BA (Hons) History

History without borders

40 Credits

(Compulsory)

Beginning each year with a theme (chosen and developed by research-active academics), this module will systematically deconstruct our global story. Themes could include warfare (‘the history of the world in ten battles’), economy and trade (‘from the silk roads to the dark web’), movement of ideas and people (‘Confucius to capitalism via Christ’), or disease (‘five pandemics that changed the world’). The content of this module will challenge a limited and exclusive vision of human progress. It will equip you with an overview of world history and allow you to identify and explore the common patterns which emerge across chronology and cultures.

The past is never dead

20 Credits

(Compulsory)

The content of this module will allow you to explore the study of history in connection to active and informed citizenship. It will equip you with the critical skills to contribute to current debates about the direction of our society, the operations of liberal democracy, and the organization of our communities. Not only will you learn how the past has been used to explain and rationalize the present, but, throughout this module, you are encouraged to become an informed and active participant in shaping our future.

Who do you think you are?

40 Credits

(Compulsory)

Built around several categories of analysis (which will change each year depending on academic and student interest) this module will provide the space for historians – academics and students – to consider the nature of the human condition. It will allow you to explore questions fundamental to the discipline, considering human nature, human experience, and how people have effected change. The module may explore categories of identity (for example, religion, race and ethnicity, class and gender) or consider specific aspects of the human experience (emotions, memory, the body, mind, or communication). It may also be constructed around collective experiences (activism, remembrance and ritual, public and private spaces). The content of this module will challenge a limited and exclusive vision of humankind. It will equip you with the intellectual confidence to identify and critically assess how individuals and collectives are constructed (forged, formed, and faked) from the ancient to the modern world.

History is a Weapon

10 Credits

(Compulsory)

This module will explore the ways in which the past has been used as a weapon in a variety of political, social, and cultural settings. Topics may vary annually and will be drawn from across the entire span of human history. Students will be encouraged to view history as a contested space.

Understanding Organisations

10 Credits

(Compulsory)

This module aims to equip students with the knowledge, resilience, and self-management skills to make informed choices when preparing for their placement. It will also act as an introduction to the multiple pathways available to graduates as they plan their transition to employment or further professional training.

History without borders

40 Credits

(Compulsory)

Beginning each year with a theme (chosen and developed by research-active academics), this module will systematically deconstruct our global story. Themes could include warfare (‘the history of the world in ten battles’), economy and trade (‘from the silk roads to the dark web’), movement of ideas and people (‘Confucius to capitalism via Christ’), or disease (‘five pandemics that changed the world’). The content of this module will challenge a limited and exclusive vision of human progress. It will equip you with an overview of world history and allow you to identify and explore the common patterns which emerge across chronology and cultures.

The past is never dead

10 Credits

(Compulsory)

The content of this module will allow you to explore the study of history in connection to active and informed citizenship. It will equip you with the critical skills to contribute to current debates about the direction of our society, the operations of liberal democracy, and the organization of our communities. Not only will you learn how the past has been used to explain and rationalize the present, but, throughout this module, you are encouraged to become an informed and active participant in shaping our future.

Who do you think you are?

40 Credits

(Compulsory)

Built around several categories of analysis (which will change each year depending on academic and student interest) this module will provide the space for historians – academics and students – to consider the nature of the human condition. It will allow you to explore questions fundamental to the discipline, considering human nature, human experience, and how people have effected change. The module may explore categories of identity (for example, religion, race and ethnicity, class and gender) or consider specific aspects of the human experience (emotions, memory, the body, mind, or communication). It may also be constructed around collective experiences (activism, remembrance and ritual, public and private spaces). The content of this module will challenge a limited and exclusive vision of humankind. It will equip you with the intellectual confidence to identify and critically assess how individuals and collectives are constructed (forged, formed, and faked) from the ancient to the modern world.

Career Experience: Placement

20 Credits

(Compulsory)

This module is an opportunity to gain experience working for an organization and undertake a creative placement.

History Dissertation Preparation

10 Credits

(Compulsory)

In this module, the student will be introduced to the History Dissertation. We will discuss methods and theories of studying the past and hold small group discussions exploring historiography. This module will prepare students for the dissertation. Students will choose their dissertation topic and have discussions with their proposed supervisor.

History Dissertation

40 Credits

(Compulsory)

This is a 40-credit module taken completed over both semesters. Students will work closely with a supervisor to research, plan, and construct a piece of historical writing on a chosen topic or theme.

Myth and Religion in the Ancient World

40 Credits

(Optional)

This module will introduce you to the study of myth and religion in the ancient world. Students will examine theoretical approaches to myth and religion in ancient Greece and Rome, including theories on the nature of myth and aspects of ancient religious practice.

This is England: a racial nation?

40 Credits

(Optional)

In c.1120 William of Malmesbury lamented that ‘England had become a dwelling-place of foreigners and a playground for lords of alien blood… new faces everywhere enjoy England’s riches and gnaw her vitals, nor is there any hope of ending this miserable affair’. This sentiment is repeated throughout the history of English nationalism right up to the present day with the rise of populist political rhetoric. This module will explore the relationship between historians and ethnocentric nationalism. You will explore several myths of `English’ identity and consider the ways in which these have been reworked to fit different incarnations. We will also engage with our own assumptions about national identity and its long-term survival.

The British Civil Wars, 1638-1660

40 Credits

(Optional)

This module covers a fundamentally important period in the political and cultural development of Britain - the Civil Wars of 1638-1651 and the subsequent Interregnum. It will allow you to focus on an in-depth study of twenty-two years of conflict within the British Isles. You will explore the narrative of the conflicts themselves, the manner in which the conflicts subtly altered the ways England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales related to one another as well as the radical social, political, and religious ideas developed along the way.

Black Freedom: White Backlash

40 Credits

(Optional)

We will be exploring the black freedom movement and white backlash across twentieth-century America. You will engage with themes and concepts including race and whiteness, non-violence and power, criminalization, and gender. We will trace the development of non-violence and black power as well as the rise of the white backlash, including the rise of the new conservatism and the age of mass incarceration. We will explore the relationship between black power and the white backlash with global decolonization movements and transnational ideologies including nazism, communism, and white supremacy. We will also consider the social memory of the civil rights era, considering how narratives and heroes of the movement have been constructed.

Revolution and Counterrevolution: a global history

40 Credits

(Optional)

This module will assess revolution and counterrevolution from c.1917 until the present, covering communism, fascism nazism, and populism as social movements and regimes. The geographical reach will be global, including examples are drawn from across Europe, Asia (China), Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa, and the USA. The theoretical approaches deployed will allow students to engage with explanations of radicalism in movements and regimes, such as the ‘classic’ model of totalitarianism and political religion, as well as comparative approaches.