200 as 2/10.

Course starting: October 2011

Review posted: August 2012

Now that this course is over, I can look back and realise that I did actually enjoy it. It has its ups and downs, and, as some other reviewers have noted, some blocks are more interesting than others. For me, Block One (Mediaeval England, France and Burgundy) and Block Two (The Reformation) were by far the most interesting. I was surprised that I enjoyed the Blocks on Slavery (Four) and Empire (Six) far more than I was expecting. Block Three, however, on the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, was for me a real struggle.

The printed course materials are quite good despite having at least two mistakes about Jehanne Darc and one mistake about Henry V Lancaster. The DVDs were interesting apart from the ones by the BBC on Slavery (although the discussions about the BBC programmes were interesting).

The set books were excellent. Wallace is not as bad as other reviewers say. It is not meant to be Horrible Histories; it is an academic text book for undergraduates. The Anthology was fascinating and I continue to read parts of that (Treaty of Troyes, Jehanne Darc's letters, ...)

The OU Forums were a disappointment after the excellent AA100 Forums which were run in a far more professional and academic manner. Time is far better spent on the other course materials.

Be prepared to buy lots of paper and printer ink. Most of the course materials are online and are essential. Part of the course requires one to search academic databases for articles in journals but I feel that much of the online material should have been provided in print by the OU.

The examination was not as bad as everybody was expecting. It was, for me, easier than the TMAs. In the examination you can choose questions on subjects which are of more interest to you. So I could avoid any mention of Scotland (boring) and Ireland (very boring).

I was assigned a brilliant tutor whose lengthy and detailed feedback helped me to gain a good pass.

All in all this is a very good course if you are willing to roll your sleeves up and avoid negativity and whining from a minority of other students.

John Edward Paver

Course starting: October 2011

Review posted: August 2012

I found this course thoroughly absorbing and interesting. It was a good foundation to studying History and I would recommend taking it as your first Level 2 module. I think I can honestly say that I enjoyed all six modules and I learned a great deal.

By the time the exam came along the revision was starting to feel like a bit of a slog, but my advice is stick with it and don't revise too narrowly. My tutor had recommended revising at least four modules properly so that you know them well and this proved to be worthwhile because it meant I felt comfortable with quite a few of the questions, and so could choose those that seemed easiest.

My tutor was excellent and efficient. She seemed to be always available and keen to help.

Andrew Searle

Course starting: October 2011

Review posted: July 2012

This is a course about which I have very mixed views. If you need it for a history degree then you need to do this compulsory course, if not I would advise careful thought about the wisdom of choosing it. It is a very tough course which I found something of a hard slog at times. It covers a vast period of history and focuses on a key topic from each century.

Opinions will vary as to individual student's preferred blocks but personally I found the the medieval period by far the least enjoyable. The course has been rewritten for 2012 and the material is littered with mostly minor but irritating errors which the course team seem very unconcerned about, which in my view is not an acceptable approach when errors by students in essays would not go unnoticed!

The course is supposed based around 3 themes, Producers and Consumers, Beliefs and Ideologies, and State Formation. The idea is this links the 5 centuries and enables comparision to be made between different periods of history.

The problem is that the themes are so general as sometimes to be far from obvious and one cannot help thinking that the themes have been devised to fit the periods of history covered rather than the other way round. Some students found these themes helpful, others like me a distraction. It is nonetheless something you have to seek to grasp to do well in part 3 of the exam.

The guidance notes for the TMAs were often awful and more confusing than helpful.

I had a brilliant and long suffering tutor who kept me going and great support on the forum from most fellow students which meant you felt you were not alone in struggling to master the material.

I am pleased with my overall course result which was much better than I anticipated.

Course starting: October 2011

Review posted: July 2012

Fascinating and interesting course. I struggled for a while to really engage with this course though and very nearly gave up about two thirds of the way through but am so very glad I carried on. A few people didn't turn up at the exam which was unfortunate because it was quite straightforward and not as difficult as some past papers indicated (or perhaps I'd just done the revision work needed!).

As usual with OU courses with an exam, my TMA marks, and consequently final grade, were brought down a bit by my exam result. But I did pass, I did enjoy it and am now looking forward to A326 Empire (no exam!!) to get my History degree to sit alongside my Humanities degree.

Hard work but definitely worth it - I've learnt so much.

Suzanne Hammerton

Course starting: February 2011

Review posted: February 2012

I found this course, although hard work, mostly enjoyable. If you are expecting a course which teaches you about history and events that happened at particular times you may be disappointed as this is not that kind of course.

A200 does not teach history but how to study history and there is a big difference. It teaches you methods and techniques which I found invaluable on my next course and I really felt that as the course went on my skills were being built up. Although there is a lot of work each week it is well ordered and useful for writing the assignments.

Overall, if you approach this as a methodology course you will find it very helpful in your studies.

K Howe

Course starting: February 2011

Review posted: January 2012

A200 was my next course after AA100. The course tutor on AA100 felt that this course might be the next one I studied. I had also previously studied History at Level 1 with accredited Continuing Education, so I felt OK with essay writing and content.

A200 is a very good course: it gives you the confidence to think like a historian; it has totally altered the way I look at secondary sources for example. However I found it hard work. The time period, 1400 to 1900 did not phase me, but the exam did. People approach exams in different ways: I was sceptical of the claims made by a number of fellow students on the forum; that you could miss one thing out and concentrate on another.

I feel happier if I am reasonably confident with the bulk of the syllabus, even if it stretches from the late Middle Ages to the First World War. However my experience of the exam was a nightmare. I struggle with spelling and grammar at the best of times (without spellcheck). Not easy while at the same time having to structure an answer to a specific question in a set time. This, if anything, made me 'think on my feet'.

I emerged from the exam, feeling quite despondent, and in need of a stiff drink! Some days later I felt, even though I thought I might have failed, that I had achieved something. So it came as somewhat of a pleasant surprise that I had passed the course. With regard to the exam a friend remarked that she thought I might have 'over revised'. This may be true: perhaps the main difficulty with A200 is that its depth and breadth make it difficult to condense into one exam, or dare I say it, into one course!

Stephen James Bell

Course starting: February 2011

Review posted: January 2012

As others have mentioned A200 seems to have gained a somewhat intimidating reputation due to its huge timeline but as it is compulsory for a History degree there is no escaping from it (like death and taxes!). And guess what? It is actually (mostly) enjoyable and prepares you in your quest to become a historian.

I would recommend taking it as early on in your degree as possible because as promised, it teaches you the nuts and bolts of interpreting historical primary sources. It does presume that you have a fairly broad knowledge of historical events over five hundred years and if not you may initially be overwhelmed by the variety of subjects, nations and states that you will encounter.

I love medieval history and though I started to flag during the last three blocks I learnt a lot more than I anticipated. Be warned, you must be very disciplined with your time and the study materials are not novice-friendly and initially hard to digest.

I amazed myself by getting very good TMA scores but suffered dreadful nerves over the exam. I did everything I shouldn't, revised too many blocks rather than several blocks/units thoroughly though incredibly, despite being convinced I'd failed, I gained a very good exam score and pass rate.

I do think this course needs some fine tuning and pruning but let's remember it's a degree course and you will certainly feel you have more than earned it with A200.

Course starting: February 2011

Review posted: January 2012

I thoroughly enjoyed this module though I approached it with a little trepidation, having read some of the less than positive remarks made by a few students, mostly on forum discussions! At first, I felt a little out of my depth but, gradually, became more confident as the different pieces of the material began to fit together! There WAS a great amount of reading but well worth the time taken to absorb it. After all, this IS part of a degree course! I can truly say that I learned an incredible amount during this module about how to tackle the vast subject of historical sources and would highly recommend it to any lover of history!

Mary Esther Gregson

Course starting: February 2011

Review posted: December 2011