About the Courses

Modules

Core modules

Discovering Your Inner Academic (SSC301)

In this module, students will learn the core academic and organisational skills required to succeed at university. They will benefit from a range of skill development sessions and subject-specific seminars, allowing them to practice applying the delivered academic skills in the context of their field of study.

Individual Project (SSC302)

Students will undertake, with supervision, an individual project related to their degree programme. Staff will guide students through the process of defining, planning, and setting up their project. As part of the module, students will gain research and time management skills that will support their successful progression through their degree programme.

Imagining the Past (SSC305)

This module will introduce three concepts central to historical study in the Humanities: Time; Space; and Experience. Students will work with a range of sources to understand how the Humanities engage with the past. Students will develop the tools needed for progression to Higher Education, with a particular focus on analysing textual materials and essay-writing.

Literature, History and Visual Cultures (SSC306)

This module explores the key texts and voices that have changed the ways in which we think and write the Humanities. It will investigate how thinkers, poets and writers have shaped our contemporary world, and the ways in which we study it. Based on this, this module will also explore the ways in which literature, art, film, media, memory and heritage impact on history and writing today. Students will examine a range of classic and contemporary literary texts as well as visual and media sources and consider the role of technologies in the Humanities. The module will be constructed around the exploration of key themes, for example gender and sexuality, faith, war, and race and ethnicity, using interdisciplinary approaches to identify how they have shaped the Humanities of the 21st century.

Year 1

In your first year, you’ll get to know the key concepts of history, studying six modules designed to give you a firm foundation in historical methodology while helping you develop practical skills. You’ll study the subject from a broad range of perspectives exploring developments in world, US, European and British history.

Core modules

What is History? (HIS4001)

What is History? – provides an overview of how the discipline of history operates, and looks at some of the key skills associated with the subject.

America from Settlement to Empire (HIS4002)

This module aims to provide an introduction to major themes in the political, social and cultural evolution of the United States from 1492 to the end of the 19th Century. It aims to emphasise links to Europe and to give students a broad perspective on their historical studies. It will also provide students with an introduction to use of electronic sources in the study of American history and to the development of vital skills in critical thinking and academic writing.

World History since 1850 (HIS4003)

This module is an introduction to major themes in the political, social and cultural history of the modern world beyond Europe.

Fractured Isles: Britain and Ireland 1640-1990 (HIS4004)

The module is an introduction to the major themes in political, social and cultural history of Britain and Ireland in the period 1640-1900. This module will include 2, 2 hour talks that introduce our School and programme level employability related opportunities and support, including details of the optional placement year.

Fighting for Survival: Living and Dying in Early Modern Europe, 1450-1700 (HIS4005)

This module introduces students to the political, social, cultural and religious history of Early Modern Europe, 1450-1700.

History and Heritage (HIS4006)

This module introduces students to the field of heritage studies. It directs attention to how historians do heritage (and history) for an external audience. It aims to explore the materials and methods used and how they apply to how we understand, interpret and shape how we live with the past today. Students will study a specific topic in history and heritage individually and/or in small groups through problem based learning with an assessment geared towards public engagement.

Year 2

During your second year, you’ll have the chance to choose from a range of modules as you develop your historical knowledge and skills. Experience visual, oral, material and archival research – undertaking interviews with living witnesses, examining visual sources and delving into original sources.In your second year you will have the opportunity to try modules from other disciplines as part of our 21st Century Curriculum.

You can also take the opportunity to study in the USA or Canada for up to a year.