Entry requirementsEntry requirements Normally a 2.1 honours degree or above in history or a field of the arts, humanities or social sciences. We will also consider strongly committed applicants with different qualifications or professional qualifications and relevant experience. Students from overseas need certified competence in English language in one of the following forms • British Council IELTS test band 6.5 • UCLES (Cambridge Exams Board) pass at Certificate of Proficiency in English or Certificate in Advanced English, or an A or B grade pass at First Certificate in English plus a further year’s English study • TOEFL score of 550
Academic titleMA/PgDip/PgCert History: Imperialism and Culture
Course descriptionThis distance learning course examines the relationship between imperialism and culture from the period of European expansion and colonialism to the post-colonial era.
In recent years academic interest in imperialism has moved beyond the traditional focus on economic and political concerns. There has been more interest in cultures of imperialism and their legacy in the postcolonial era.
You examine
• the role of the state in the development, evolution and maintenance (ideologically and politically) of the Empire
• the cultural impact of the Empire in Europe
• the historical roots of Britishness, nationalism and national identity
• industry and Empire
• Western concepts of the Orient, especially India
• Soviet imperialism
• Nazism, war and genocide, 1939–1945
You receive booklets for each of the modules taken containing expert analyses, guided exercises, extracts and documents and guides to further reading. Contact with teaching staff is during a weekend conference held annually. We also make extensive use of e-mail. Our website provides information to aid study and a forum for communication.
Our history department has been rated five, the highest level available, in the last Research Assessment Exercise. This means our research is rated as being of international standing.
Associated careers
You can go on to academic and teaching posts. The analytical skills and understanding gained from this course will also benefit a wide range of careers. There may be opportunities for research registration at MPhil/PhD level in the faculty’s research institute.
Course content
Core modules
• theories of imperialism • research methods/dissertation
Optional modules
• the free trade economy: industry and Empire in the nineteenth century • the Empire at home: Britain 1770–1850 • Marlowe, Shakespeare and the British Empire • the power of the powerless: Czech responses to Soviet imperialism • popular culture, nation and empire: Britain 1870–1945 • Orientalism and postcolonialism