History with American Studies BA (Hons)

You’ll discover the dramatic changes that disrupted people’s lives in Europe from the fifteenth century to the mid-eighteenth century, including religious controversy, international and civil wars, European colonialism and climate crisis.

Explore how people at the time grappled with new ways of thinking about identity and status, along with complex notions of gender and ideas of 'race'.

Learn about how people who lived through this era of change and conflict understood their world and how they sought to adapt to or change it.

You'll investigate formative political, social and cultural developments through time.

By locating events within both their specific regional contexts and also their broader global trends, you'll start to see some of the connections shaping the development of the modern world.

With guidance, you'll explore and challenge narratives of the national and regional histories to gain new perspectives on the underappreciated complexities of these histories.

On this module, you’ll learn about the social, cultural, economic and political changes which took place from the mid-eighteenth century until the end of the twentieth century, covering periods of war and peace, revolution and protest, and imperial rivalry and national unification.

You’ll explore how individuals and different communities in countries such as Britain, France, or Germany were affected by the challenges and conflicts of their times but also consider how people actively shaped the events and times they lived through.

On this module, you’ll discover how to step-up from your previous learning to the independence that's essential for success in your degree.

Reflecting upon the historical topics you’ll study each week across the degree, this module will help you gain confidence in discussing the past, presenting arguments, and in the foundational skills of university study.

On this module, you'll use a wide range of primary sources, ranging from written texts to a diverse array of non-written materials, to learn more about the lives of people in the past.

You'll also look at the uses to which historians have put primary sources, and explore questions of why and how interpretations of the past constantly evolve.

You’ll discover how within historical study our understanding constantly evolves, and how these changing understandings help us to think about the importance of history in the present.

You’ll hear your lecturers introduce important historical debates in their own field of research.

Through discussing, exploring and bringing to life a number of case studies which draw on a variety of chronological and geographical areas, this module will help you to advance your critical skills in reading and argument.

On this module, you’ll learn how the practice of academic history can be transferred and applied to a vast range of practical projects that involve thinking about, working with, or drawing-upon knowledge and understanding of the past.

You’ll also carry out a self-guided project, with support from tutors and potentially in collaboration with internal or (subject to availability) external partners. Your project will reflect the opportunities that history will provide for your future career.

You’ll analyse the powers of key institutions like the Presidency, Congress and Supreme Court, and examine federal-state relations and the influence of lobbies and civil society groups.

You’ll also explore hot-button issues like gun control, abortion and capital punishment to see political divides up close.

You’ll look at diverse genres that shed light on historical moments such as slavery, post-colonialism, suffrage, second wave feminism and post-feminism.

You’ll analyse how transnational and gender identities are constructed and expressed in a global context, honing skills for contextual literary analysis alongside independent research.

On this module, you’ll explore the evolving power of media to represent reality, sway opinion and shape identity from the age of empire through swelling post-war pop culture.

Examining sources like newspapers, propaganda films, early TV and more, you'll investigate questions like: What “truths” did the British public consume during wars and upheavals? How did entertainment and advertising convey visions of leisure, lifestyle and “the good life”? And who was included or excluded from depictions of Britishness across eras?

Discover how the media we ingest informs how we envision ourselves, our communities and aspirations - both past and present.

You’ll get familiar with the big issues and contemporary debates in education studies as well as the role and expectations of a teacher.

You’ll develops fundamental knowledge and skills that teachers require, as well as your capability to structure and critique a lesson plan.

You'll explore early modern Europe's complex world through everyday objects, analysing diverse artefacts - shoes, monuments, religious objects, food - and how they offer new perspectives for our understanding of the past and the present.

You'll consider how the study of objects can lead to new interpretations of historical narratives such as 'the consumer revolution', the development of a global economy, the emergence of new forms of inequality, and changing understandings of public and private.

You'll unearth the multiple lives and 'afterlives' of objects, engaging with debates about their significance and importance in heritage contexts in the 21st century, with access to some of the rich material culture available within the city, including the Mary Rose Museum.

You’ll evaluate sources such as legal records, cheap print, newspapers and novels, to discover what was considered a crime during this period and explore changing approaches towards ‘deviant’ behaviour.

You’ll see how behaviours we now consider private were publicly policed, and how this involved religion and the community. You’ll analyse changes from corporal punishment and torture towards modern ideas of policing.

You’ll also consider debates about the impact of urbanisation on patterns of crime, and the use of criminal prosecution as a means of social control, for example in relation to enforcing gender roles and controlling the poor.

You’ll explore the rise of the US across the twentieth century from a regional power to a global superpower and the domestic and international pressures upon the USA that caused it to go through alternating periods of isolationism and global engagement.

You’ll also delve into the two global wars and why the US entered them later than most other nations, the isolationist interwar years, the start of the Cold War, the Vietnam Conflict and the War on Terror.

You’ll analyse American texts against the backdrop of intellectual, social and political change, evaluating how writers grappled with emerging ideas around national identity, race, gender and more.

By honing skills for contextual analysis and independent thought, you’ll form your own interpretations of iconic works that reflect the American experience.

You’ll explore the rise of the US across the twentieth century from a regional power to a global superpower and the domestic and international pressures upon the USA that caused it to go through alternating periods of isolationism and global engagement.

You’ll also delve into the two global wars and why the US entered them later than most other nations, the isolationist interwar years, the start of the Cold War, the Vietnam Conflict and the War on Terror.

In this module, you’ll explore European colonisation of Africa, asking questions like - how did they justify colonial rule, and how did African peoples respond to these colonisers?

You’ll learn how, after World War II, colonial rule was increasingly challenged from both within the empire, by growing African demands for political rights, and in the international arena, with the global trend towards trusteeship, development and self-determination.

You’ll also explore European relations with Africa in the post-colonial era, looking at themes which may include ideas about civilisation, universalism and race, modern attempts to 'rehabilitate' empire in the media, and the legacies of colonialism in Britain, Europe and Africa.

With a minimum 80-hour commitment, you’ll apply what you’ve learned so far on your degree to real-world professional settings within our community of local businesses, social enterprises, and third-sector organisations.

You’ll have support from interactive workshops, tutorials, and guest speaker events, encouraging you to set achievable professional goals and evolve your professional identity.

On this module, you’ll explore key areas of the history of slavery in the Atlantic World, and highlight significant themes and debates.

Themes you’ll think about include the intersection of ideas of race, gender, and slavery, the inherent violence of the institutions of slavery, the persistent forms of resistance by the enslaved, and the development of anti-slavery thought and practices, including revolutionary action and mass campaigning.

Led by a subject specialist, you'll study how the practice and ideas related to empires and/or identities shaped the lives of people in a specific time period, and how they themselves resisted or negotiated the impositions of forms of inequality.

Example topics include:

The Opium War, 1839-1842

Explore how two empires – Great Britain and China – came into direct confrontation for the first time in the nineteenth century and how the military campaign has been remembered by successive regimes in generations afterward.

Reformers, Rebels and Refugees: Religious Identities in Elizabethan England

Investigate how a range of people supported, resisted or conformed to a period of profound religious and political change, and how identities and communities were formed and reformed in late 16th century England. 

Racism and Anti-Racism in Post-war Britain

Discover how questions of migration, race, identity, and belonging were being understood and negotiated as Britain transitioned away from its role as an imperial power. Examine the various ways in which people experienced racism, and as well as the myriad means by which this discrimination was challenged. 

The Making of the German Nation: Germany during the Nineteenth and Twentieth Century

Examine the fluid concept of German national identity across a turbulent history spanning war, empire, division and crisis. You’ll discover how Germans defined themselves and their nation from the early 19th century through Nazism's ascent and the difficult rebuilding of broken post-war societies. 

These cultures reflected perspectives on the world and changing values, revealing important insights into the hopes, fears, and identities of people and society.

Many forms of popular culture have substantial historical roots - including literature and music - whilst others are very modern - such as film and television.

You'll start by studying two topics, before deciding to specialise in one of these for your final assessment.

Example topics may include:

Cinema-Going in Wartime Britain

Explore how cinema functioned as both a form of propaganda and escapism in wartime Britain, and examine the ways that class, gender and national identities were challenged, negotiated and reinforced on and off the screen. 

Accidents and Safety in Britain, c.1850-1970

Examine how accidents and risks tell us about the ways modern British society was structured, including people’s day-to-day concerns, how they lived their lives and how aspects such as class and gender had an impact on people’s safety.

Magic and Modernity: Supernatural Britain, 1800-1920

Investigate the changing nature of magic, the occult and supernatural beliefs in the nineteenth century. This history of the modern supernatural causes us to rethink how we view Victorian and Edwardian society and culture.   

On this module, you’ll analyse constructions of masculinity across US culture, interrogating literary and cinematic stereotypes.

You’ll work in groups to compare key theories and concepts, and consider how ideas of masculinity relate to other cultural and social constructs such as gender, nationality, race, class and sexuality.

It's up to you what your dissertation or project is about – this will be your chance to showcase your passion for history by choosing a subject area or topic that most interests you.

You'll draw on everything you’ve learned so far to investigate, analyse, craft and refine your dissertation or project, using existing texts, sources and artefacts to support your arguments and give them context. You'll have the support of a dedicated dissertation tutor to guide you throughout this module.

This real-world, project-based module lets you address an identified need or gap by designing an innovative product, service or resource.

With support from university staff and external partners, you'll demonstrate critical thinking, ethical awareness and project management abilities.

Your final project and presentation will showcase your employability and capacity for high-impact solutions.

You’ll place the rights struggles in the USA of the twentieth century into a national and global perspective.

You’ll explore theories and strategies of activism, from integration and non-violence to radical concepts of resistance and tactics against mainstream white power structures.

You’ll also learn about social movement theory and discover the connections between the African American civil rights movement and other rights movements, including first and second wave feminism, Native American activism, LBGTQI+ movements, Hispanic/Latinix identities and Asian American groups.

You'll investigate diverse definitions and famous examples of the genre from across the globe, honing advanced textual analysis skills.

Through lively debates, you'll explore magical realism's relationship with history, culture and narrative form, focusing on issues including postcoloniality, the limits of realism, postmodern narratorial techniques, historiography and transculturation.