COURSE CURRICULUM

The History BA (Hons) degree offers an extensive exploration of the past, helping students understand how societies, states, and ideas have evolved and influenced the modern world. In the first year, students develop essential research and analytical skills through modules such as Researching and Presenting the Past, Global York: A Social and Cultural History of the City, War and Society, The Visible Past, People and Nature: An Environmental History, United States: Empire of Liberty?, and A Century in Crisis, providing a broad introduction to historical inquiry and contextual understanding. The second year allows for deeper engagement with specific periods, themes, and regions, including modules on kingship in late medieval England, society in early modern England, Tudor women, Soviet communism, Victorian society, American history from the Civil War to the 1960s, slavery, and the development of China from empire to communism. Students also explore history writing and historiography, combining creative and analytical approaches to understand the past. In the final year, students undertake a dissertation and select from special subject modules, enabling focused research on areas of personal interest while applying critical and methodological skills. The program equips graduates with the ability to analyse historical sources, construct informed arguments, and communicate insights effectively, preparing them for careers in education, heritage, research, journalism, public policy, and other fields requiring strong analytical and interpretive skills.