ObjectivesThis degree aims to give you a deeper understanding of the recent past and the contemporary world. Using a combination of historical and theoretical approaches, it lays a strong emphasis on the historical analysis of the recent past, with the overall aim of giving you specialist knowledge of particular regions or themes.
Entry requirementsEntry requirements Good degree and references.
Academic titleContemporary History and Politics (MA)
Course descriptionCore courses
-Empire, State and Nation in the Twentieth Century: provides a comparative introduction to contemporary history, ranging broadly across Europe and beyond. Topics include theories of nationalism and imperialism, the changing nature of the twentieth-century state and the impact of total war on society.
-A second core course covers research skills, and a dissertation, involving intensive research, may provide a springboard for more advanced study.
Options
You will take four options from a list which may include:
-After the Ottoman Empire
-Arab–Israeli Question
-Social History of Britain
-State Formation in Modern Europe
-Empires in Modern East Asia
-Gender in Britain
-Colonisation and Decolonisation in France
-Islam and Politics
-Themes in the Political History of Modern Japan
-Religion, Culture and Politics
-Political Change in Communist and Post-Communist States
-American Foreign Policy
-Disease and Society in Africa in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries
-Immigration and Racism in Western Europe since 1900
-The Holocaust
-The Nazi State
-Themes in Russian and Soviet History.
-Teaching
-Teaching is mostly in small seminar groups of between five and 20 students per class.
Assessment
Five essays and a dissertation of 15,000 words. Assessment in options offered through the School of Politics and Sociology includes essays and examinations.