History | BA (Hons) | University of Lincoln

Course Overview

History may be concerned with questions about the past, but the knowledge it reveals is relevant to how we think about ourselves and our place within society today.

BA (Hons) History at Lincoln is distinctive in the breadth of topics that students can choose to study. These include British, European, Chinese, and American history, from the Roman Empire to the end of the 20th Century.

Students of history have the opportunity to acquire skills of analysis, argument, and communication which can help them to develop as individuals, as responsible contributors to organisations, and as articulate, critical members of a democratic society. There is an emphasis on the critical examination and interpretation of primary source materials, which includes newspapers, probate documents, films, caricatures, novels, works of art, architecture, and oral testimony.

Home to a 1000-year-old cathedral, a medieval castle, and an original 1215 Magna Carta, Lincoln is a great city in which to study history. The programme makes extensive use of specialist local resources including Lincoln's historic buildings, the Lincoln Cathedral archives, and the Collection.

Why Choose Lincoln

Subject area ranked top 20 in the UK for student satisfaction*

Access specialist resources at local archives

The historic city of Lincoln provides the ideal backdrop to your studies

A wide range of optional modules

Study abroad at one of our partner institutions around the globe

Undertake work placements at museums, heritage sites, schools and charities.

*Complete University Guide 2025 (out of 90 ranking institutions).

How You Study

The History programme at Lincoln is distinctive in that it provides students with an opportunity to engage with a wide range of periods and cultures. Modules range chronologically from the period of the Roman Empire, through the medieval and early modern periods, to the twentieth century, and geographically from Britain to Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas.

The programme offers a variety of interdisciplinary approaches to the study of history including the use of film, literature, and visual and material culture, and staff specialisms include medieval studies, political history, media history, gender studies, the history of science, museum history, the history of art, film, and popular culture.

The first year provides students with the chance to develop a solid foundation of historical knowledge and introduces the historical skills required to undertake more advanced work later in the programme. It also provides students with the opportunity to develop a broader set of skills that may prove useful beyond university.

The first year consists of eight modules which cover history from the ancient world through the medieval and early modern periods right up to the 21st Century. There are two skills modules that aim to develop the attributes necessary to tackle university-level work and that examine the historian's craft. There are two survey modules which examine European history from the medieval period to the 20th Century. The remaining core modules focus on visual culture, gender, sexuality, and imperialism whilst students can choose one optional module in semester B. The range of options varies from year to year and may include American History, Chinese History, History of Art, Conservation, Classical Studies, or Philosophy.

In both the second and the third years, you will study two compulsory modules and a further six modules chosen from a range of optional modules based on the research and specialisms of our own historians. Please note that as a research intensive department, subjects may occasionally be unavailable where the relevant historian is on research leave.

Students undertaking this course may have the option to study overseas for a semester in the second year at one of the University's partner institutions in Europe or North America, giving them the opportunity to discover new cultures and experiences. Students are responsible for their travel, accommodation, and general living costs during the term overseas.

Modules

† Some courses may offer optional modules. The availability of optional modules may vary from year to year and will be subject to minimum student numbers being achieved. This means that the availability of specific optional modules cannot be guaranteed. Optional module selection may also be affected by staff availability.

Critical Thinking and Writing 2025-26HST1033MLevel 42025-26This module aims to equip students with the skills necessary to communicate their learning in an academic environment, and also supports students in adjusting to the demands of higher education. The core objective of the module is to develop students’ critical thinking and writing skills.CoreEmpires: Power and Resistance 2025-26HST1037MLevel 42025-26This module aims to provide students with a survey of imperial histories, at the same time as introducing some key conceptual and analytical tools for understanding the history of colonialism in a variety of pre-modern and modern contexts, from the perspectives of both colonisers and colonised.CoreForging the Modern State 2025-26HST1036MLevel 42025-26This module provides a thematic survey of European and Atlantic history from the mid-eighteenth century to the final decades of the twentieth century, structured around the research interests of members of the module teaching team. This survey provides an overview of key moments in modern history from 1750-1979, and addresses the complex development of states primarily in western Europe but with attention to the growing influence of the United States and Russia.CoreIntroduction to Visual and Material Culture 2025-26HST1038MLevel 42025-26This module is designed as an introduction to visual and material culture, embracing the history of art and architecture, historical archaeology, and the conservation of historical buildings. It aims to enable students to interrogate visual and material objects throughout the past and to understand their functions and possible meanings of visual and material objects as primary sources.CoreRepresenting the Past 2025-26HST1032MLevel 42025-26This module provides students with the opportunity to explore the ways in which the past has been preserved, displayed, reconstructed and represented in contemporary Britain as well as in earlier decades. It will examine themes such as: Why is the past popular? Who owns the past? and, What is the past used for today?CoreThe Historian’s Craft 2025-26HST1035MLevel 42025-26This module is designed to enable students’ to develop their research skills in history and their understanding of research as a process of inquiry. Students have the opportunity to deepen skills developed in the first term, such as essay writing in history and information literacy, by working alongside staff from the School in analysing primary and secondary sources relating to specific approaches to History.CoreThe Medieval World 2025-26HST1031MLevel 42025-26This module offers an introduction to the sources, approaches and methods necessary for the study of the medieval world. Lectures provide a survey of key moments in medieval history from 300-1500, structured around the research specialisms of the module teaching team. The module focuses on issues of religion and power in the Middle Ages, while there is a strong methodological focus on the materiality of the medieval period.CoreA World History of Art and Architecture 1: from Antiquity to the Revivals. 2025-26AHS1004MLevel 42025-26This is a survey module that covers the development of art, architecture and design from ancient times through to the nineteenth century revivals in order to develop students' understanding of the history of the creative disciplines. It is composed of three elements: it offers an historical and theoretical overview in which to study art, architecture and design; it examines major trends in Western Art, and; it is geographically expansive and responds to theories of global and transregional research and teaching of art, architecture and design. The module will examine paintings, sculpture, architecture and a wide variety of media and their theoretical understandings. It will also investigate how political and social structures fostered the creation of art, architecture and design. In addition to Western art, students will have the opportunity to learn about artistic and architectural production in a wide variety of regions in the world, including Latin America, Africa and Asia.OptionalA World History of Art and Architecture 2: Tradition, Change and Modernity 2025-26AHS1005MLevel 42025-26This survey module examines art, architecture and design in the nineteenth, twentieth and twenty-first centuries. The module introduces artistic and architectural developments in the nineteenth century and how they evolved into Modernism and its cultural transformation into Postmodernism and contemporary artistic practice. During the development of the module, students will focus on historic revivals, Art Nouveau, Abstract ion, Abstract Expressionism, Conceptual Art, and British Art at the end of the twentieth centuryOptionalAncient Mythology 2025-26CLS1009MLevel 42025-26This module introduces some of the Classical literature from Greek and Roman times. Students have the opportunity to engage with a selection of texts to develop an understanding of Greek and Roman society, culture and thought. Texts also serve to illustrate how the Classical world was in some ways similar, and in others dramatically different, to our own, and highlights some of the themes which continue to make it fascinating and inspiring to modern observers.OptionalArchaic and Classical Greece 2025-26CLS1001MLevel 42025-26This module introduces students to the history of ancient Greece in the archaic and classical periods. Students will examine the emergence of Greek societies and city states (poleis), the various invasions of Greece by the Persians and their defeats at Marathon, Salamis and Plataea, competition between Athens and Sparta. The module emphasises how different primary sources can be applied to the study of the archaic and classical Greek world, as well as considering different scholarly interpretations of these periods.OptionalArchaic and Republican Rome 2025-26CLS1005MLevel 42025-26This module surveys the political, social, economic and cultural history of the Roman world as a complex conversation amongst written, material and visual evidence, each not only supplementing the others but often contributing new and otherwise unheard voices. We will explore the experiences of living, dying, working and worshipping in the Roman world from the earliest evidence for the city of Rome to the diverse cultures of far-flung provinces. Through an examination of the dynamic and varied evidence of art, archaeology, architecture, epigraphy and ancient histories, we will discover and question what it meant to live under the rule of Rome.OptionalChairman Mao and Twentieth-Century China 2025-26HST1041MLevel 42025-26Chairman Mao and Twentieth-Century China introduces students to one of the most important and controversial political figures in the twentieth century: the Communist revolutionary and founding father of the People’s Republic of China, Mao Zedong (1893-1976). Using Mao as the point of anchorage, some of the key developments in twentieth-century China are explored: the demise of the Qing Dynasty, the May Fourth New Culture Movement, the Sino-Japanese War and Civil War, the Sino-Soviet Split, the Great Leap Forward and Anti-Rightist Movement, the Cultural Revolution, as well as the Reform period that followed Mao’s death and that produced China’s “economic miracle” in the 1980s-1990s. No prior knowledge of Chinese history, Chinese language, or Marxist philosophy is required.OptionalClassical Art and Archaeology: from Knossos to Constantinople 2025-26CLS1007MLevel 42025-26This module offers an introduction to the art and archaeology of the Classical world. Students have the opportunity to examine methods, themes and evidence relating to the ancient world through materials such as objects, art/visuals, architecture and archaeological remains, and learn how these can be used to make interpretations of society in the Greek and Roman worlds. Students have the opportunity to engage with some of the most significant examples of material culture from the ancient world, and develop an understanding of the characters and artistic styles of different cultures and periods such as Minoan, Mycenaean, Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic, Etruscan, Archaic/early Roman, Republican, Imperial and Late Antique.OptionalConservation Science 1 2025-26CON1018MLevel 42025-26This module is designed to introduce students to basic chemistry concepts, and the scientific study of materials commonly found in cultural heritage. Students may develop a systematic approach to scientific investigation and examination of historic objects and an understanding to the nature of different materials, technological factors and the processes of deterioration.OptionalDiscovering global interconnectedness: approaches to transnational modern history. 2025-26HST1043MLevel 42025-26OptionalElementary Latin I 2025-26CLS1004MLevel 42025-26This module aims to provide an introduction to the basics of Latin for students with little to no prior experience of the language. Students can gain the ability to translate and interpret sentences and short passages in prose and verse with confidence. This can aid sensitive reading of primary sources from the Classical world in translation, as well as in the original at higher levels of study. Please note: those students with A-Level Latin or equivalent, subject to successfully sitting a diagnostic Latin test before the first term of their first year, may choose to take ‘The Medieval World’ or ‘Empire and After: Colonialism and its Consequences’ instead of this module, however, they are required to continue their language studies in Elementary Latin II.OptionalElementary Latin II 2025-26CLS1008MLevel 42025-26This module aims to provide a continued introduction to the basics of Latin for students with little to no prior experience of the language. Students can refine their ability to translate and interpret sentences and short to medium-length passages in prose and verse up to advanced difficulty. This can aid sensitive reading of primary sources from the Classical world in translation, as well as in the original at higher levels of study.OptionalGreat Thinkers in Philosophy from Classical to Modern Times 2025-26PHL1003MLevel 42025-26This is a survey module introducing students to the main ideas of some of the key philosophical thinkers of both the pre-modern and modern periods that have helped to shape Western culture and philosophy (e.g., Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, Locke Berkeley, Hume, Kant, Hegel, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Sartre, Wittgenstein). As well as knowledge of what the great philosophers have said about the big questions of metaphysics, epistemology, and philosophy of mind, this module aims to provide students with a map with which to navigate later developments in Western philosophy.OptionalIntroduction to Moral Philosophy 2025-26PHL1004MLevel 42025-26This module is designed to introduce students to the three areas of discussion in contemporary moral philosophy. Metaethics is concerned with the nature of morality itself and questions such as ‘Are there moral facts?’, ‘If there are moral facts, what is their origin?’. Normative ethics is the attempt to provide a general theory that tells us how to live and enables us to determine what is morally right and wrong. Applied ethics involves the application of ethical principles to specific moral issues (e.g., abortion, euthanasia, animal rights) and the evaluation of the answers arrived at through this application. This module aims to introduce students to all three of these branches of ethics.OptionalMaterials, Techniques, Technologies in the History of Art 2025-26AHS1001MLevel 42025-26This module explores the relevance of materials and artistic techniques in the understanding and analysis of art and material culture. The concept of materiality has an increasing prominence in the intellectual discourse of Art History, and this module will allow students to engage with this theoretical framework by exploring the relevance of materials and techniques, the processes through which artefacts are constructed. The last part of the module will introduce students to a selection of technologies (especially digital technologies) that assist scholars in the investigation of the past, such as photography, digital mapping and virtual heritage visualisation. In this way, students will be exposed to these technologies not only as investigation tools that they might use, but also as potential career pathways.OptionalPhilosophical Texts 2025-26PHL1008MLevel 42025-26This module introduces students to selected seminal works in the history of philosophy. Students will be required to develop a detailed knowledge of two texts and of relevant aspects of their historical background. Sample texts (which are subject to change in line with staff teaching availability) include Plato’s Meno, Descartes’ Meditations on First Philosophy, Berkeley’s Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge, Hume’s An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, Kant’s Prolegomena To Any Future Metaphysics.OptionalThe Tudor and Stuart World: An Introduction to Early Modern History 2025-26HST1046Level 42025-26The Tudor and Stuart era (1485-1714) witnessed political revolutions, religious reformations, social upheaval, cultural transformation and expanding global horizons. This module offers students an introduction to the sources, approaches and methods used by historians to understand this pivotal period. Besides engaging with Lincoln’s early modern past, students will also consider the merits of British (as opposed to Anglo-centric) perspectives and explore the nature of colonial rule in Ireland and the Atlantic world that marked the beginnings of Britain’s empire. There will also be a stress on thinking about how historians can recover the stories of peoples hidden in the archive or omitted from older scholarship, including black and non-elite experiences of life in early modern Britain. Lectures will provide a survey of the political, religious, social and cultural history of the Tudor and Stuart period. Seminars will give students the opportunity to engage with primary sources and to build their confidence and skills in researching and analysing pre-modern materials.OptionalThe United States from Colonies to Civil War 2025-26HST1044MLevel 42025-26This module is a chronological survey of US history from the first colonial settlements to the Civil War. It aims to develop basic knowledge to prepare students for more specialist American history options at Levels 2 and 3. Within the chronological framework the module will explore a number of themes including Native American-European relations, colony-mother country relations, the formation of the American republic, the debate over slavery and Civil War.OptionalThe United States since Reconstruction 2025-26HST1045MLevel 42025-26This module is a chronological survey of US history from Reconstruction to the present. It aims to develop basic knowledge to prepare students for more specialist American history options at Levels 2 and 3. In particular it introduces key themes including the struggle for equality, the character and scope of the US government and the role of the US in the world.OptionalDissertations and Beyond 2026-27HST2020MLevel 52026-27This module aims to prepare students for designing their dissertation (independent study) proposals and for applying to jobs and postgraduate programmes. Students will explore how to prepare for and ensure success in their dissertations, employment, and study/research by identifying and articulating their transferable skills, breadth of knowledge, expertise, and interests. The module will provide information on how to become aware of opportunities, to plan and prepare for the future, and to build on their undergraduate careers.CoreNew Directions in History 2026-27HST2001MLevel 52026-27This module aims to introduce students to the different approaches to the study of history which have developed, with a particular focus on twentieth-century ideas and innovations, such as ‘history from below’, women’s and gender history, history of sexuality, cultural history, post-colonial approaches, and recent developments in the field. Students will be encouraged to think critically and creatively about how history has developed within the academy, as a particular branch of knowledge and as a discipline with its own rules and procedures.Core100 Years of Photography: Images, History and Impact 1839-1939 2026-27AHS2008MLevel 52026-27This module will explore the development and cultural impact of the first 100 years of photography. Initially driven by the commercial viability of portraiture, photography soon inspired a range of professional, artistic and amateur practitioners in the nineteenth century. Photographic innovation in the early twentieth century exerted a significant influence on the way that modernists sought to represent the world. Street photography emerged as a new insistent type of realism and represented urban experience in new ways. The social power of photography was spread through increasingly affordable cameras and propagated through print media. Students will learn to analyse images and explore how photographs functioned to produce and exert power.OptionalAccessing Ordinary Lives: Interpreting and Understanding Voices from the Past, 1880 – present 2026-27HST2052MLevel 52026-27This module provides students with the opportunity to resurrect and understand the ordinary lives of people like themselves and their forebears from the sources available to us. The course picks up on both well-established and recent trends in historical research that have sought to give voice to ordinary people and promote from the historical records the lives of marginalised people such as homosexuals, women, children, the working classes, ethnic minorities alongside more familiar narratives of the great and the good.OptionalAesthetics 2026-27PHL2002MLevel 52026-27This module introduces students to philosophical questions about the nature of art and beauty. For example: What is art? Can anything be a work of art? Can a pile of elephant dung be art? Is beauty objectively real or only ‘in the eye of the beholder’? Can aesthetic judgements be right or wrong? Is Beethoven better than Beyoncé? Is Shakespeare better than Eastenders? Or are aesthetic disputes like deciding between the merits of different flavours of ice cream? Students can also consider questions that arise in relation to specific artforms: How is it possible to respond emotionally towards the plight of fictional characters that are known not to exist? Do rock/pop music and classical music require different aesthetic criteria for their appreciation and evaluation? Why do we take pleasure in the aesthetic representation of tragic events? Students will be guided through their reading of various classical and contemporary works on such issues, and encouraged to think for themselves about the problems addressed.OptionalAlexander the Great and his Legacy: the Hellenistic World 2026-27CLS2009MLevel 52026-27This module provides a survey of the history and archaeology of the eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East between the reign of Alexander the Great and the death of Cleopatra VII after the Roman victory at the Battle of Actium in 30 BC. Students will have the opportunity to explore the political histories, power structures, cultural developments, economic processes and shifting ideologies associated with the major Hellenistic kingdoms and ending with the Roman conquest of the eastern Mediterranean region. Teaching also considers how the Hellenistic period was a time of innovation, cultural connectivity, even globalisation, laying the foundations of a Hellenized world of city-states which endured into and defined the Roman construction of a world empire in its aftermath.OptionalArt and Power: Projecting Authority in the Renaissance World 2026-27AHS2007MLevel 52026-27Renaissance monarchs often employed artistic display to project royal authority. Ruling elites commissioned pieces of art not only for the embellishment of their residences, but also as a suitable vehicle to display authority. Kings and Queens commissioned tapestries, sculptures, royal palaces, or lavishly decorated printed books that narrated their achievements and omitted their failures. This module examines the diverse ways rulers and their entourage imagined and created an image of kingship through the visual arts.OptionalBeing Black in 20th century Britain 2026-27HST2093MLevel 52026-27OptionalBritons and Romans, 100 BC-AD 450 2026-27CLS2019MLevel 52026-27This module examines how and why the culture of Britain changed in the period of increasing contact with, and eventual incorporation into, the Roman Empire. Examining the key material, behavioural, ideological and structural changes to society in the period c. 100 BC to AD 450, it will question to what degree each aspect was a wholesale incorporation of ‘foreign’ ideas, technologies and goods, a local interpretation and adoption of these importations into an existing social system, or a local creation that was distinctly Romano-British, if often termed ‘Roman’.OptionalClassical Reception: from Medieval to Modern 2026-27CLS2022MLevel 52026-27Students can gain an introduction to the historical and archaeological sources, approaches and methods necessary for the study of the ancient world. Lectures provide a survey of key moments in history, 1000 BC-AD 400, structured around the research specialisms of the module teaching team.OptionalClassics in Context 2026-27CLS2003MLevel 52026-27This module gives students the opportunity to read one text (in translation) closely and discuss sections each week with a tutor. It offers the opportunity to develop skills in textual analysis, including researching an author; assessing the intended audience; and considering the social/political context, the significance of genre and style, and other factors in how we interpret and understand a text. Students also compare and critique research that has used the text and explore the possibilities it has to serve as primary evidence for the study of the ancient world.OptionalDecolonising the Past 2026-27HST2089MLevel 52026-27Beginning with the Royal Historical Society’s “Race, Ethnicity and Equality Report” (published in 2018), which raises urgent questions on the diversity of staff, students and curricula at History departments in UK universities, the module analyses live debates on “Decolonising the Curriculum” in higher education. We critique how histories of Empire, colonialism and slavery have been taught in Anglo-American settings, and introduce postcolonial analysis on archives, as well as the “Global South” and “indigenous knowledge” that have often been marginalised in Eurocentric historiographies. Turning towards the University as a key apparatus of power in the contemporary world, the module then reveals the complex legacies of slavery in the making of a number of UK and US institutions including Liverpool, Bristol, Oxford (#RhodesMustFall), SOAS, University of Virginia and others. Introducing the new field of “Critical University Studies” (CUS), students will learn about the emergence of universities in former colonies including India and South Africa, as well as the phenomenon of “transnational education” that entails the establishment, by prestigious European and American institutions, of satellite campuses around the world. The module then unpacks public understandings of colonial history via recent scholarship on nationalism, patriotism, museums and memories, and ends with a hopeful reflection on pedagogies that will be more inclusive and intersectional in terms of race, class, gender, and sexual orientation. This module will be particularly suited to students who intend to develop careers in education.OptionalDigital Heritage 2026-27CON2054MLevel 52026-27The cultural heritage sector increasingly offers opportunities for the application of digital technologies as communication, research and recording tools. This module enables students to become familiar with some of these advanced recording techniques for the study and recording of objects.OptionalDisease, Health, and the Body in Early Modern Europe 2026-27HST2044MLevel 52026-27This module examines how physicians, other practitioners, and the public understood the body, disease, and health in the early modern period. Although the medical system of Galen (2nd century AD) and humoral medicine guided Western medicine until the 1800s, between 1500-1700 there were major challenges to this traditional system. The work of elites such as Paracelsus and Van Helmont (chemical medicine), Vesalius (anatomy), Harvey (circulation and respiratory physiology) will be placed in a greater religious, social, and cultural context.OptionalEarly Modern Family: Households in England c.1500-1750 2026-27HST2038MLevel 52026-27The module looks at a number of ways in which historians have studied the family in Britain between c.1500 and 1800. It will examine a range of historical approaches from the demographic to the more qualitative and anthropological. Close attention is paid to the problems historians of the pre-industrial family confront in their examination of the surviving primary sources.OptionalElementary Greek I 2026-27CLS2014MLevel 52026-27This module aims to provide an introduction to the basics of Greek for students with little to no prior experience of the language. Students can gain the ability to translate and interpret sentences and short passages in prose and verse up to intermediate difficulty. This can aid sensitive reading of primary sources from the Classical world in translation, as well as in the original at higher levels of study.OptionalElementary Greek II 2026-27CLS2007MLevel 52026-27This module aims to provide a continued introduction to the basics of Greek for students with little to no prior experience of the language. Students can refine their ability to translate and interpret sentences and short to medium-length passages in prose and verse up to advanced difficulty. This helps develop a foundation for sensitive reading of primary sources from the Classical world in translation, as well as in the original at higher levels of study.OptionalElementary Latin I (Second Year) 2026-27CLS2023Level 52026-27This module aims to provide an introduction to the basics of Latin for students with little to no prior experience of the language. Students can gain the ability to translate and interpret sentences and short passages in prose and verse with confidence. This can aid sensitive reading of primary sources from the Classical world in translation, as well as in the original at higher levels of study. Please note: those students with A-Level Latin or equivalent, subject to successfully sitting a diagnostic Latin test before the first term of their first year, may choose to take ‘The Medieval World’ or ‘Empire and After: Colonialism and its Consequences’ instead of this module, however, they are required to continue their language studies in Elementary Latin II.OptionalElementary Latin II (Second Year) 2026-27CLS2018MLevel 52026-27This module aims to provide a continued introduction to the basics of Latin for students with little to no prior experience of the language. Students can refine their ability to translate and interpret sentences and short to medium-length passages in prose and verse up to advanced difficulty. This can aid sensitive reading of primary sources from the Classical world in translation, as well as in the original at higher levels of study.OptionalExistentialism and Phenomenology 2026-27PHL2006MLevel 52026-27The aim of this module is to give students a thorough understanding of two intimately related philosophical traditions that came to prominence in the 19th and 20th centuries: existentialism and phenomenology. Each attempts to address the nature and meaning of human existence from the perspective of individual, first-person experience, focusing in particular on fundamental questions of being, meaning, death, nihilism, freedom, responsibility, value, human relations, and religious faith. The module will examine selected existential themes through the writings of thinkers such as Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Sartre, De Beauvoir, and Camus. Since existentialism is as much a artistic phenomenon as a philosophical one, students will also be given the opportunity to explore existentialist ideas in the works of various literary figures, such as Shakespeare, Dostoyevsky, Kafka, and Milan Kundera.OptionalExperiencing and Remembering Civil War in Britain 2026-27HST2066MLevel 52026-27The civil wars that raged across England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland in the mid-seventeenth century were among the most turbulent and exhilarating times in British history. This module explores the diverse ways in which the wars were explained, experienced and remembered by those who lived through them. Students can consider the extent to which this period, often described as one of 'revolution', left a lasting impression on British society, culture, religion and politics.OptionalExploring the Digital Past: Introduction to Digital Humanities 2026-27HST2100Level 52026-27Explore a wide range of cutting-edge digital approaches to studying the past through a significant and growing area of research, the digital humanities. By studying this module, you can focus on developing the practical skills, techniques, and methodologies that can play a vital role in your future studies and career. The module provides opportunities to enhance, analyse, and interpret humanistic endeavours through approaches such as social network analysis, digital mapping, data visualisation, and textual analysis. You can also explore the impact and potential of artificial intelligence on the study of humanities in the digital worlds.OptionalFighting for Peace? Politics, Society and War in the Modern Era 2026-27HST2086MLevel 52026-27The modern period has often been understood as a time when peace was considered the natural state of societies, where states and non-governmental groups have been concerned with achieving a lasting peace and avoiding repetitions of bloody conflict. Wars, however, have not become a thing of the past, and today we live in a condition of seemingly permanent war where civilians are often the primary targets. This module will look at how ideas and practices of war have altered in the last few hundred years, and how these notions have been contested and challenged. The module asks where these ideas came from, and how concepts of war and peace, and violence and non-violence have been reframed in various ways. The course is focussed on the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and moves chronologically from the Napoleonic wars, to contemporary conflicts through a series of case studies that cover wars, diplomacy, the aftermath of wars, and peace movements. Each case study will draw on key themes which run throughout the module, including pacifism, militarism, imperialism, culture, race, gender and nationalism.OptionalFrom ‘Bright Young Things’ to Brexit: British media and society since 1919 2026-27HST2079MLevel 52026-27This module examines British media and society in Britain from the end of World War I, through World War II, and into the uncertain waters of the postwar period and the 21st century. A range of domestic and international factors that shaped modern Britain will be investigated throughout the module, including the interwar slump, World War II, decolonisation, increased immigration, the ‘decline’ of the welfare state, the ‘Troubles’ in Ireland, the election of Margaret Thatcher as Prime Minister, and Britain’s unsteady relationship with Europe. These events not only shaped Britain itself but also occurred in dialogue with the increasingly powerful role of media in the 20th and 21st centuries. This module will bring specific attention to the ways in which the press, cinema, radio, television, music, and also the web reflected, engaged with, and sometimes shaped popular understandings of society, culture, and politics in the period. We will examine this history of media in conjunction with a history of British society in order to investigate claims by historians that a ‘democratic culture’ emerged in 20th century Britain.OptionalFrom Bruce Lee to BTS: East Asia and Popular Culture 2026-27HST2099Level 52026-27East Asian cultural products such as cinema, pop music, television programmes, and comics have taken the world by storm in recent years. Together, these products and their industries have exposed East Asian popular culture and its influences to new audiences in new markets. This module aims to historicise East Asian popular culture, and perceptions and representations of East Asians in other popular cultures. It aims to equip students with a broader understanding of some of the processes and influences behind the rise of contemporary East Asian popular cultures. No prior knowledge of any East Asian languages is required.OptionalFrom King Alfred to the Anarchy: Society, Politics and State-building in England, 871-1153 2026-27HST2095Level 52026-27King Alfred, Viking invasions, the Norman Conquest, Domesday Book, wars of succession spilling over the Channel into Normandy: some of the most emblematic and controversial moments and monuments of English history date to the period students will encounter in this module. But did this period really see the birth of England? How was the modest kingdom of Wessex of the late ninth century transformed in the following two centuries into a state that some historians believe to have been unusually precocious, innovative and efficient in its governing structures? What role did other parties and peoples from the British Isles and further afield play in these developments? And after the extraordinary events of 1066 – which saw England conquered by the Normans – how do we explain a subsequent political crisis so devastating that the survival of the kingdom itself was in doubt by the middle of the twelfth century? These questions lie at the heart of this module, which will ask students to examine primary sources and engage in longstanding historiographical debates on a weekly basis. Special attention will be paid to showing students how historians use source materials of varying kinds from the Middle Ages to develop, nuance or challenge rival interpretations of this formative period in the early English, Anglo-Scandinavian, and Anglo-Norman worlds; in the process, students will increase their knowledge, broaden their skills, and begin to think about the exciting challenges historians face when trying to understand the many complex and contested aspects of England’s medieval past. This module will show students that the origins of the country we now know as England merit close and detailed examination. For while historians argue about whether England existed in a recognisable form in 871 when King Alfred became king of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Wessex, that England not only existed by the middle of the twelfth century but was one of the most powerful kingdoms in Europe, its territorial influence spreading far beyond the Channel, is a matter of consensus. How and when did an idea of England take shape and what were the formative historical processes that made that idea reality? An exploration of these ideas underpins this module, which will introduce students to a range of source materials, both written and archaeological, ranging from coins to chronicles, and castles to collections of documents known as cartularies. Accordingly, this module will ask students to consider important questions about the origins of government, the beginnings of legal and administrative structures that in some sense persist to this day, and the distribution of the economic resources that made kingship and feudal society possible. By extension, this module will offer students a chance to acquaint themselves with the skills and techniques that allow historians to handle the complex and wide-ranging sources we rely upon to study the period in question, in the process demystifying the study of the Middle Ages and providing a solid basis for further study of medieval societies.OptionalGender and Sexuality in Britain 1700-1950 2026-27HST2076MLevel 52026-27This module will interrogate aspects of the history of gender and sexuality in Britain over a 250-year span, coinciding with the arrival of ‘modernity’. It will introduce students to debates over the relationship between gender, sexuality, and structural changes in society, economy and politics, as well as thinking about gender and sexuality as discourse and subjectivity. Further, it will introduce students to a wide range of source material for the social and cultural history of early modern and modern Britain and seek to develop their confidence in using such diverse sources skillfully. The module takes a thematic approach, although within each theme, specific chronological examples will be examined. Thus continuity and change can be highlighted, and it is intended to resist a narrative of progress towards ‘modern’ liberal views of gender and sexuality. However, a clear chronological framework will also be developed through examples which will help students gain a clear understanding of context.OptionalHistory and Literature in the C18th and C19th 2026-27HST2077MLevel 52026-27Works of fiction are not just a source of entertainment. They are a crucial and exciting route into understanding the past. Novels, short stories and poems allow us to understand how debates and ideas about society and identity circulated and how writers attempted to reinforce or change the way that readers looked at the world. This module will examine how a wide range of fiction produced in Britain in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries addressed the key themes of class, politics and gender. Students will have the opportunity to examine the treatment of these concepts in genres as varied as crime fiction, popular romance, children’s literature, science fiction, war writing and feminist fiction.OptionalHistory of Medicine from Antiquity to the Present 2026-27HST2088MLevel 52026-27This module analyses how physicians, other practitioners, and the public understood the body, disease, and health from antiquity to the modern era. The first part of the module will delineate how the medical system of Galen (2nd century AD) and humoral medicine guided Western medicine from antiquity until the 1800s. Students will then analyse the major challenges to this system from physicians such as Paracelsus, Vesalius, and William Harvey, as well as with the discovery of the germ theory of disease. Students will also explore the evolving role of states and local governments for public health, the development of the medical marketplace, changing understandings of the body, disease, and mental illness, and gender and medicine. The history of medicine will thus be placed in a greater religious, social, and cultural context, with a consideration of the role of medicine in popular culture. The module will therefore “embody” a cultural and intellectual approach to history and introduce students to the major historiographic debates in the history of medicine. Seminars will be primarily devoted to student-led case studies on specific themes, such as: Galenic case studies; Vesalius and anatomy, quackery in England; childbirth and midwifery; the rise of the medical profession; anatomy and the Anatomy Act; disease control and public health; madness and society; sexual health and the patient narrative.OptionalIntroduction to Exhibitions, Curatorship and Curatorial Practices 2026-27AHS2009MLevel 52026-27This module introduces students to the understanding of exhibitions and curatorial practices. Following an introduction on the history of collections and museums, the course will explore the many issues related to the display of art and objects. It combines the study of theoretical approaches and the analysis of relevant case studies, and considers topics related to audiences for museums and exhibitions, the presentation and explanation of artefacts and artworks, and the new opportunities offered by digital technologies.OptionalItaly, a Contested Nation 2026-27HST2032MLevel 52026-27Italy is a highly-politicised and ideologically-divided country. Divisions and internal conflicts, which have reached dramatic peaks, are a permanent feature in Italian history. They mirror unsolved social and political contradictions that many historians consider to be the result of the process of the Italian Risorgimento. National unification was prompted by republicans, but it was the Monarchy that achieved it.OptionalLatin Literature in the Late Republic and the Augustan Age 2026-27CLS2010MLevel 52026-27This module explores a broad sampling of major genres and authors, and aims to provide a basis for further study and enjoyment of Latin literature. Focusing on writers active between 90 BC and AD 14, often referred to as the Golden Age, we shall examine how the literature of this period bears witness to contemporary social, political and cultural transformations. All texts will be read in English translation, though opportunities to read or translate from the original Latin will be available for interested students. This module is intended as a successor to the core first-year survey of Classical Literature.OptionalLiving and dying in the middle ages, 800-1400 2026-27HST2087MLevel 52026-27How did people live and die in the middle ages? Drawing on the research expertise of the medievalists in the School, the module seeks to answer this question by addressing key themes relating to the life cycles of medieval people, from their childhood and education, via the roles that they took on in life (within families and in public; peaceful and violent), to their deaths. We will address primary sources that provide intimate insights into the everyday lives of medieval people: letters and autobiographies. Such sources will be contrasted with those that offer a more 'top-down' vision of how medieval society should function, such as rulebooks and conduct manuals. Finally, we will explore how people in the medieval period managed their material and spiritual interests through transactions recorded in documents such as charters and wills. A key aim of the module is to develop your research and writing skills by providing you with an opportunity to produce an extended piece of research. This, coupled with the intensive work with primary sources, will equip you to tackle a final year independent study in a wide range of medieval topics.OptionalMaterial Histories: Objects, Interpretation, Display 2026-27CON2055MLevel 52026-27This module will give students a unique opportunity to develop their practical skills for studying objects while developing their understanding of the relationship between history and material culture. Students can explore how object-based study can enhance their practice as conservators and historians and how material culture studies can lead to insights that cannot be reached through other approaches.OptionalMedicine, Sexuality and Modernity 2026-27HST2073MLevel 52026-27This is a general introductory module on the history of medicine and sexuality from 1850 to 2000. It aims to give an overview of some of the major themes within the modern history of medicine and sexuality. It focuses on how our understanding of the human body, reproduction and sexuality in a socio-cultural and political context evolved from the advent of evolutionary thought to present day debates about enhancement and reproductive medicine. Sexual behaviour and reproduction became major concerns in medicine and politics in the modern period. Sexuality became an object of scientific enquiry and governments developed new policies to regulate sexual behaviour. This module will give students an excellent grounding in modern and contemporary history that will complement further modules at level 2 and 3 that deal with sexuality, gender, race, science and medicine.OptionalMigration in British Art, 1933 to the Present 2026-27AHS2011MLevel 52026-27This module will examine art in Britain from 1933 onwards in relation to migration. Beginning with the mass exile of artists, photographers, and designers from Nazi-occupied Europe in 1933, it will investigate how art and visual culture in Britain spanning the past ninety years has been shaped by migrants and refugees, and their descendants. We will look at the generation of artists who came to Britain from Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean in the 1950s and 1960s; the British Black arts movement of the 1980s; identity politics and art institutions in the 1990s; second-generation Jewish artists and Holocaust memory, as well as new generations of younger artists exploring heritage today. The module will examine how artists have dealt with experiences of migration and the associated experiences of displacement, dislocation, loss, and ‘otherness’, and in relation to constructions of class, gender and race. As well as focusing on the reception and changing status of émigrés in Britain, it will consider iconographies of exile, and how notions of memory and heritage have been explored and represented. The module will involve close engagement with a range of primary sources (oral histories, letters, exhibition catalogues and reviews) and theoretical writings (e.g. Edward Said, Marianne Hirsch, Stuart Hall).OptionalMoral Philosophy 2026-27PHL2004MLevel 52026-27This module aims to introduce students to some of the central concepts, issues, theories, and debates in an area of moral philosophy called "normative ethics", thereby providing them with a framework for thinking seriously about moral matters, and to assist them in developing their philosophical and analytical skills. We will distinguish and evaluate the leading positions on these issues through a range of more specific topics in normative ethics.OptionalNeoclassicism to Cubism: Art in Transition 1750-1914 2026-27AHS2010MLevel 52026-27This module will concentrate on fine art (painting and sculpture) within Western Europe c.1750- c.1914. The module will explore the hegemony of Neoclassicism in the second half of the long eighteenth century through the seminal transformations of Romanticism, Realism, Impressionism and Cubism in the nineteenth century.OptionalPeople on the move: migration, identity and mobility in the modern world 2026-27HST2081MLevel 52026-27People have migrated as long as the human race has existed and this module places this fundamental aspect of human experience at its heart. Issues surrounding migration and the movement of peoples are central to contemporary politics and society, as the management of people seeking refuge and better prospects preoccupies governments around the world. This situation makes ever more urgent our need to understand the history of migration and how it has shaped cultures across time and space. People on the move focuses upon the movement of people at particular points in modern history, considering the forces that propel people to risk their own lives and possibly those of their families, uproot from home and enter the potentially perilous and peripatetic life of a migrant. We will discuss the prospects and challenges of migration, and subsequently how diasporic cultures develop and the benefits and tensions surrounding integration. We will consider what happens when communities come into contact due to migration and the subsequent influences upon culture, religion, politics and identity. Through a series of in-depth case studies from the modern period, from the forced movement of the colonial era to twentieth century migration across the Atlantic, we will encounter a variety of geographical regions and processes of migration. A variety of historical sources will be interrogated to access the stories of migrants and about migrants, including texts (such legal and government documents, letters, memoirs and oral histories), images, objects and architecture. Addressing themes such as empire, economics, identity and religion in different contexts allows us to make meaningful comparisons between migrations across time and space.OptionalPhilosophy of Science 2026-27PHL2007MLevel 52026-27This module explores a range of philosophical questions relating to the nature of science. How are scientific theories developed? Are scientific theories discovered through a ‘flash of genius’ or is something more methodical involved? How much of scientific discovery is down to careful observation? Do scientific theories tell us how the world really is? Do the entities scientific theories postulate – atoms, electromagnetic waves, and so on – really exist? Or are scientific theories merely useful models of reality? Is science independent of its social context? To what extent is scientific inquiry affected by gender, race or politics? Is there such a thing as truth that is not relative to a particular culture, social class or historical era? Drawing on accessible examples from a variety of scientific fields and by answering these and related questions, we shall try to reach an understanding of how science works.OptionalPower and the Presidency in the United States 2026-27HST2082MLevel 52026-27This module introduces students to history of the US presidency by investigating selected past presidents from Washington to Trump. By reading and analysing the biographies of various presidents, key historical discussions as well as primary sources, including presidential addresses, campaign speeches, policy documents, and internal White House documents, and media accounts, students will be able to discuss and evaluate the major themes associated with the Office of the President. The main question students will be asked to engage with through this course is “what makes an effective president?” In answering this question students will discuss themes ranging from the establishment of the office during the American Revolution, the ability of presidents to pass civil rights reform, the rise and fall of the imperial presidency, the decline and restoration of presidential influence, hidden illness in the oval office, the growth of partisanship, the impact of the media and presidential communication strategies, and the changing presidential electorate. By exploring these themes as well as the achievements, scandals and the legacies of various presidents, students will be able to determine how individual presidents have coped with the pressures of the office and what influence they have exerted on the office.OptionalPowerful Bodies: Saints and Relics during the Middle Ages 2026-27HST2059MLevel 52026-27This module investigates the matter of sanctity during the middle ages, focusing in particular on two different aspects: the construction of the memory of saints, through texts, images and architecture, and the crucial role of their mortal remains. Spanning from the fourth to the fourteenth Century, this module offers not only a general approach to the phenomenon of sanctity, but also detailed analysis of different case studies, from early Christian saints and their commemoration in martyria to Romanesque shrines in France and Italy. The module then considers the phenomenon of new saints, through discussion of the celebrated site of Saint Francis’s burial, San Francesco, in Assisi. Students can explore the case of Saint Hugh of Lincoln, discussing how his memory was preserved in the text of his life and how his canonization was mirrored in the very fabric of Lincoln Cathedral.OptionalPreventive Conservation 2026-27CON2059MLevel 52026-27This module looks to provide an introduction to the preventive conservation skills needed to set out as a practicing conservator. Students have the chance to develop an understanding of practical preventive conservation and collections management procedures, and can gain experience in environmental monitoring and surveying. Topics such as integrated pest management and emergency planning are also discussed.OptionalQueering the Past 2026-27HST2090MLevel 52026-27OptionalRenaissances 2026-27AHS2004MLevel 52026-27This module explores cultural renaissances in Europe and beyond. Students can examine the survival, imitation and revival of classical models from ancient Greece and Rome from late antiquity to the modern period. We engage with historical debates on the issue of periodisation and ask how and why cycles of decline and renewal continue to shape our understanding of the past.OptionalRussia: Building a Utopia 2026-27HST2084MLevel 52026-27OptionalSalvation and Damnation in medieval and early modern England 2026-27HST2075MLevel 52026-27Concern with, and ideas about, the supernatural influenced all areas of life for medieval and early modern men and women, and cut across all levels of society. In an age where religion was a state concern, many of these concerns were articulated or shaped within the context of the Church, all across Western Europe, yet throughout our period religious life was characterised by its great diversity. This module examines changing religious practices and beliefs in Europe, although with a particular focus on England, from the early Middle Ages until the seventeenth century, charting continuity and change in people’s thinking about their relationship – both individually and collectively - with the divine. The module is divided into three blocks: (1) early medieval, in which we explore the adoption of Christianity as a state religion, the slow emergence of an institutional church, missionary and conversion activities, and campaigns against heresy; (2) high to late medieval where we examine the tension between the theology of the church and the beliefs of the individual in a time of increased attempts at centralisation by the Western Church; (3) early modern, from the Reformation, via the Civil War, to early eighteenth-century rational religion and alternative versions of spirituality, and their impact on attitudes to religious and other minority groups.OptionalScience, Public Health and Modernity 2026-27HST2091MLevel 52026-27OptionalScrambling for Africa? Cultures of Empire and Resistance in East Africa, 1850-1965 2026-27HST2062MLevel 52026-27East Africa became a significant theatre of empire from the mid-nineteenth century, when David Livingstone championed European intervention to bring ‘Christianity, commerce and civilisation’ to the region. This module will explore the expansion of the British Empire into East Africa from the late nineteenth-century era of ‘high imperialism’ until decolonisation in the 1960s. This region provides rich opportunities to deepen an understanding of imperialism and offers key themes in the history of empire, including exploration, slavery, race, identity, gender, imperial networks, cultural representation and indigenous agency.OptionalStudy Period Abroad: History 2026-27HST2048MLevel 52026-27This module provides an opportunity for History students to spend a term studying at one of the University’s partner institutions in North America or Europe. Students will be expected to cover their own transport, accommodation and living costs.OptionalTeaching History: designing and delivering learning in theory and practice 2026-27HST2074MLevel 52026-27Teaching History deepens students' understanding of the practice of teaching history in the classroom. The module encourages students, especially but not exclusively those who may be considering a career in education (or related industries), to think more deeply about pedagogic theory and teaching practice. Students will be given the opportunity to gain some practical experience in instructing their peers and online audiences. There will be a strong focus on reflecting on prior learning experiences and the module will begin by providing students with an overview of the history of history teaching. History teaching will be examined at primary and secondary level, and in other educational contexts.OptionalThe Arthurian Myth 2026-27ENL2043MLevel 52026-27This module examines Arthurian narratives, myths, and traditions within a variety of contexts and media, and traces a variety of themes associated with Arthur and his court, including history and national identity; violence; kingship and rule; loyalty and betrayal; and love, sex, and gender roles. Students will be expected to assess the importance of a myth that spans more than a millennium and address how medieval texts made meaning within their specific socio-cultural situations, as well as how later periods make meaning through their deployment of the medieval in new contexts.OptionalThe Emperor in the Roman World 2026-27CLS2020MLevel 52026-27This module surveys the history of the Roman Empire not as a succession of emperors and achievements, victories and defeats, but as a complex of experiments in government and of attitudes to governance. Beginning with the transition from representative republican rule to the domination of an imperial dynasty and its network of élite dependants in the early first century, and concluding with the incipient takeover of this system by a newly Christianised ruling class in the early fourth century, students can explore the role of the emperor in the Roman world and the patterns of communication between him and his subjects.OptionalThe Global Cold War 2026-27HST2092MLevel 52026-27OptionalThe World of Late Antiquity, 150-750 2026-27CLS2021MLevel 52026-27This module aims to develop students' understanding of the political, social and cultural history of Late Antiquity (150-750), with a particular focus on two world-changing religious developments: the rise of Christianity and Islam. Although the geographical focus of our studies will be on eastern Mediterranean lands of an empire ruled from Constantinople, known to later scholars as the Byzantine Empire, the geographical range of the module will be wide and include western Europe, including the western Mediterranean, Persia, Arabia, and ‘barbarian’ territories beyond the Roman frontiers on the Rhine and Danube.OptionalThe World of the Crusades 2026-27HST2094Level 52026-27This module explores the social, political and cultural realities shaped and framed by holy wars during the Middle Ages, with a primary focus on the Mediterranean (ca. 600-1200). We will explore and question the concept of holy wars from both Christian and Muslim perspectives, considering also the Byzantine responses to Jihad. Among the different locations under consideration in this module and linked to the framework of Crusades, we will focus on two zones of encounters and conflicts between Islam and Christianity: the Iberian Peninsula and the South of Italy. Beyond this, we will explore the eastern shores of the Mediterranean by focusing on the struggle for the dominion of the holy city of Jerusalem. This module will help students develop a broad set of critical and analytical skills, while engaging with a variety of textual, visual and material sources. Students will gain an understanding of how the interplay of social, religious, political and cultural phenomena contributed to shaping a complex world – that of the crusades – which was more diverse and multilayered than some later historiographical representations might suggest.OptionalThemes in Modern and Contemporary Art 2026-27AHS2005MLevel 52026-27OptionalUnderstanding Exhibitions: History on Display 2026-27HST2085MLevel 52026-27This module will introduce students to the principles of understanding, evaluating and constructing exhibitions. It will focus on exhibiting in art, history and archaeology and will include both theoretical approaches to the understanding and critique of exhibitions and practical aspects of mounting an exhibition. The module will include visiting museums, galleries and other exhibition spaces to examine and analyse exhibitions in situ, as well as talks from museum professionals on aspects of exhibition development. Students will be assessed through the production of plans for a small temporary exhibition they develop individually.OptionalUnderstanding Practical Making 2026-27CON2057MLevel 52026-27This module is designed to introduce the basic skills of working with glass, ceramic and fine metalwork. It provides an opportunity to investigate the potential and limitations of working with various materials, processes and techniques, associated with the practice of object manufacture against a relevant historical background.OptionalUrban Life and Society in the Middle Ages 2026-27HST2049MLevel 52026-27Between the 11th and the 12th centuries Europe went through some radical changes. This module will focus on case studies, such as Lincoln, London and Paris, among others. Students will have the opportunity to study how and why such centres grew from small towns to some of the greatest and most vibrant metropolis of Western Europe in the Middle Ages. For a comparative study, a range of primary sources will be taken into account, including contemporary descriptions of these cities and their inhabitants, historical records, art and architecture.OptionalVictorian Worlds: Literature 1830-1914 2026-27ENL2070MLevel 52026-27OptionalWomen in Ancient Rome 2026-27CLS2011MLevel 52026-27This module introduces students to the lives and experiences of women in the ancient world. By engaging with a wide range of material, visual and written evidence, students can investigate both the real historical circumstances of women’s lives and the ways in which they were constructed, represented and perceived. The focus of this module is on the Roman world, and the material considered ranges in date from the Republican period to the end of the second Century AD. Material from Greece, especially where it affects Roman art, literature and ideas, will also be considered.OptionalWorld Heritage Management 2026-27CON2058MLevel 52026-27This module is designed to explore ideas of heritage protection, management and conservation from around the world. It will consider United Nations' efforts in the field and consider how this international perspective shapes local and national actions.OptionalHistory Independent Study Part 2 2027-28HST3033MLevel 62027-28Students at level three have to undertake an Independent Study project. This is an extended piece of work that gives them the opportunity to demonstrate they have acquired the skills to undertake historical inquiry and analysis.CoreHistory Independent Study Part I 2027-28HST3101MLevel 62027-28In their final year, every student on the BA (Hons) History degree programme at the University of Lincoln must produce an independent study. This is an extended piece of work which gives them the opportunity to demonstrate they have acquired the skills to undertake detailed and substantial subject-specific research and writing founded on critical inquiry and analysis.Core'O Bella Ciao' Fascism and Anti-fascism in Italy 2027-28HST3061MLevel 62027-28This module will aim to introduce students to the history of Italian Fascism and the opposition to the regime: the Resistance. It will cover the history of Italy from the beginning of the 20th Century until the end of the Second World War and the establishment of the Republic in 1946. Historical interpretations of these key events in Italian and European history have always been very contentious and have aroused heated debates due to their ongoing political implications.OptionalAir War and Society from Zeppelins to Drones 2027-28HST3084MLevel 62027-28In the Twentieth Century new aviation technologies transformed understandings of war, peace, civilian and military. The module considers how ideas about air power developed, what informed this understanding of war, and what the consequences were. This is not a traditional military history concerned with narrative accounts of battles or armies, but one that asks questions about the relationship between military and civilian in society and culture in the twentieth century.OptionalAlexander the Great and his Legacy: the Hellenistic World (Third Year) 2027-28CLS3025MLevel 62027-28This module provides a survey of the history and archaeology of the eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East between the reign of Alexander the Great and the death of Cleopatra VII after the Roman victory at the Battle of Actium in 30 BC. Students will have the opportunity to explore the political histories, power structures, cultural developments, economic processes and shifting ideologies associated with the major Hellenistic kingdoms and ending with the Roman conquest of the eastern Mediterranean region. Teaching also considers how the Hellenistic period was a time of innovation, cultural connectivity, even globalisation, laying the foundations of a Hellenized world of city-states which endured into and defined the Roman construction of a world empire in its aftermath.OptionalAmerican Dreams, American Nightmares: The Fiction of American History, 1850-1906 2027-28HST3054MLevel 62027-28OptionalAncient Graffiti 2027-28CLS3011MLevel 62027-28This module explores a key resource for understanding the thoughts, feelings and conversations of ancient people. Graffiti in Greek and Latin (and other languages) were marked onto fixed and portable surfaces throughout the ancient Mediterranean world, and their informal and non-official nature offers a unique window into the lives and worldviews of people often invisible or marginal in standard documentary, literary and material sourcesOptionalAncient Philosophy 2027-28PHL3013MLevel 62027-28This module will give students an opportunity to engage in close philosophical study of texts by the most influential ancient philosophers. Texts will be studied in English translation. They will include works by Plato and Aristotle, as well as by less familiar philosophers of the ancient world (c. 500 BC-500 AD Greece and Rome). The focus of the module will be philosophical, not interpretive or historical: students will be expected assess the credibility of the positions and arguments advanced by Plato, Aristotle and others and to develop their own views in dialogue with these thinkers.OptionalArabia in Antiquity: Religion, Culture, and Warfare from the Bronze Age to the Umayyads 2027-28CLS3031MLevel 62027-28The victories of Arab armies over the forces of the Byzantine and Persian Empires in the seventh century were of monumental importance. Not only did they signal the decline of the two great superpowers of the late ancient world but they were accompanied, some scholars would argue caused, by the rise of a new monotheistic world religion: Islam. The first half of the module seeks to understand the conquests of the Arab armies and the emergence of Islam historically and culturally, in two specific contexts: (1) political conflict between the Persian and Byzantine Empires, during which Arabia often acted as a military frontier and different Arab groups as allies to one side or another; (2) contact and competition between Christianity, Judaism and other religious traditions in Arabia. The second half of the module explores how, after the initial victories over the Byzantine and Persian Empires, the new Islamic polity renewed itself, rolled forward further conquests, and focuses in particular on how an ‘Islamic’ culture was formed.Optional‘Anarchy is order’. Anarchism and social movements in Modern Europe 2027-28HST3055MLevel 62027-28This module will explore the different schools of thought and the political activities of the various groups and individuals that comprised the anarchist movement. Anarchism is a political doctrine based on freedom, egalitarianism and social justice and that developed in Europe as a political movement in the mid-XIX century. Anarchism never reached the ascendancy achieved by liberalism or communism; however, it had a significant influence on the political ideas, social movements, culture, and education of the international labour movement.OptionalBritons And Romans, 100 BC-AD 450 (third year) 2027-28CLS3023MLevel 62027-28This module examines how and why the culture of Britain changed in the period of increasing contact with, and eventual incorporation into, the Roman Empire. Examining the key material, behavioural, ideological and structural changes to society in the period c. 100 BC to AD 450, it will question to what degree each aspect was a wholesale incorporation of ‘foreign’ ideas, technologies and goods, a local interpretation and adoption of these importations into an existing social system, or a local creation that was distinctly Romano-British, if often termed ‘Roman’.OptionalCaribbean Un/freedoms: 17th to 20th centuries 2027-28HST3106MLevel 62027-28OptionalChivalry in Medieval Europe 2027-28HST3063MLevel 62027-28This module examines both the birth and development of the concept of chivalry in the Middle Ages. Students can use a wide range of primary sources, as well as medieval and contemporary historiography, to explore how the role, image and function of medieval knights evolved over time.OptionalClio's Children: Walking along the Path of Greek Historiography 2027-28CLS3020MLevel 62027-28Clio, the muse of History, had many and diverse children. This module examines both the birth and development of historiography in Ancient Greek Literature. Students will use a wide range of primary sources together with secondary sources and engage with diverse types of writing, ranging from military historians to ethnographers, biographers, geographers, and female historians.OptionalConsuming Societies: Western Europe 1600-1800 2027-28HST3065MLevel 62027-28The module will examine consumption in many of its forms in early modern Western Europe. Focusing on a number of areas, such as food, clothing, furnishings, houses and other goods increasingly accessible to people at all levels of society, the module will encourage students to consider how and why these were available.OptionalCuratorial Practice 2027-28AHS3006MLevel 62027-28This module will enable students to engage in the research and development of displays through the process of curating an exhibition for the museum or heritage sector. Students will select objects and structure this selection through an appropriate narrative. They will propose modes and examples of interpretation such as gallery text, audio or visual aids. The emphasis will be on developing knowledge and understanding of the role and responsibilities of the curator, and the project will enable students to evidence a focused and critically rigorous curatorial rationale.OptionalEarly Modern Cultural and Artistic Encounters: Hybridity and Globalisation 2027-28HST3074MLevel 62027-28This module considers early modern imperialism and its impact on artistic production at a global scale. Students will have the opportunity to examine Iberia and its world as a point for cultural encounter and cross-fertilization. The module aims to explore how local communities conflated their symbols of identity within transnational artistic trends and through a number of carefully selected case studies, will analyse the way in which communities – artists, patrons, collectors and audiences – negotiated these cultural encounters in the production and assimilation of the arts.OptionalElementary Latin I (Third Year) 2027-28CLS3032Level 62027-28This module aims to provide an introduction to the basics of Latin for students with little to no prior experience of the language. Students can gain the ability to translate and interpret sentences and short passages in prose and verse with confidence. This can aid sensitive reading of primary sources from the Classical world in translation, as well as in the original at higher levels of study. Please note: those students with A-Level Latin or equivalent, subject to successfully sitting a diagnostic Latin test before the first term of their first year, may choose to take ‘The Medieval World’ or ‘Empire and After: Colonialism and its Consequences’ instead of this module, however, they are required to continue their language studies in Elementary Latin II.OptionalElementary Latin II (Third Year) 2027-28CLS3013MLevel 62027-28This module aims to provide a continued introduction to the basics of Latin for students with little to no prior experience of the language. Students can refine their ability to translate and interpret sentences and short to medium-length passages in prose and verse up to advanced difficulty. This can aid sensitive reading of primary sources from the Classical world in translation, as well as in the original at higher levels of study.OptionalEnglish Landscape Painting: A Social and Cultural History 2027-28AHS3005MLevel 62027-28This module explores the legacy of English landscape painting, for instance in the work of John Constable, Paul Nash and others, which has played a fundamental part in perpetuating such imagery within our national consciousness. It will encourage a critical appreciation of artistic influences, the personal feelings, cultural attitudes and ideological perspectives in relation to the varied depictions of the English countryside. The close relationship between these depictions and the social and economic history of English rural society during the period c.1690 to present will be stressed throughout the module. Students will also critically identify, from a wider range of images and texts such as literature, film and advertising, the subjectivity of evidence that encourages popular impressions of the English countryside.OptionalEugenics, Race and Reproduction across the Atlantic, 1800-1945 2027-28HST3095MLevel 62027-28This module explores the history of science, sexuality and politics in the UK, Continental Europe, the US and Latin America from 1850 to 2000. It will give students an excellent grounding in modern and contemporary history that will complement further modules at level 3 that deal with sexuality, gender, race, science and medicine. It module examines the controversial rise of eugenics movements as a global phenomenon. The purpose of this module is to sustain a balanced and informed discussion about how race, reproduction, and the improvement of human heredity have acquired great political relevance in the modern period. It explores how scientists and different governments became preoccupied with hereditary theories, race, reproduction and sexual behaviour. It examines how societies across the Atlantic developed government policies around areas such as family planning, pronatalism, sterilisation, and race, which culminated in the implementation of euthanasia programmes in Nazi Germany. This module looks at eugenics programmes and politics in a transnational context, exploring how, for example, Nazi Germany’s sterilisation programmes were inspired by those already implemented in the US and how a number of Latin American countries adapted and transformed eugenics policies from Southern Europe and developed whitening policies.OptionalExhibiting the World in the Nineteenth Century 2027-28HST3066MLevel 62027-28This module explores the various ways in which the world was put on display in the nineteenth century, and with what aims and effects. The nineteenth century was a period during which museums, galleries, exhibitions, zoos and circuses all expanded in numbers and took on distinctive modern forms; it was also one where the ‘freak show’ became both popular but also frowned upon, while optical toys and attractions reformed ‘ways of seeing’.OptionalFrom Revolution to New Republic: The United States 1760-1841 2027-28HST3067MLevel 62027-28This module explores the transformation of the United States from a set of thirteen colonies to an independent republic. Topics considered include: the causes of the Revolution, the governance of the new republic, the place of the new republic in the world, the experiences of excluded groups (loyalists, native Americans, African Americans).OptionalGender, Sexuality and the Early Modern Body 2027-28HST3096MLevel 62027-28OptionalGothic Visions: Stained Glass in Britain c. 1220-1960 2027-28AHS3004MLevel 62027-28This module will explore the development, decline and revival of stained glass from the early middle ages to the mid twentieth century. The focus will be on British stained glass with particular reference to windows that students can visit in person, particularly in Lincoln Cathedral and the parish churches of the region. Students will learn to analyse windows through a number of methodological frameworks in particular: production (design and manufacture), consumption (patronage, iconography and meaning) and aesthetics (style, drawing, manipulation of light).OptionalGreek and Roman Drama 2027-28CLS3001MLevel 62027-28This module gives students the opportunity to analyse one text or author; object, assemblage or collection; structure or site, according to their own research interests (the evidence chosen will be agreed at the start of the term). Paired with a tutor, each student can examine the evidence closely, find and read related research publications, and discuss each week. This builds on the skills developed at Level 2 and provides students with the opportunity to direct their own learning, engage closely with primary sources, develop skills in analysis and critical thinking, and broaden their knowledge of the evidence and methods of studying the ancient world.OptionalHeroes and Villains: The Reigns of Richard ‘the Lionheart’ (d. 1199) and ‘Bad’ King John (d. 1216) 2027-28HST3098MLevel 62027-28By the late twelfth century, England’s rulers – the Angevin kings - were among the wealthiest and most powerful in Western Europe. At the time of his accession, King Richard the Lionheart ruled over a vast collection of territories (later known as the Angevin Empire), which stretched from the borders with Scotland in the North to the Pyrenees in the South. Yet, at the time of his brother King John’s death in 1216, most Angevin possessions on the continent had been lost and baronial rebels had overrun more than half of England. Using medieval records and chronicles in English translation, this module explores the dramatic reigns of King Richard and King John, and their reputations as rulers, asking whether the former really was a legend in his own lifetime, and whether the latter deserves to be remembered as one of our most disastrous medieval monarchs. Together we will consider King Richard’s participation in the Third Crusade, the impact of his absence on his English subjects, and his struggle to retain Angevin territories on the Continent. We will also analyse the loss of Normandy under King John, John’s violent quarrel with Pope Innocent III over the appointment of Stephen Langton as archbishop of Canterbury, the growth of opposition to John in England, the birth of Magna Carta, and the outcome of the civil war that was still raging on John’s death (including the Battle of Lincoln of 1217).OptionalHistory Work Placement 2027-28HST3053MLevel 62027-28The module will give students practical experience of the workplace. Students will normally define, plan and undertake a specific project. In addition students will gain experience of a range of tasks appropriate to sector-specific professional skills.OptionalHong Kong since 1841: From British colony to Chinese city 2027-28HST3110Level 62027-28Hong Kong’s history lies at the intersection of Chinese, British imperial, and transnational histories. This module explores the history of Hong Kong from its colonisation by Britain in 1841 up to the present day. The module seeks to introduce the city’s history to students, explore the ways historians have engaged with and approached this history, and to help students develop skills of historical analysis and debate. Through engaging with the rich historical debates and with English-language and translated primary materials, students on this module may study issues and themes including, but not limited to: imperialism; colonialism; transnational networks; international and diplomatic history; economic and business history; social history; urban history; migration and diaspora history.OptionalImperial Cities of the Early Modern World. 2027-28HST3097MLevel 62027-28One of the ways in which early modern monarchs and rulers legitimised their authority and projected their power was through architecture and urban design. In this period capital cities across Europe, America and Asia were embellished with architecture and urban design inspired by Renaissance ideals of social order. This module examines the ways rulers imagined and built a number of imperial capital cities across Europe, America and Asia.OptionalIntermediate Greek I: History and Philosophy 2027-28CLS3008MLevel 62027-28This module aims to consolidate students' knowledge of and comfort with the principles of the Greek language through sustained reading of substantial extracts from a variety of prose authors. Classes will be structured around guided translation and interpretation of set texts in Attic dialect by Xenophon, Thucydides, Plato and Aristotle. Commentary focuses on points of grammar, syntax and vocabulary, as well as historical context and significance.OptionalIntermediate Greek II: Drama and Poetry 2027-28CLS3009MLevel 62027-28This module aims to consolidate students' knowledge of and comfort with the principles of the Greek language through sustained reading of substantial extracts from a variety of verse authors. Classes will be structured around guided translation and interpretation of select set texts in Attic dialect by Sophocles, Euripides and Aristophanes, and in Ionic dialect by Homer. Commentary focuses on points of grammar, syntax and vocabulary, as well as historical context and significance. Students can also acquire a familiarity with metre and scansion in Greek poetry.OptionalLatin Letter-Writing from the Republic to Late Antiquity 2027-28CLS3012MLevel 62027-28This module explores the world of Latin epistolary culture from the late Republic to the early Patristic period of the fourth Century AD. The preservation of documentary letters on materials such as stone and papyrus offer a complementary perspective on the lives, experiences and concerns of ordinary men and women across the Mediterranean. Students can consider a wide range of letter types, including about trade and agriculture, introductions and recommendations (literary and otherwise), and epistolary poetry.OptionalMaking Militants: Teaching violence in late antiquity 2027-28CLS3027MLevel 62027-28Making Militants explores the role of violent teaching practices of various sorts in the making of men and women in Late Antiquity. Focusing on the fourth, fifth and sixth centuries, it addresses a pivotal period in the transition from the ancient to the medieval world, surveying the multiple small-scale arenas that made up the Late Antiquity – the household, the schoolroom, the barracks and the monastery. By close reading of letters, biographical accounts, rulebooks, speeches and a wide range of other sources, we consider how violent educative practices made people who were capable of operating in a changing, unpredictable and often dangerous world. The men and women who were made in such spaces were the products of a society that was fundamentally violent, their own violence a product of long-established socialisation practices rather than acts of anti-social deviance.OptionalMedicalised Bodies in Art and Visual Culture, c. 1900 to the Present 2027-28AHS3009MLevel 62027-28This module will analyse how the medicalised body has been represented, exploited, challenged and reclaimed in art and visual culture. The themes, ideas, priorities and objects of medicine – such as death, health, sexuality, taboo, trauma, bodily functions, and viscera – have taken centre stage in art and visual culture since the end of the nineteenth century. This module will explore the manifold ways in which artists have engaged with subjects including medical technologies, disease, disability, blood, and pain, and we will do so in relation to constructions of gender, sexuality, race, class and ability. What significance do pathology, disease, and patient experience take on in art and visual culture? To what effects have artists portrayed and perhaps questioned modern therapies and medical technologies, and their subjects, practices and theories? We will focus on a range of media including painting, sculpture, performance art, conceptual art, film, and photography.OptionalMemory, Belief, and Power in the British Landscape: Late Iron Age to Early Medieval 2027-28CLS3019MLevel 62027-28This module will explore the significance of time (the past, present, and future), belief, and power in landscapes of early historical Britain (c. 200 BC to c. AD 800). Landscape was the largest and most visible medium that people could use to communicate who they were and to negotiate their place in the world. Landscape will be discussed as material culture writ large whereby the features and meanings of the past confront and constitute the creation of landscape in any given present. The significance of, for example, Neolithic cursus monuments, Bronze Age barrows, Iron Age 'hillforts', and Romano-Celtic temples will be examined in how they endured and were (re)interpreted in later periods to create complex significances and communicate aspects of group identities. The module will challenge boundaries by encouraging students to consider the complexity of relationship between past, present, and future, as well as between different 'site types', periods, and types of material.OptionalMen, Sex and Work: Sexuality and Gender in 20th Century Britain 2027-28HST3073MLevel 62027-28The 20th century saw unprecedented social, economic, political and cultural change in Britain. However, the equally dramatic shifts in how sexuality and masculinity were experienced and represented are often ignored. This module aims to enable students to study the history of 20th Century Britain while using the lens of gender and sexuality to understand how ordinary men lived their lives. Students will get the opportunity to work with a wide variety of primary sources such as: court records, newspapers, film, photographs, music, autobiographies, oral history and literature.OptionalNewton's Revolution 2027-28PHL3004MLevel 62027-28This module examines some of the philosophical issues raised by the Newtonian revolution in the natural sciences, such as: What is the nature of Newton’s distinction between ‘absolute’ and ‘relative’ space? In what sense can forces be said to exist? What is the ontology of force? Is it sufficient to provide a mathematical definition of force (e.g., f=ma)? Is gravity a special kind of force with its own unique set of properties? What is the nature of ‘action at a distance’? Is Newton’s view of space metaphysical? This is an interdisciplinary module that situates Newtonian science in its sociocultural context.OptionalObjects of Empire: the material worlds of British colonialism 2027-28HST3086MLevel 62027-28This module will investigate the history of imperial Britain through material culture. The objects of study will range from trophies looted in battle and a drum transported with slaves to Virginia, to African sculpture depicting Europeans. Historians increasingly recognise the fresh insights that objects offer to major themes in imperial history such as gender, race and class. This module responds to these new academic developments and will use objects and their biographies to study key phases and themes in the history of the British Empire. Tracing the long history of such objects can enable us to explore how objects change meanings as they move through various colonial and post-colonial contexts.OptionalPalace and Mosque: The Construction of an Imperial Image in the Ottoman Empire. 2027-28HST3090MLevel 62027-28OptionalPre-Raphaelites and Aesthetes: Progressive British Culture (1840-1898) 2027-28AHS3007MLevel 62027-28This module examines the emergence, development and legacy of Pre-Raphaelitism and Aestheticism and how these movements influenced British culture. The module will explore how Pre-Raphaelite painters attempted to redefine the natural role of art and how ‘Aesthetic’ artists went on to question their approach. The module will explore the work of the key protagonists of each movement and how their work crossed over into other media such as stained glass, painted furniture and book illustration.OptionalQueering the Past - Level 3 2027-28HST3103MLevel 62027-28How can history and heritage be more inclusive of LGBTIQ+ lives and experiences? And how can queer perspectives help us to better understand the complexities of the past? This module responds to these questions by examining queer histories from the Ancient World to the present day. Taking a global view, the module investigates how concepts such as sex, sexuality, gender, the body, friendship, and family have been organised in diverse ways across different times and places. In addition to considering how particular sexual and gender identities have emerged, the module also engages with ideas of queer history as a method for historical enquiry: one that is sceptical about binary analyses and linear narratives of progress.OptionalRace, Media, and Screen Culture in 20th Century Britain 2027-28HST3089MLevel 62027-28Media and screen culture were powerful means of defining ‘Englishness’ as a racial construct in the 20th century. This module examines the complex relationship between race, media, and screen culture from World War I, when representations of the British empire were increasingly available to British audiences, up to the 1980s, when tensions over immigration were evident on film and television screens throughout the UK. Students will examine constructions of race across a variety of primary sources including ‘empire films’ from the 1930s, documentaries, home-movies, and television, as well as media authored by Black and Asian Britons in the post-war period. Students will gain a critical in-depth understanding of the place of race within British screen culture, media, and society in the 20th Century.OptionalRepublicanism in Early Modern England, 1500-1700 2027-28HST3081MLevel 62027-28Although early modern England was a kingdom, governed by a monarch, many historians have claimed that there was a strong ‘republican’ undercurrent to Tudor and Stuart political thought. This module introduces students to the key approaches and methodologies of the history of ideas by focusing upon the various ways in which scholars have studied and conceptualised republicanism in early modern England and the ongoing debate surrounding the origin, content and influence of republican ideas in the period 1500-1700.OptionalRoman Lincoln 2027-28CLS3010MLevel 62027-28This module explores the history, archaeology, visual and material culture of Roman Lincoln (Lindum Colonia), within the context of the provinces of Roman Britain. It is designed to provide students with the opportunity to handle and analyse objects from the Lincolnshire Archives and The Collection museum, to engage with the evidence that is visible in the modern city, to engage with excavation reports as primary evidence, and to consider how a military and urban centre was connected to rural sites, towns and the forts beyond.OptionalRome and Constantinople: Monuments and Memory, 200-1200 2027-28CLS3028MLevel 62027-28This module explores the political, social, economic, cultural, and religious history of two capitals of the Roman empire: Rome and Constantinople, or Old Rome and New Rome as they came to be called in the East. These were imperial cities where the most powerful figures - emperors and patriarchs, popes and saints - of Antiquity and the Middle Ages constructed and destroyed, appropriated and reorientated spaces, buildings, and structures. In this module we shall look at palaces and fortifications, hippodromes and churches, triumphal arches and mausolea, fora and harbours, discovering and discussing not only how and why they were built and maintained, but also their perception and remembrance over the centuries from 200 to 1200. Students will gain knowledge of the evolving configuration of Rome and Constantinople, and have the opportunity to prepare a cultural biography of a monument of their choice from one of these two cities of empire.OptionalRulers and Kings: Visualising Authority in Medieval Europe 2027-28HST3076MLevel 62027-28This module investigates the nature of rulership during the middle ages, exploring how images and architecture served to visually define and articulate the authority of kings and rulers during the Middle Ages. The module will discuss in depth three different case studies: Charlemagne and the Holy Roman Empire; the Norman rulers of Southern Italy; Louis IX and the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris.OptionalSexualities and Gender in Modern Britain and Europe: From the French Revolution to the Present 2027-28HST3099MLevel 62027-28This module introduces some of the major themes in the British and European history of sexuality. It employs comparative and transnational history to explore how, for example, Continental European sexual policies impacted Britain and the extent to which some attitudes to sexual behaviors were unique of specific national contexts. It explores how sexuality became central to British and European identities, culture and politics. It also considers official and unofficial discourses about sexuality and gender in law, the human sciences and culture, paying particular attention to the geographical contexts in which these discourses emerged and how they moved across countries.OptionalSlavery in Late Antiquity 2027-28CLS3033Level 62027-28Slavery was fundamental to the society and economy of Late Antiquity, as it was throughout much of the ancient world. This module explores the different ways in which slavery and dependency structured how the people of the late ancient world lived, as far as possible focusing on the experiences of the enslaved themselves. Drawing on laws, literary texts, religious writings and material and visual culture, students will gain a deep understanding of the complexities of slavery, will develop their vocabulary for talking about enslavement as social and cultural praxes, and will learn how to use a range of research resources for examining the social worlds of Late Antiquity. The module will be assessed through the production of a series of blog posts, so that students will also learn the valuable skills of writing for the web and creating interesting and engaging digital content.OptionalTeaching History: designing and delivering learning in theory and practice - level 3 2027-28HST3102MLevel 62027-28Teaching History deepens students' understanding of the practice of teaching history in the classroom. The module encourages students, especially but not exclusively those who may be considering a career in education (or related industries), to think more deeply about pedagogic theory and teaching practice in History. Students will be given the opportunity to gain some practical experience in instructing their peers and online audiences. There will be a strong focus on reflecting on prior learning experiences and the module will begin by providing students with an overview of the history of history teaching. History teaching will be examined at primary and secondary level, and in other educational contexts.OptionalThe Armenians: Crafting Community, Communicating History 2027-28HST3075MLevel 62027-28OptionalThe City and the Citizen: urban space and the shaping of modern life, 1850 to present. 2027-28HST3071MLevel 62027-28This module aims to examine how living in cities shaped the ways our lives and society have developed since the 19th Century. In the early 19th Century the population of Europe largely lived in rural settlements, yet 100 years later the populations of Western Europe's cities had exploded. Cities produced new forms of social organisation: for the first time drag queens and prostitutes rubbed shoulders with housewives, the rich discovered the poor on their very doorsteps and the unregulated spaces of cities became havens for counter-cultures, deviant sexualities and radical politics.OptionalThe Emperor in the Roman World (Third Year) 2027-28CLS3022MLevel 62027-28This module surveys the history of the Roman Empire not as a succession of emperors and achievements, victories and defeats, but as a complex of experiments in government and of attitudes to governance. Beginning with the transition from representative republican rule to the domination of an imperial dynasty and its network of élite dependants in the early first century, and concluding with the incipient takeover of this system by a newly Christianised ruling class in the early fourth century, students can explore the role of the emperor in the Roman world and the patterns of communication between him and his subjects.OptionalThe Internet: A Social and Cultural History 2027-28HST3108Level 62027-28This module, ‘The Internet: A Social and Cultural History,’ examines how ordinary people experienced the internet in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Using a social and cultural history approach, we will move beyond Whiggish histories of technological developments or innovators, to instead examine how a range of people embraced the internet within their daily lives, navigated multiplying ‘search’ platforms, made decisions around associated hardware like the iphone, and also grappled with new understandings of surveillance in the early 21st century. Central to the module will be a consideration of the methodologies historians can use to provide histories of internet spaces, activities, and events.OptionalThe Making of a Tragedy: The United States and the Vietnam War (1945-1975) 2027-28HST3091MLevel 62027-28OptionalThe Medieval Mediterranean: Sites and Artefacts – Coexistence and Conflict 2027-28HST3105MLevel 62027-28OptionalThe Philosophy and History of Colour 2027-28PHL3008MLevel 62027-28The world as we encounter it in visual perception is a world of coloured objects – red buses, yellow daffodils, blue skies, and the like. Colour raises a variety of perplexing philosophical puzzles concerning the nature of physical reality and our epistemic to the mental states of others. This module serves as an introduction to these issues. Some of the questions to be explored include: Do objects really have the colours we ordinarily take them to possess? If so, what sort of property is colour? Are colours really just ‘impressions’ that exist only in the mind? If so, what causes these impressions? Do such impressions have representational content? What is the relationship between philosophical and scientific theories of colour? This is an interdisciplinary module that also explores issues relating to colour in art history and the history of science.OptionalThe Roman City 2027-28CLS3029MLevel 62027-28To the citizens of the Roman world, civility (civilitas) – right conduct of government, sound behaviour of individuals, citizenship itself – was a function of the city (civitas), which constituted the centre of the Roman state and society. This module will take students on a guided tour of the Roman city, using each stop along the way as a point of entry into one or more aspects of the politics, society, economy, and culture of Rome and its empire. Students will be challenged to reimagine urban life via a detailed engagement with a representative array of written, material, and visual sources and the main lines of the secondary literature.OptionalThe Roman Countryside 2027-28CLS3030MLevel 62027-28Before the Roman invasion of AD 43, everyone in Britain lived in ‘the countryside’, for the simple reason that there were no cities or towns. Indeed, throughout the four centuries of Roman rule which followed, the vast majority of people still lived outside of urban and military centres. The core objective of this module is an archaeological exploration of the great diversity of evidence, analysing the significance of the changing nature of rural society and the creation of rural landscapes and identities, focusing on Britain from the late pre-Roman Iron Age, through the Roman period, to its sub-Roman aftermath (c. 100 BC–AD 500).OptionalThe World of Late Antiquity, 150-750 (Third Year) 2027-28CLS3024MLevel 62027-28This module aims to develop students' understanding of the political, social and cultural history of Late Antiquity (150-750), with a particular focus on two world-changing religious developments: the rise of Christianity and Islam. Although the geographical focus of our studies will be on eastern Mediterranean lands of an empire ruled from Constantinople, known to later scholars as the Byzantine Empire, the geographical range of the module will be wide and include western Europe, including the western Mediterranean, Persia, Arabia, and ‘barbarian’ territories beyond the Roman frontiers on the Rhine and Danube.OptionalThemes in Early Modern Art 2027-28AHS3002MLevel 62027-28OptionalWhat is the Renaissance? 2027-28HST3058MLevel 62027-28This module aims to explore the intellectual and cultural achievements of the Renaissance, as well as its historiographic context. The period of transition from 'medieval' to 'modern' society that the Renaissance represents (or has been characterised as representing) is one of the most challenging areas of historical study, profoundly influencing historiography. Students have the opportunity to examine in depth to what extent the historical periodisation of the 'Renaissance' has been a deliberate, although sometimes contentious, means to better understand events of the past, particularly in relation to cultural analysis.Optional

What You Need to Know

We want you to have all the information you need to make an informed decision on where and what you want to study. In addition to the information provided on this course page, our What You Need to Know page offers explanations on key topics including programme validation/revalidation, additional costs, contact hours, and our return to face-to-face teaching.

How you are assessed

We use a variety of assessment forms from traditional essays and examinations to presentations, critical book reviews, and projects.

Facilities

Students studying History at Lincoln are privileged to have access to a range of unique local resources in the city of Lincoln itself.

Lincoln Cathedral

Students enjoy access to the unique Cathedral libraries which house a remarkable collection of medieval manuscripts and rare books.

Lincoln Castle

Built in 1068, Lincoln Castle houses an original 1215 Magna Carta and 1217 Charter of the Forest.

The Lincoln Museum

We have privileged access to The Lincoln Museum which contains artefacts from the Stone Age, Roman Lincoln and the Civil War, unearthed during archaeological digs in Lincolnshire.

International Bomber Command Centre

Discover the region’s World War II history at the International Bomber Command Centre in Lincoln. Lincolnshire housed over a third of all the WWII Bomber Command Stations and the centre provides one of the most comprehensive records of Bomber Command in the world.

Roman Lincoln

Lincoln was founded in the mid-first-century AD as a legionary base. It has an abundance of Roman history and heritage above and below ground including Roman ruins and the original Roman Arch at the city’s entrance.

Take a tour of our historic city!

Tour the magnificent city of Lincoln with two of our students as they talk you through some of the historic highlights Lincoln has to offer.

Award-winning Teaching

Dr Jamie Wood, who teaches on the course and is the School of History and Heritage Director of Teaching and Learning, has been awarded a Royal Historical Society Award for Teaching Innovation.

History Society

The student-managed History Society organises events, visits, and visiting speakers. Students will have the opportunity to join the society during Welcome Week

Research

Research in the School covers more than 2,000 years of history and several continents, including Byzantium, the Suffragettes, sexuality in the 20th Century in England, Latin America, medical history, and medieval Spain. Staff maintain a high research profile, with regular attendance at key national and international conferences, and as invited speakers at a wide variety of other institutions' research seminars. Staff also present their most recent research findings at a regular seminar series.

Read About Our Research

Study Abroad

Our students have the option of a term abroad during the second year, in one of several institutions in the USA, Canada, and Europe, including the University of Ghent in Belgium; Palacky University in the Czech Republic; SUNY Oneonta in the USA; and Wilfred Laurier University in Canada. Please note that students will be responsible for their own transport, accommodation, and general list costs while studying abroad.

The course helped to shape the person I am today. I grew as an historian and in the process, learned invaluable life and career skills that will assist me in the future. I made lifelong friendships with people from around the globe, and I will always look at those three years at Lincoln as some of the best and most valuable years of my life.

Placements

There is an option on this course to undertake a work placement during the final year. Past placements have included roles in museums, heritage sites, schools, and charities. Students are encouraged to obtain placements independently, tutors will however provide support if required. Students are responsible for their travel, accommodation, and general living costs during an optional work placement.

What Can I Do with a History Degree?

History graduates may find employment in a wide range of sectors. Graduates have gone on to careers in education, government, the civil service, media, journalism, heritage, and the arts. Some go on to postgraduate study.

United Kingdom

104 UCAS Tariff points from a minimum of 2 A Levels or equivalent qualifications.

BTEC Extended Diploma: Distinction, Merit, Merit.

T Level: Merit

Access to Higher Education Diploma: 45 Level 3 credits with a minimum of 104 UCAS Tariff points.

International Baccalaureate: 28 points overall.

GCSE's: Minimum of three at grade 4 or above, which must include English. Equivalent Level 2 qualifications may be considered.

The University accepts a wide range of qualifications as the basis for entry and do accept a combination of qualifications which may include A Levels, BTECs, EPQ etc.

We may also consider applicants with extensive and relevant work experience and will give special individual consideration to those who do not meet the standard entry qualifications.

International

Non UK Qualifications:

If you have studied outside of the UK, and are unsure whether your qualification meets the above requirements, please visit our country pages https://www.lincoln.ac.uk/studywithus/internationalstudents/entryrequirementsandyourcountry/ for information on equivalent qualifications.

EU and Overseas students will be required to demonstrate English language proficiency equivalent to IELTS 6.0 overall, with a minimum of 5.5 in each element. For information regarding other English language qualifications we accept, please visit the English Requirements page https://www.lincoln.ac.uk/studywithus/internationalstudents/englishlanguagerequirementsandsupport/englishlanguagerequirements/

If you do not meet the above IELTS requirements, you may be able to take part in one of our Pre-sessional English and Academic Study Skills courses.

https://www.lincoln.ac.uk/studywithus/internationalstudents/englishlanguagerequirementsandsupport/pre-sessionalenglishandacademicstudyskills/

For applicants who do not meet our standard entry requirements, our Arts Foundation Year can provide an alternative route of entry onto our full degree programmes:
https://www.lincoln.ac.uk/course/afyafyub/

If you would like further information about entry requirements, or would like to discuss whether the qualifications you are currently studying are acceptable, please contact the Admissions team on 01522 886097, or email admissions@lincoln.ac.uk

Contextual Offers

At Lincoln, we recognise that not everybody has had the same advice and support to help them get to higher education. Contextual offers are one of the ways we remove the barriers to higher education, ensuring that we have fair access for all students regardless of background and personal experiences. For more information, including eligibility criteria, visit our Offer Guide pages. If you are applying to a course that has any subject specific requirements, these will still need to be achieved as part of the standard entry criteria.

Fees and Scholarships

Going to university is a life-changing step and it's important to understand the costs involved and the funding options available before you start. A full breakdown of the fees associated with this programme can be found on our course fees pages.

Course Fees

For eligible undergraduate students going to university for the first time, scholarships and bursaries are available to help cover costs. To help support students from outside of the UK, we are also delighted to offer a number of international scholarships which range from £1,000 up to the value of 50 per cent of tuition fees. For full details and information about eligibility, visit our scholarships and bursaries pages.

Course -Specific Additional Costs

Students are responsible for their travel, accommodation, and general living costs during an optional work placement.

Exchange students applying to study outside of Europe do not pay tuition fees at their host university, but continue to pay tuition fees at their home institution.

Participants will usually be responsible for all other costs themselves including travel, accommodation, general living expenses, visas, insurance, vaccinations, and administrative fees at the host institution.

Students undertaking an exchange keep their entitlement to UK sources of funding such as student loans and should apply to their awarding body in the normal way, indicating that they will be studying abroad.

Students may also be able to apply to their Local Education Authority or the Student Awards Agency for Scotland for further funding to assist with travel expenses. Please contact them for further information.

Find out More by Visiting Us

The best way to find out what it is really like to live and learn at Lincoln is to visit us in person. We offer a range of opportunities across the year to help you to get a real feel for what it might be like to study here.

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BA (Hons)
History

Key Information

Campus

Typical Offer

Duration

UCAS Code

Academic Year

Lincoln Cathedral

Lincoln Castle

The Lincoln Museum

International Bomber Command Centre

Roman Lincoln

United Kingdom

International

Find out More by Visiting Us

BA (Hons) Conservation of Cultural Heritage

BA (Hons) Classical Studies

BA (Hons) English and History

BA (Hons) Modern History

BA (Hons) Philosophy

Course Overview

Why Choose Lincoln

How You Study

Modules

What You Need to Know

How you are assessed

Facilities

Lincoln Cathedral

Lincoln Castle

The Lincoln Museum

International Bomber Command Centre

Roman Lincoln

Take a tour of our historic city!

Award-winning Teaching

History Society

Research

Study Abroad

Placements

What Can I Do with a History Degree?

Entry Requirements 2025-26

United Kingdom

International

Contextual Offers

Fees and Scholarships

Find out More by Visiting Us

Explore Related Courses

BA (Hons) Conservation of Cultural Heritage

BA (Hons) Classical Studies

BA (Hons) English and History

BA (Hons) Modern History

BA (Hons) Philosophy