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HI-M01
Historical Methods and Approaches
This module introduces you to a diverse range of methodological approaches that underpin the discipline of history at an advanced level. You will explore how historians construct knowledge about the past, examining key debates around evidence, interpretation, narrative, and the politics of history-writing. You will engage critically with a variety of methods, including archival research, oral history, microhistory, cultural and social history, postcolonial and decolonial approaches, gender analysis, and digital history.
Through seminar discussions and a series of mini projects, you will develop a sophisticated understanding of the strengths, limitations, and ethical implications of different historical methodologies. The module also supports the development of research design skills in preparation for independent dissertation work.
Finally, the module will encourage you to think reflexively about your own role as researchers and to consider how methodological choices shape historical narratives and their relevance to contemporary global challenges.
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HI-M22
Dissertation
This module is the exciting culmination of your Masters¿ degree in History. In this module you have the opportunity build on the analytical and research skills developed in Part I of the programme to produce a 20,000-word dissertation on a historical research topic of your choice.
Working under the guidance of an academic supervisor, you will identify and refine a research question, critically evaluate relevant primary and secondary sources, and construct a coherent, well-substantiated historical argument. The project reflects an advanced level of conceptual understanding and methodological rigour, characteristic of independent postgraduate research.
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HI-M39
Managing Historical Research
During this module you will be guided through the process of formulating a viable, original, and academically sound research proposal in the discipline of History. You develop your own research project idea with the guidance and support of your supervisor. Through a combination of seminars, independent research, and supervisory meetings, you will engage with historiography, methodology, source evaluation, and research ethics. By the end of the module, you will have produced a fully developed research proposal suitable for submission to support an MA dissertation.
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HIH121
Europe of Extremes, 1789-1989
The nineteenth century saw the rise of a western European civilization, characterized, as Eric Hobsbawm has noted, by capitalist economics, liberal politics, and the dominance of a middle class that celebrated morality and science. In the twentieth century this civilization faced unprecedented challenges from new political ideologies, and from a working class demanding the right to govern in its own name. The result was an eruption of violence not seen on the continent for centuries; in its wake, the Cold War divided the Europe with an Iron Curtain, and saw the continent become the client of two world superpowers ¿ the USA and the Soviet Union. This team-taught module relies on the specialist knowledge of its tutors to examine economic, political and social themes in the history of nineteenth and twentieth-century Europe.
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HIH124
Britain and the World 1800 to 2000
This module will provide an overview of the history of British politics, society, culture, and the economy from c. 1800 to the present, from a national and international perspective. The lectures and seminars for this module will give students the opportunity to engage closely with events, processes, and people - both male and female, from diverse ethnic backgrounds - who contributed to the making of the modern British state and society, and who defined Britain¿s relationship with the wider world. We will discuss the transformative impact of warfare, Empire and colonialism, industrial and technological change. We will also consider the significance of race, class, and gender, and how they relate to national sentiment and social and political emancipation movements in Britain and beyond.
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HIH3300
History Dissertation
The History dissertation is a free-standing, 40-credit module that runs across both semesters of Level Three. Candidates conduct research upon a subject of their choice, devised in consultation with a member of staff teaching for the degrees in History, and concerning a topic that falls within staff research and teaching interests.
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HIH3382
The Cold War
The Cold War represented the chief global conflict during much of the second half of the twentieth century. While tensions between the two superpowers ¿ the United States and the Soviet Union ¿ over the status of Berlin or during the Cuban missile crisis bore the potential of escalating into all-out nuclear war, the conflict remained, by and large, an `imaginary war¿ (Mary Kaldor) in Europe and North America. By contrast, the superpowers indirectly engaged each other in violent proxy wars in other parts of the world such as Korea, Vietnam, Angola or Afghanistan.
This third-year optional module examines this crucial conflict in twentieth-century history within a global perspective, shedding light on different arenas in which the Cold War was fought, including its origins and effect on international relations, its impact on the `Third World¿, its `home fronts¿, science and technology, its cultural representations as well as its manifold legacies that can be felt to the present day (e.g. political, socio-cultural and environmental). The course introduces students to chief debates and key secondary literature as well as a wide range of primary sources, including government documents, newspapers and magazines as well as popular culture and visual arts.
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HIHM10
Understanding GLAM: Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museums
GLAM organisations ¿ Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums ¿ serve multiple overlapping roles in the 21st century. As heritage organisations and institutions of public history, they preserve heritage assets, display and interpret collection items for public audiences, and shape cultural memory, increasingly through co-creation with communities and interest groups. At the same time, they form a key part of the research infrastructure underpinning the work of historians, archaeologists, and other academics. Many of them are the product of problematic processes of the past -- including nationalism, colonialism, racism, and scientific imperialism ¿ for the understanding of which they contain key resources, and whose harms they now seek to undo.
This module is concerned with the history, practices, and policies of the GLAM organisations, and with the many challenges they face in the present. It will help you to develop a critical understanding of GLAM institutions, drawing on theoretical perspectives, while preparing you for a career in the sector. It blends theory, policy, and practice by considering the management, interpretation, and use of heritage collections through case studies and real-world scenarios.
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WS-M95
Experiences of War and Conflict: War, Identity and Society
Throughout history, wars and conflicts have shaped personal and collective experiences and identities. Hot wars have laid waste to cities and entire national economies. Those fighting wars have suffered traumatic experiences, as did non-combatants, including children. Even where no armed conflict took place, preparedness for a potential war led to the militarization of civil societies, including the use of massive economic resources. Or, military planners and strategists gamed likely war scenarios to prepare for the worst case ¿ even the unthinkable that is nuclear war. Likewise, propaganda ¿ both by states and anti-war or peace movements ¿ emerged in response to conflicts (actual and imaginary), contributing to war and conflict becoming part of official government discourse and everyday language. But the legacies of wars have also entered national identity through their memorialization within specific historical and ideological contexts. Popular culture, too, addressed wars and conflicts through films and popular music, thereby disseminating particular interpretations and myths to mass audiences.
This module takes a multidisciplinary approach to understanding the multifaceted experiences of war and conflict. We will examine how such experiences of violence shape and are in turn shaped by social, economic and cultural forces. In this, we will explore war and conflict as both a catalyst for societal change and a reflection of historical developments. Through critical analysis, the module encourages reflection on how war is represented and the lasting impact it has on personal and collective identities.
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WS-M96
Researching War and Conflict
This module is designed specifically for MA students in War and Society to help them develop methodological, theoretical, and research skills to write a successful MA thesis in the field of war and conflict studies. The module is built around a series of workshops that pay attention to both epistemological questions in the discipline and to the issue of empirical research and method. The module is designed to provide post-graduate students with a set of practical skills, including how to collect and evaluate relevant sources, how to write a research proposal, and how to present your research to a variety of audience. We will examine the history and evolution of writing about war and conflict, we will contemplate the differences between popular military history and academic studies of war, and invite guest speakers when possible to share their experience of the research process. In the process, you will do a short TED talk style presentation, you will learn how to write robustly and sustain analysis and narrative in longer piece of writing, like an MA thesis, and we will focus on the art and science of writing research statements. We will start each seminar with you sharing your ¿Aha!¿ moments, the most important thing you have learned from the readings, and your ¿head-scratching¿ moments, points that perplexed you the most.
