History and Politics BA

Year 1

The first year introduces you to major developments in medieval, early modern and modern history, European and global politics, and political ideas. You will also have the opportunity to choose modules exploring the histories and politics of different parts of the world.

Core modules

• Barbarism and Civilisation: Medieval and Early Modern Europe

• The Shock of the Modern

• Politics, Power and Ethics (double module)

• Comparative European Politics

Option modules

Choose one option module from:

• Political Concepts

• Order and Disorder: International Relations from 1989 to the Present

Then choose two option modules from:

• Global History: Connections and Cultures in a Changing World, 1750 to the present

• Great Britain: The State We're In

• Europe 1861-1991: Emancipation and Subjugation

• US History since 1877

Year 2 (History dissertation)

Core modules will deepen your understanding of the disciplines of history and politics, enhancing your skills in critical thinking, independent research, and intellectual creativity. You’ll put these advanced skills into practice and shape your degree around your own interests in choosing the rest of your second year programme from a wide range of history, politics and international relations options.

If you plan to take the History History dissertation in your Final Year, you should take these modules:

Core modules

• Perceiving the Past

• Becoming the Historical Researcher

Option modules

You will then choose five option modules. You can choose:

• Either one History module from List 1A/1B plus two Politics modules from List 2 plus two Politics modules from List 4.

• Or three Politics modules from List 2 plus one History module from List 3A/B plus one Politics module from List 4.

List 1A: History modules

• Religious History

• Histories of Violence

List 1B: History modules

• Blood, Position and Power: The Nobility of Later Medieval England, 1066-1485

• Madness, Monarchy and Politics in Georgian Britain

• Jack-the-Ripper: Crime, Popular Culture and Policing in Victorian Times

• Rise and Fall of the Soviet Union

List 2: Politics modules

• Political Ideas

• Political Parties in Contemporary Britain

• Sex and Gender in Global Politics

• International Theory

List 3A: History modules

• Gender History

• Race and Ethnicity

• All Bourgeois Now? Class in History

List 3B: History modules

• The Latin World: Ancient, Medieval and Modern

• Enter the Dragon: Modern Chinese History, 1839-1989

• From Beer to Fraternity: Alcohol, Society, and Culture in North America

• History in the Classroom

• Living with Dictatorship: European Societies, 1918-1941

• Heritage Field Project

List 4: Politics modules

• European Union Politics

• International Security Studies

• The Making of Contemporary US Foreign Policy

Year 2 (Politics dissertation)

Core modules will deepen your understanding of the disciplines of history and politics, enhancing your skills in critical thinking, independent research, and intellectual creativity. You';ll put these advanced skills into practice and shape your degree around your own interests in choosing the rest of your second year programme from a wide range of history, politics and international relations options.

If you plan to take the Politics Dissertation in your Final Year, you should take these modules:

Core modules

• Perceiving the Past

• Political Analysis 1: Understanding Political Science Research

• Political Analysis 2: Preparing for your Dissertation

Option modules

Choose one History option module from:

• Religious History

• Histories of Violence

Then choose one Politics option module from:

• Political Ideas

• Political Parties in Contemporary Britain

• Sex and Gender in Global Politics

• International Theory

Then choose one History option module from:

• Gender History

• Race and Ethnicity

• All Bourgeois Now? Class in History

Then choose one History option module from:

• The Latin World: Ancient, Medieval and Modern

• Enter the Dragon: Modern Chinese History, 1839-1989

• From Beer to Fraternity: Alcohol, Society, and Culture in North America

• History in the Classroom

• Living with Dictatorship: European Societies, 1918-1941

• Heritage Field Project

Finally choose one Politics option module from:

• European Union Politics

• International Security Studies

• The Making of Contemporary US Foreign Policy

Year Abroad (optional)

If you want to, you can spend your third year studying abroad at one of our partner institutions (eligibility is dependent on your academic performance in Years 1 and 2). Alternatively, you can opt to continue studying at the University and complete your degree in three years.

Studying abroad is not just for people who are interested in travelling and meeting new people. It is about acquiring life skills that are becoming increasingly significant for a wide range of jobs in our modern globalised society. Whether you go on to work in the private sector, the state sector, a non-governmental organisation or become self-employed you will find the experience invaluable. Find out more from our Study Abroad Unit.

Final Year (History dissertation)

Your final year is shaped entirely by your preferred areas of interest and specialisation. You will research and write an original dissertation – an independent research project of your own design – with the support of an expert supervisor. You will also choose from a wide range of optional modules that reflect the cutting-edge research expertise of your tutors.

Core modules

• History dissertation

Option modules

You will choose five option modules. You can choose:

• One History modules from List 1 plus two Politics modules from List 2 plus two Politics modules from List 4, or

• One History module from List 1 plus two Politics modules from List 2 plus one History module from List 3 plus two Politics modules from List 4, or

• Two History modules from List 1 plus one Politics module from List 2 plus two Politics modules from List 4, or

• Three Politics modules from List 2 plus one History module from List 3 plus one Politics module from List 4, or

• Three Politics modules from List 2 plus two History modules from List 3

List 1 (History modules)

• The USA and the Vietnam War

• Crime and Punishment in African American History

• The Golden Age of Anglo-Saxon Northumbria

• Disasporas and Migrations in the Modern World

• From Empire to Nation: Modern South Asia, c. 1857-1947

• Gender, Crime and Deviance in Eighteenth Century Britain

List 2 (Politics modules)

• Feminism

• The American Presidency

• The Politics of War and Peace: Northern Ireland After 1972

• Parliamentary Studies

• Brexit and British Politics

• The Politics of Intelligence

• The Politics of Counter-Terrorism

• The Politics of Nuclear Weapons

• The Politics of Contemporary British Foreign Policy

• Climate Change: Ethics, Issues, Justice

• Politics of the International Drug Trade

• International Migration in the Age of Securitisation

List 3 (History modules)

• The Imperial Economy: Britain and the Wider World, 1815-1914

• What Difference Did the War Make? British Society and the Great War, 1900-1939

• When Two Dragons Fight: China and Japan at War in the Twentieth Century

• Indigenous Peoples of the Americas, c1350-1650

• The Medieval Natural World

• Women in American Society from the Civil War to First World War

List 4 (Politics modules)

• Politics and the Environment

• The Conservatives: Crisis and Recovery

• American Political Development

• The Changing Character of War

• Global Justice and Human Rights

• The Politics of Slavery

• Political Legacies of Conflict in Northern Ireland

• Political Participation in Britain

• Democracy and EU Membership in Post-Communist Europe

Final Year (Politics dissertation)

Your final year is shaped entirely by your preferred areas of interest and specialisation. You will research and write an original dissertation – an independent research project of your own design – with the support of an expert supervisor. You will also choose from a wide range of optional modules that reflect the cutting-edge research expertise of your tutors.

Core module

• Dissertation

Option modules

You will choose five option modules. You can choose

• One History module from List 1 plus two Politics modules from List 2 plus two History modules from List 3, or

• Two History modules from List 1 plus one Politics modules from List 2 plus two History modules from List 3, or

• Two History modules from List 1 plus one Politics module from List 2 plus one History module from List 3 plus one Politics module from List 4, or

• Three History modules from List 1 plus one History module from List 3 plus one Politics module from List 4, or

• Three History modules from List 1 plus two Politics modules from List 4

Alternatively you can choose a History Special Subject from List 5 plus:

• Either one History module from List 1 plus one Politics module from List 2

• Or two Politics modules from List 2

List 1 (History modules)

• The USA and the Vietnam War

• Crime and Punishment in African American History

• The Golden Age of Anglo-Saxon Northumbria

• Disasporas and Migrations in the Modern World

• From Empire to Nation: Modern South Asia, c. 1857-1947

• Gender, Crime and Deviance in Eighteenth Century Britain

List 2 (Politics modules)

• Feminism

• The American Presidency

• The Politics of War and Peace: Northern Ireland After 1972

• Parliamentary Studies

• Brexit and British Politics

• The Politics of Intelligence

• The Politics of Counter-Terrorism

• The Politics of Nuclear Weapons

• The Politics of Contemporary British Foreign Policy

• Climate Change: Ethics, Issues, Justice

• Politics of the International Drug Trade

• International Migration in the Age of Securitisation

List 3 (History modules)

• The Imperial Economy: Britain and the Wider World, 1815-1914

• What Difference Did the War Make? British Society and the Great War, 1900-1939

• When Two Dragons Fight: China and Japan at War in the Twentieth Century

• Indigenous Peoples of the Americas, c1350-1650

• The Medieval Natural World

• Abolitionists: Antislavery Activism in Britain and America, 1787-1865

List 4 (Politics modules)

• Politics and the Environment

• The Conservatives: Crisis and Recovery

• American Political Development

• The Changing Character of War

• Global Justice and Human Rights

• The Politics of Slavery

• Political Legacies of Conflict in Northern Ireland

• Political Participation in Britain

• Democracy and EU Membership in Post-Communist Europe

List 5 (History Special Subjects)

• Ideals of Womanhood in 19th Century America

• The Holocaust: Genocide in Europe

• After Hitler: Society, Culture and The Politics of The Nazi Past in The Two Germanies, 1945-1990

• Beauty, Sex & Science: Whose Body is it Anyway c.1550-2015?

• A Sea of Conflict? Christian Muslim Encounters c.1100-c.1300

• The Presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt