COURSE CURRICULUM

The BA Modern and Contemporary History degree at Aberystwyth University offers a structured study of historical developments from the French Revolution to the present day, combining core and optional modules to provide both breadth and depth. In the first year, students build a foundation with modules such as Introduction to History, alongside options that explore sources, historiography, European history, medieval and early modern Britain, Welsh history, and the modern world. The second year develops research skills and historical understanding through the core module Making History, while students can select from diverse options including propaganda in Southeast Asia, medieval chronicles, the Civil Rights Movement, Victorian society, environmental history, famines, the European Reformation, the development of Wales, modern Japan, the Reconstruction Era in the United States, Weimar Germany, and political culture in medieval England and Norway. In the final year, students complete a dissertation while choosing from an extensive range of specialized modules covering British social and industrial history, Colombian Republican history, Victorian culture, environmental history, medieval famines, modern Japan, the English Reformation, the Ku Klux Klan, and Welsh history. This combination of core and elective modules encourages critical analysis, independent research, and a comprehensive understanding of modern and contemporary historical processes, equipping graduates with skills applicable in research, education, heritage, and policy-oriented careers.