Bachelor of Arts with Honours

Why do Honours?

A fourth year in History or Art History and Theory enables students to hone their research and writing skills. A key component of the year is a research dissertation where students do original work based on primary sources. The Department is very proud of the work students produce and has published 3 volumes of essays based on their 490 dissertations. At the end of the fourth year you will have written a 15,000 to 20,000-word dissertation on the subject of your choice. This enables you to demonstrate to prospective employers that you have key analytical and written skills.

Further information on the Bachelor of Arts (Honours)

The requirements for a BA (Hons) in History and Art History and Theory are slightly different.

Honours in History

Any students who want to pursue Honours at fourth year will be well advised to take the following courses:

HIST 101 Forensic Histories: Effective Research
HIST 252 Varieties Of History
HIST 353 Practising History

These courses are designed to prepare students well for the research dissertation that forms a substantial component of the Honours year.

400-level Honours in History

Fourth-year Honours students are required to take 120 points comprising HIST 490 (Honours dissertation), HIST405 (Rethinking History) and another two 400-level History papers. Any 400-level ARTH paper, ENGL 404, GEND 401, or MAOR 407 may be substituted for one 400-level HIST paper. The Honours year must be completed full-time.

Further information on the Major Subject Requirements for BA (Hons) History

Honours in Art History and Theory

Any students who want to pursue Honours at fourth year will be well advised to take ARTH 324/424 (Histories of Art), which is offered alternating years. This course examines the historical foundations of art history and theory and the diverse range of contemporary methodological approaches. Art History students who plan to write a more art historical dissertation that makes use of primary resources and/or local research collections are encouraged to take HIST 353 (Practising History). These courses are designed to prepare students well for the research dissertation that forms a substantial component of the Honours year.

400-level Honours in Art History and Theory

Fourth-year Honours students are required to take 120 points comprising ARTH 490 (Honours dissertation) or ARTH 470 (Catalogue Project), and another three 400-level Art History and Theory papers. Any 400-level HIST paper, CLAS 435, or MFCO 408 may be substituted for one 400-level ARTH paper. The Honours year must be completed full time.

Further information on the Major Subject Requirements for BA (Hons) Art History and Theory

DOUBLE AND COMBINED HONOURS

Many students wish to complete honours in two subjects. Should you wish to do double honours, this requires a further time commitment beyond four years since it is necessary to complete the full honours year in both subjects.

We encourage combined honours students to complete their 490 with us but understand that students may wish to carry out research in their other discipline. Please discuss your plans with the 490 coordinator, Associate Professor Alex Trapeznik (alexander.trapeznik@otago.ac.nz), before selecting your options for the honours year.

Admission

Students entering 400-level Honours History or Art History and Theory need to have a grade average of B+ over 72 points at 300-level. Students should have completed at least 360 points (the requirements for the BA).

Any student with the entry level requirement for Honours who wishes to pursue fourth year study part-time can enrol for a Post Graduate Diploma in Arts.

Applying for 4th year Honours

Honours was previously a three-year programme (with admission in second year), but will become a one year add-on programme in 2013. In order to enter the Honours programme you need to apply for admission.

Application forms for admission are available from the Department Reception or http://www.otago.ac.nz/humanities/policies/index.html#application.

Applications should be submitted by 10 December but late applications will be considered. Please address your application to:

Academic Manager
Humanities Divisional Office
University of Otago
Box 56
Dunedin
or deliver to the 5th floor, Arts (Burns) Building

Honours Dissertations

Recent honours dissertations completed in the department include:

History

• Scott Campbell, "Missionary Anthropologists': A.P. Elkin, J.R.B. Love and Missionary Anthropology in 1930s Australia," 2008.
• Michael Chan, "Dawn and Te Ao Hou: Popular Perspectives on Assimilation and Integration, 1950s - 1960s,” 2008.
• Katherine Logan, "World War Two in the New Hebrides: Economic Change and its Implications for the Indigenous Population,” 2008.
• Megan Rosemary Wells, "The Otago Museum, 1868-1879: Origins and Early Development,” 2008.
• Elspeth Mary Knewstubb, "Watching History: Historical Documentary and the Historiography of Nineteenth Century New Zealand,” 2008.
• Marc Phillip Ellison, "A History of the Ellison Whanau of Otakou,” 2008. Katie Lock, "Fun and Frivolity: Entertainment in 1920s Dunedin,” 2008.
• Joanne Galer, "Outrageous Beauty': The Rise and Fall of a Dunedin Landmark, the Stock Exchange Building, 1868-1969,” 2008.
• Kate Stevens, "Gathering Places': The Mixed Descent Families of Foveaux Strait and Rakiura/Stewart Island, 1824-1864,” 2008.
• Kathleen Roche, "Changing Attitudes to 'Boat People' in Australia, 1977-2001,” 2008.
• Rose Chamberlain, "The Fourth Voice: Barry Barclay's 'Tangata Whenua',” 2008.
• Grant McKenna, "Factors considered in the privatisation of New Zealand Rail, 1993,” 2008.
• Fraser Campbell Body, "Enemies Abroad and in Our Midst': The Development of an Anti-communist Consensus in New Zealand, 1950-1953,” 2008.

Art History and Theory

• Elise Allen, “The Paradox of the Picture Plane,” 2008.
• Chanelle Carrick, “Specifically Antony Gormley,” 2008.
• Emma Chrisp, “Stencilled Street Art in Dunedin,” 2008.
• Erin Driessen, “Space, Time, and a City in the Desert: Michael Heizer and the art of excavation,” 2008.
• Nina Finigan, “’A bitter and unpalatable truth’: Colin McCahon's religious figurative works 1947-1953,” 2008.
• Mindy Peat, “Measures of Visual Perception,” 2008.
• Lily Carlyon, “’A Cast of Affliction’: Yvonne Todd and the Aesthetics of Retrograde Suburbia,” 2007.
• Sarah Louise Craven, “"One Vast Sea of Garbage": Ilya Kabakov's Garbage Art and its Broader Resonance in Recent Art,” 2007.
• Bernard Philip Hamlin, “A Phrenomenology of Complements: Colour Contrast and the Structure of Hue,” 2007.
• Ben Harvey, “Parental Units: An Examination of 'the father' and 'the mother' in the works of Louise Bourgeois,” 2007.
• Haram Kwon, “Nude Self-Portraits, 1960s to 1990,” 2007.
• Rahbeka Nina Palmer, “The Making of a Marae: The significance, process, and iconography involved in the adornment of the whare tipuna, Huirapa, at Puketeraki marae,” 2007.
• Hester Reich, “KIA ORA BRO: Wayne Youle's Negotiations of Biculturalism,” 2007.
• Tessa Yee, “Realising Abstraction: A Window into Robert Delaunay,” 2007.

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