MA in History

Our MA in History is a highly flexible programme, offered in a close, supportive, tutorial-style environment. It aims to build on your interest in History to help you develop your knowledge and skills as a practising historian.

The course has been shaped by leading researchers in our department. This means that our modules reflect the most recent developments in various historical fields.

We offer core skills training modules. You also have the opportunity to conduct research on topics of your choosing. This takes the form of independent study and dissertation modules. This freedom, combined with advanced training, enables you to graduate confident in your ability to research, write and develop your own work. And puts you in the ideal position to pursue further academic study or new lines of endeavour.

Study modules

Compulsory modules

Key Concepts and Methods in Historical Research

This is a compulsory core module in advanced historical studies, which helps you make the transition from undergraduate to graduate-level work. We’ll introduce you to a variety of perspectives on theory and methods in history, and you’ll acquire the advanced study skills you need to engage in independent research. You’ll also receive training in the use of electronic research resources.

Optional modules

American Colossus: US Domestic and Foreign Politics, 1945-2012

You’ll explore the rise of the United States from the end of the Second World War, through the Cold War, and up to the present day. By looking at domestic politics, international relations, and economic and military affairs, you’ll develop a keener appreciation of how the American state evolved in the 20th century as the major world power.

Behaving Badly: Crime, Deviance and Civilization

You’ll examine comparative themes in the history of law, crime and 'bad behaviour' from 1500 to the present. You’ll study the fundamental issues that have preoccupied historians of crime and the regulation of forms of behaviour that society considers unacceptable. You’ll cover many topics, which may include:

• the growth of law enforcement agencies
• changes in the concept of punishment
• family violence
• juvenile crimes
• crimes of sex and sexuality
• the ‘criminal underclass’
• gendered perceptions of crime and bad behaviour.

Monsters and Magical Beings: Medieval Lore to Pop Culture

From the Middle Ages to the present, cultural constructions of magicians and magical beings have fulfilled a variety of human needs – they have been scapegoats and role models, symbols of fear and of desire. This module suggests sociocultural explanations for the various stages of these complex developments. You’ll investigate the influence of the Enlightenment, the rise of a mass market for entertainment culture, and the modern cultures of childhood and youth.

Religion, Doubt and Secularism in Modern Britain and the US

You’ll examine the complex history of belief and unbelief, faith and reason, during a time often associated with growing secularisation. You’ll think critically about the nature of morality in the Victorian period, in particular the spiritual eclecticism of those who rejected Christian dogma.

The Reformation and the Parish Church

You’ll learn how the abstract theological debates of the Reformation had a great impact on the lives of ordinary people. The churches in which they worshipped were remodelled, and the traditional Catholic rituals and practices that governed their lives were reformed. By focusing on one key feature of the Reformation – changing attitudes towards the parish church – you’ll examine the impact the Reformation had on art, architecture, music and sculpture.

History That Was Not: Counterfactuals and Alternate History

You’ll examine the uses and abuses of counterfactual constructions in historiography and in popular culture – where alternative versions of history are proposed and explored, based on what did not happen, or what might have happened. You’ll explore counterfactual narratives in novels, games, movies and design. You’ll focus on questions of historical causality and so-called ‘laws’ of history, and the interrelations between historiography, philosophy, literature and art.

Worlds of Risk: Technology, Health and the Environment 'Risk'

You’ll reflect on the novelty of the present age, and explore questions about when and how understanding and managing risks became such a key feature of modern societies. You’ll take a critical and historical perspective on a series of contemporary risks, among them climate change and technological catastrophes, and the dangers that have accompanied the rise of new technologies, particularly synthetic chemicals, drugs, artificial foodstuffs, and the nuclear industry. You’ll focus particularly on Britain, France, Germany and the USA.

Engineering Society: Eugenics and Biopolitics, 1860-1945

You’ll examine comparative themes in the history of eugenics, racism, biopolitics and anthropology from 1800 to 1945. You’ll study the fundamental issues that have preoccupied historians of biology, science and modernity since the 1800s and combine these with specific case studies from a wide range of European countries.

The Hospital in History

You’ll explore the origins and transformations of the hospital in its social context, from the monastic hospital of the middle ages to the psychiatric hospital. You’ll develop an understanding of three core issues and how they have developed over time:

• the hospital as an organisation and institution dependent on different forms of funding
• the hospital as a site of diverse specialist personnel and patients’ shifting experiences
• the hospital as a social phenomenon, deeply embedded in local communities and communal values.

Renaissances: Space and Society in Europe, 1400-1600

You'll explore the contradictory and competing histories of the period. You'll analyse continuity and change between the 15th and 17th centuries. You'll look at:

• Political turmoil
• Cultural achievement
• Environmental change
• Demographic change
• Technological change

You'll engage with familiar stories of the Italian and Northern Renaissances. And lesser-known examples from Spain and Switzerland. You'll look at significant spaces in Renaissance cities. Engaging with the perspectives and experiences of the Renaissance. You'll use material culture and architecture, including textual sources. Revealing the impact of the Renaissance from royal courts to everyday experiences.

Studying Civil War: Russia, Spain, Greece

You’ll examine three case studies in civil conflict in the 20th century. You’ll analyse a variety of themes from international relations to the dynamics of clan violence. Through your study in this module, we aim to introduce you to the practice of comparative history, historical sociology and the analytical study of civil conflict. (This module runs in the afternoon.)

Britain and Europe, 1950-2010

You’ll look at how the subject of ‘Europe’ has come to dominate post-war British politics, splitting political parties, bringing down governments and Prime Ministers, and dividing opinion more bitterly and deeply than any other subject. We’ll attempt to assess why exactly the subject was so divisive, and examine the different views taken about ‘ever closer union’ since 1950.

Independent Study Module

Carry out independent study on a topic that fascinates you, and which is not covered by our modules. You might choose a topic that you’ve become interested in through the MA programme, or which reflects other interests. You’ll work independently, engaging directly with the primary source material. With support from your supervisor, you’ll develop your understanding of research methods. Usually, students complete an extended, research-based essay (6,000 words), although alternative forms of assessment can be permitted with your supervisor’s agreement.

Examples of topics studied include:

• Studies on asylums in the Netherlands
• American grand strategy during the Second World War
• The Battle of Arras
• Criminal gangs in London
• Russian Civil War, 1917-1922

Final project

Dissertation

This is the second compulsory, and the capstone of the MA in History. You will have the opportunity to conduct a major in-depth investigation into a historical topic of your choice, leading to the production of a 15,000-word thesis (including footnotes).

The topic may be related to one of your elective modules or may be chosen from another area of your interest. You will be supported in your research by individual supervision from a specialist tutor and by group workshops on an advanced research design that takes place in Semester 2 (for part-time students this is taken in Year 2). The dissertation is completed over the summer and is submitted on the last Friday in September.

Students who have completed the MA in History have developed a variety of careers. A significant number have gone on to undertake PhD study and secondary school history teaching. Others have taken up careers in:

• archive management
• law
• accountancy
• local government
• the civil service
• GCHQ.

All jobs require excellent research and analysis skills. Our careers service provides practical tips, training and advice for up to three years after graduation.