2017/8 - HIS-4001A INTRODUCTION TO MEDIEVAL HISTORY
Autumn Semester, Level 4 module
(Maximum 280 Students)
UCU: 20
Organiser: Professor Stephen Church
MODULE - 40% PASS ON AGGREGATE
Module Type: Coursework
Timetable Slot:D2,E1,U
This module is designed to provide an introduction to medieval history both for first year
historians and students from other schools. It surveys the history of medieval Europe,
including England, from c.1000 to c1300, and also examines some archaeology, literature,
art, and architecture from the period. The module also aims to introduce students to a range of
primary sources, including some of the physical remains to be found in East Anglia.
2017/8 - HIS-4002A INTRODUCTION TO EARLY MODERN STUDIES
Autumn Semester, Level 4 module
(Maximum 250 Students)
UCU: 20
Organiser: Dr Joel Halcomb
MODULE - 40% PASS ON AGGREGATE
Module Type: Coursework
Timetable Slot:D5,E3,U
This module introduces key themes in early modern history: witchcraft, gender, rebellion,
religious conflict, the reformation, warfare, state formation and other key aspects of the
period 1500-1750.
2017/8 - HIS-4003A INTRODUCTION TO MODERN HISTORY
Autumn Semester, Level 4 module
(Maximum 360 Students)
UCU: 20
Organiser: Dr Geoffrey Hicks
MODULE - 40% PASS ON AGGREGATE
Module Type: Coursework
Timetable Slot:B4,A5,U
This module provides a wide-ranging introduction to the political, social and economic
transformation of Britain and Europe from the late eighteenth century to the First World War.
Among the themes it considers are industrialisation and its impact; revolution and reform;
nationalism and imperialism; gender and society; great power relations; the impact of war
and the collapse of the old Europe in 1917-18.
2017/8 - HIS-5002A THE ORIGINS OF THE ENGLISH LANDSCAPE 4000BC TO
1066AD
Autumn Semester, Level 5 module
(Maximum 999 Students)
UCU: 20
Organiser: Professor Robert Liddiard
MODULE - 40% PASS ON AGGREGATE
Module Type: Coursework
Timetable Slot:C2,D9,U
This module will examine the development of the English landscape from early prehistoric
times to the late Saxon period. We will examine the field archaeology of the Neolithic,
Bronze and Iron Ages, discuss the landscapes of Roman Britain, and assess the nature of the
Roman/Saxon transition. We will then investigate the development of territorial organisation,
field systems and settlement patterns during the Saxon and early medieval periods. The
module provides an introduction to the theory and methods of landscape archaeology, as well
as giving a broad overview of the development of society, economy and landscape in the
period up to c.1100.
2017/8 - HIS-5005A ANGLO-SAXON ENGLAND, C. 500-1066
Autumn Semester, Level 5 module
(Maximum 999 Students)
UCU: 20
Organiser: Dr Tom Licence
MODULE - 40% PASS ON AGGREGATE
Module Type: Coursework
Timetable Slot:A4,A8, A6/A7
This module surveys the history of the English from their arrival in Britain in the fifth century
until the end of the eleventh century and the conquest of England by the Normans. We shall
cover topics such as the conversion of the English in the seventh century; the domination of
England by Mercia in the eighth century; the Viking invasions and the reign of Alfred the
Great; the emergence of Wessex as the dominant force in Britain in the tenth century; the
conquest of England by the Danes in the eleventh century; and the Norman Conquest of
England in 1066.
2017/8 - HIS-5011A THE RISE AND FALL OF BRITISH POWER
Autumn Semester, Level 5 module
(Maximum 999 Students)
UCU: 20
Organiser: Dr Geoffrey Hicks
MODULE - 40% PASS ON AGGREGATE
Module Type: Coursework
Timetable Slot:C5,D4,C6/C7/C8
This module examines Britain's expansion and decline as a great power, from the end of the
Napoleonic Wars to the 1950s. It considers the foundations of British power, the emergence
of rivals, Britain's relationship with the European powers and the USA, and the impact of two
World Wars and Cold War. It investigates the reasons for Britain's changing fortunes, as it
moved from guarding the balance of power to losing its empire.
2017/8 - HIS-5018A MODERN GERMANY, 1914-1990
Autumn Semester, Level 5 module
(Maximum 999 Students)
UCU: 20
Organiser: Dr Jan Vermeiren
MODULE - 40% PASS ON AGGREGATE
Module Type: Coursework
Timetable Slot:E1*,D9,U
This module introduces students to German history in the twentieth century which was
characterised by various radical regime changes and territorial alterations. Topics include
German world policy and nationalism in the late imperial period; imperialism and
expansionism during the First World War; the challenges of modernity in the Weimar
Republic; the rise of Hitler and the formation of the Nazi empire in Europe; the post-war
division of Germany and the legacy of the Third Reich; the nature of the GDR dictatorship
and the problem of West German terrorism; as well as the fall of the Berlin Wall and
reunification. Special attention will be given to questions of nationalism and national identity,
issues of history and memory, and Germany’s role in Europe and the world. On completion
of this unit, students will have developed a solid understanding of one of the most dramatic
periods of German history when the country oscillated between the two extremes of war and
repression, on the one hand, and the return to peace and democracy, on the other.
2017/8 - HIS-5019A IMPERIAL RUSSIAN AND SOVIET HISTORY, 1861-1945
Autumn Semester, Level 5 module
(Maximum 999 Students)
UCU: 20
Organiser: Professor Peter Waldron
MODULE - 40% PASS ON AGGREGATE
Module Type: Coursework
Timetable Slot:B1,C3,U
This module examines some of the main themes in Russian history between the
Emancipation of the Serfs and the outbreak of the Second World War. We will look at the
nature of industrialisation and the peasant economy, the autocracy and its fall in 1917, the
revolutionary movement and the nationalities question. We will then examine how the
Revolution of 1917 changed the state and the ways in which the Communists attempted to
change society before 1929. We conclude by examining the country during the era of the five
year plans and the impact of the Stalinist system on the Soviet Union before the outbreak of
world war.
2017/8 - HIS-5025A REFORMATION TO REVOLUTION
Autumn Semester, Level 5 module
(Maximum 999 Students)
UCU: 20
Organiser: Dr Emily Cockayne
MODULE - 40% PASS ON AGGREGATE
Module Type: Coursework
Timetable Slot:C7, C8*A9/D8*B9
This module examines three centuries of European history connecting two unprecedented
revolutionary epochs: the Reformation of the sixteenth century and the American and French
revolutions at the end of the early modern era. We will look at key themes and movements in
these centuries, including the politics of the Reformation; the Mediterranean work of the
Ottomans and Habsburg Spain; the Dutch Golden Age; the great political and religious
struggles of the seventeenth century, including wars in the British Isles, the Holy Roman
Empire, and the Baltic; the Russia of the Romanov czars and Peter the Great; the growth of
centralised states and absolutism in France, Prussia and Austria; the Enlightenment; the rise
of the Atlantic economies; and the challenge to the Old Regime from revolutionary politics.
2017/8 - HIS-5026A HERITAGE AND PUBLIC HISTORY
Autumn Semester, Level 5 module
(Maximum 999 Students)
UCU: 20
Organiser: Dr Jon Gregory
MODULE - 40% PASS ON AGGREGATE
Module Type: Coursework and Project
Timetable Slot:A2,D3*C4/B6*B7
This module explores the theory and practice of public history and the meaning and
importance of heritage. It looks at the ways in which history is presented in the public sphere,
in museums and galleries, at heritage sites and historic buildings, in the media and online.
The module considers questions such as, how is the past used? How do we balance academic
approaches with the need to engage an audience? What are the links between heritage and
national identity? How can authenticity be achieved? Who ‘owns’ historic sites? The module
will include visits to a variety of heritage sites.
2017/8 - HIS-5042A EARLY MEDIEVAL EUROPE: WARRIORS, SAINTS AND
RULERS
Autumn Semester, Level 5 module
(Maximum 999 Students)
UCU: 20
Organiser: Dr Hugh Doherty
MODULE - 40% PASS ON AGGREGATE
Module Type: Coursework
Timetable Slot:B2,D4, C6/C7
This course explores the experiences and fortunes of the peoples of the western peninsula of
Eurasia between the rule of the Emperor Constantine I in the 330s and the call to crusade in
the 1090s. At the beginning of the period the lands centred on the Mediterranean and much of
its hinterland were situated within the Roman empire. Yet, within three hundred years, this
empire had disintegrated and been replaced by a number of successor states, ruled by
competing dynasties. These states included Visigothic Hispania, Vandal Africa, and
Merovingian Francia. Another—in fact, the longest lived of all the successor states—was the
eastern empire centred on Constantinople, long known to historians as ‘the Byzantine
empire’. By the close of the seventh century, many of these states had themselves been
conquered by Arabic and African warriors committed to the new religion of Islam and been
incorporated in the Caliphate centred on the city of Damascus—an empire which easily
rivalled the might, spread, and power of Rome before its own collapse and fission in circa
1000. What Islamic rulers could do, so too could Christian ones. In 800 the son of a Frankish
usurper, Charlemagne, was crowned emperor of the West. The actions and ambitions of this
emperor were as formative and as formidable in the history of ninth and tenth century Europe
as those of Napoleon in the eighteenth and nineteenth. The heirs and successors of
Charlemagne—whether Frankish, Ottonian, or Scandinavian—were long compelled to
negotiate his legacy and memory. By the eleventh century even the Roman pontiffs, now
advancing a new programme of reform and renewal, were looking to situate themselves in
relation to his Salian successors. The summons to liberate Jerusalem and rescue the Greek
empire in the east, carefully tailored to the aspirations of the new élites of Francia and
Catalonia, was perhaps the most explosive strategy advanced by these Roman pontiffs. This
course is thus broad in chronological scope, covering more than eight hundred years, and
extensive in geographical range, taking us from the Atlantic to the Euphrates, from the Atlas
mountains to the North Sea. In the course of this journey we will meet many warriors, saints,
and rulers, both female and male.
2017/8 - HIS-5045A THE FIRST BRITISH EMPIRE
Autumn Semester, Level 5 module
(Maximum 999 Students)
UCU: 20
Organiser: Professor Geoffrey Plank
MODULE - 40% PASS ON AGGREGATE
Module Type: Coursework
Timetable Slot:C6,D1*D2/A5*A6
Between the sixteenth and the early nineteenth centuries, the English crossed the oceans and
claimed territory on every continent other than Antarctica. This module surveys the creation
and growth of British Empire, examining its origins and its impact on an array of peoples. In
the context of studying how the empire spread and functioned, we will consider the varied
experiences of Africans, Native Americans, Aboriginal Australians, Protestant refugees from
the continent of Europe, the peoples of India, the Irish, and British settlers across the globe.
The complex, intimate, and often violent interactions of these groups led to ideological
battles pitting loyalism against republicanism, for example, and imperial “civilization”
against an array of indigenous cultural revivals. At first glance these struggles may seem to
place the British against the subject peoples of their empire, but on closer examination it
becomes apparent that they fractured nearly every population within the imperial domains.
The creative energy of the British Empire stemmed in large part from collaborations between
British groups and individuals and segments of their purported imperial subjects in building,
reforming, or in some cases seeking to destroy the structures of imperialism
2017/8 - HIS-5059A FRANCE FROM THE ENLIGHTENMENT TO THE BELLE
ÉPOQUE
Autumn Semester, Level 5 module
(Maximum 999 Students)
UCU: 20
Organiser: Dr David Gilks
MODULE - 40% PASS ON AGGREGATE
Module Type: Coursework
Timetable Slot:C4, B6*B7/C8*A9
This module will introduce you to an eventful period of history during which France
exercised a preponderant role over European affairs and culture. The module will provide you
with the essential background knowledge of political events, revolutions and wars but it will
also encourage you to explore deeper social and cultural trends. In the first weeks we will
reconsider ‘Old regime’ France, drawing attention to its dynamism and cultural richness
before turning to the crises that discredited Bourbon absolutism. In subsequent weeks we will
focus on the Revolutionary-Napoleonic epoch: our endeavour here will be to explain why the
Revolution was revolutionary in theory, violent in practice and dictatorial in consequence.
We will then reflect on the Restoration. Using extracts from Hugo’s Les Misérables as our
starting point, we will look at how rapid industrialization generated social tensions that
successive ministries tried to diffuse through repression and reform. Next, we will look at the
France of the Second Republic and Second Empire; our focus here will be Napoleon III’s
modernization initiatives and dramatic remodelling of Paris. Finally, we will approach the
history of the Third Republic between 1870 and 1914 from three angles: its success in
making the populace feel French; science, art and culture; and its nationalistic foreign-policy,
which contributed toward undermining the general European peace. The seminars for this
module will provide us with an opportunity to analyse and discuss in depth an eclectic range
of primary sources, including textual documents (in English translation) ranging from
constitutions to period fictional writings, maps, advertisements, artwork, extant material and
architectural evidence, and music.
2017/8 - HIS-5064A WOMEN, POWER, AND POLITICS (I): ISABEL OF CASTILE
TO MARY WOLLSTONECRAFT
Autumn Semester, Level 5 module
(Maximum 999 Students)
UCU: 20
Organiser: Dr Silvia Evangelisti
MODULE - 40% PASS ON AGGREGATE
Module Type: Coursework
Timetable Slot:D7,D2*A3/E1*E2
This module examines the issue of gender in European history, between 1500 and 1750.
Using a variety of written and visual sources, and including a comparative element, it focuses
on the following themes: definitions of femininity and masculinity; life-cycles; family,
kinship, and marriage; social exclusion, charity and the welfare state; law, crime, and order;
witchcraft and magic; honour, sex, and sexual identities; work; learning and the arts; material
culture; the impact of European expansions.
2017/8 - HIS-5065A BETWEEN EAST AND WEST: INTERNATIONAL HISTORY
SINCE 1890
Autumn Semester, Level 5 module
(Maximum 999 Students)
UCU: 20
Organiser: Dr Jayne Gifford
MODULE - 40% PASS ON AGGREGATE
Module Type: Coursework
Timetable Slot:D7, U
The beginning of the twentieth century witnessed a period of immense instability and change
with the emergence of the United States as an international actor in the West and the Japanese
break from the Chinese sphere of influence in the East. This was underpinned by
technological developments, the expansion of global empires, extreme economic dislocation
and two global wars. This module will examine the conduct and content of the foreign
policies of the major powers from the 1890s, with the Sino-Japanese War and the SpanishAmerican War, to the German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941. The module will assess
the interplay of the political, military, economic, strategic and cultural forces that shaped the
beginning of the twentieth century and which continue to resonate in the contemporary world.
2017/8 - HIS-5066A JAPAN IN MODERN TIMES
Autumn Semester, Level 5 module
(Maximum 999 Students)
UCU: 20
Organiser: Dr Nadine Willems
MODULE - 40% PASS ON AGGREGATE
Module Type: Coursework
Timetable Slot:B4,E3, A5/A6/A7/A8
In just a few decades Japan emerged from its feudal and isolationist condition and became a
thriving capitalist nation-state with imperialist ambitions on the world’s stage. From the midnineteenth century onwards, the country re-invented itself, combining the strength of its
traditions with Western models of government, economic management, social structure and
culture. Samurai gave way to elite bureaucrats; a skilled industrial workforce gradually
displaced the peasantry; education expanded with remarkable speed; new infrastructure
transformed the physical landscape. New patterns of daily life, social tensions and cultural
aspirations accompanied these changes. The aggressive expansionist policy and
authoritarianism of the 1930s precipitated the country into a war with devastating
consequences, only for Japan to resurrect itself as a global industrial power and stable
democracy in the post-war era. This module examines this process of transformation from
circa 1850, when Western powers pressured Japan into opening to international trade, to the
oil shock of the 1970s that brought an end to Japan’s high growth phase. Students will pay
attention to the intellectual and cultural trends that informed Japan’s development. They will
investigate concepts such as revolution, national identity, civilizational discourse, late
imperialism, and historical memory. They will also explore social and economic change as
reflected in lived experience, for example in farms and villages at the turn of the century; on
the home front during the Russo-Japanese War; in bustling cities during the Taisho era; in
colonial outposts before and during the Pacific War; and in occupied Japan afterwards.
2017/8 - HIS-5067A TUDOR ENGLAND
Autumn Semester, Level 5 module
(Maximum 999 Students)
UCU: 20
Organiser: Dr Jessica Sharkey
MODULE - 40% PASS ON AGGREGATE
Module Type: Coursework
Timetable Slot:D7,D2,U
The Tudors are England’s most famous royal dynasty. This module seeks to move beyond the
traditional stories of Henry’s turbulent marriages and Elizabeth’s stunning victory over the
Spanish Armada. The module aims to give students a better understanding of the change and
turmoil the Tudor century caused, not just to the monarchs themselves but to the lives of their
subjects, the everyday people of England. Beyond establishing a strong chronological
knowledge of the sixteenth century and its religious upheavals, the module will consider
issues of gender; the changing construction of the social order; the importance and
developing role of local elites; problems caused by poverty and dearth; and the position of
England within Britain itself and within Europe.
2017/8 - HIS-5068A HISTORY OF MODERN ITALY
Autumn Semester, Level 5 module
(Maximum 999 Students)
UCU: 20
Organiser: Dr Matthew D'Auria
MODULE - 40% PASS ON AGGREGATE
Module Type: Coursework
Timetable Slot:C1, C3*D4/U
Since the unification of the states of the Italian peninsula, the history of modern Italy has
been the subject of intense historical debate. Modern Italy has often been cast as a ‘weak’
state and ‘fragile’ nation, riven by particularism and by competing secular and religious
ideologies, ‘economically backward’, less successful than its national neighbours, and ‘the
least of the Great Powers’. More recent historiography has sought to challenge or modify
these perceptions in a number of ways, and this course examines modern Italian history from
unification to present day, in the light of these ongoing historiographical debates. a) Italian
nationalism, the process of Italian unification and the attempts to create national unity after
1870; b) the relationship between socio-economic change and political development in
Liberal Italy; c) the impact of the First World War on Italian society and politics; e) the
nature of the Fascist regime and its impact on Italian society; f) the radicalisation of the
regime, its racial policies and the quest for Empire; g) Italy’s role in World War II, the
reasons for the collapse of the Fascist regime, and the emergence of civil war. h) Italian
history since 1945.
2017/8 - HIS-6023A YOUTH IN MODERN EUROPE
Autumn Semester, Level 6 module
(Maximum 999 Students)
UCU: 30
Organiser: Dr Matthias Neumann
MODULE - 40% PASS ON AGGREGATE
Module Type: Coursework
Timetable Slot:C7C8A9
The importance of youth as a driving force for social change has been recognised by many
historians. Young people were often at the forefront wherever revolutions took place, wars
were fought and tensions in society erupted. However, the historical study of youth is still a
relatively young discipline. The module uses ‘youth’ as a prism to study key themes in 20th
century European history, such as the experience of war, life under dictatorship and the
longue durée of social change. We shall examine the diverse experience of youth in Western
and Eastern Europe during war and peace times, including the Communist and Nazi statesponsored youth systems, and also the way in which generational experience and conflicts
became underlying forces for social and political change. The module employs a strong
comparative approach and countries studied include France, Britain, the Soviet Union, West
and East Germany, Poland, Hungary and Czechoslovakia. The seminars will be accompanied
by several film screenings.
2017/8 - HIS-6026A VICTORIAN UNDERWORLDS
Autumn Semester, Level 6 module
(Maximum 999 Students)
UCU: 30
Organiser: Professor Emma Griffin
MODULE - 40% PASS ON AGGREGATE
Module Type: Coursework
Timetable Slot:A1*A2*D3
This module introduces students to the darker side of life in Victorian Britain. Though this
was undoubtedly a period of economic prosperity, not everyone shared in the gains. In this
module we shall look at those who, for reasons of poverty or ‘deviance’ were confined to the
margins. Topics will include the poor, the criminal and insane, prostitution, drink, childworkers, the workhouse, the London Irish, homosexuality and the Oscar Wilde case. By
looking at the margins and the misfits, we will seek to gain a deeper understanding of British
society in the nineteenth century.
2017/8 - HIS-6078A ROBIN HOOD: THE MEDIEVAL OUTLAW IN HISTORY AND
LEGEND
Autumn Semester, Level 6 module
(Maximum 999 Students)
UCU: 30
Organiser: Professor Stephen Church
MODULE - 40% PASS ON AGGREGATE
Module Type: Coursework
Timetable Slot:C1C2C3
The English medieval kingdom was extremely hierarchical. It was a society in which
resistance to authority by the vast majority of society was discouraged by the widespread use
of mutilation and execution. Yet it was also a society which applauded that resistance. All
sorts of levels of society, from the highest in the land (such as the king’s sons) to the lowest,
indulged in rebellion, but it was the outlaw who captured the popular imagination.
Encapsulated in the tales of Robin Hood, the outlaw is loyal, courageous, as well as being
clever enough to outsmart the authorities. And the authorities, of course, are disloyal, stupid,
and cowardly and use the cover of the law to behave corruptly. And so long as the outlaw
commits his crimes for a noble purpose, he remains a hero of the people. The unit will
examine the wider subject of resistance to royal authority by men who become outlaws and
their portrayal in popular legend from the Norman Conquest of England to the modern age
with its focus being the outlaw, for whom the name Robin Hood has become an archetype,
as, indeed, it did in the later middle ages, as outlaws took on the name pseudonym for their
own criminal activities.
2017/8 - HIS-6080A THE FRENCH REVOLUTION, 1789-1804
Autumn Semester, Level 6 module
(Maximum 999 Students)
UCU: 30
Organiser: Dr David Gilks
MODULE - 40% PASS ON AGGREGATE
Module Type: Coursework
Timetable Slot:A6*A7*A8
The French Revolution destroyed age-old cultural, institutional and social structures in
France and beyond. But, in their attempt to regenerate mankind, the revolutionaries were
creative as well as destructive. They created a new political culture with far-reaching
implications. This module will provide an opportunity to study different aspects of the
Revolution in depth. You will become familiar with the key political turning points and
political personalities of the revolutionary decade. But a great part of the module will be
devoted to exploring the artistic, cultural and intellectual dimensions of this eventful period.
2017/8 - HIS-6081A SLAVERY IN THE EARLY MODERN ATLANTIC WORLD
Autumn Semester, Level 6 module
(Maximum 999 Students)
UCU: 30
Organiser: Professor Geoffrey Plank
MODULE - 40% PASS ON AGGREGATE
Module Type: Coursework
Timetable Slot:E1*E2*E3
This module begins by surveying African, Native American and European labour regimes in
the fifteenth century in order to establish a foundation for studying the transformations that
followed European imperial expansion and the inauguration of the transatlantic slave trade.
We will examine the process of enslavement in Africa, North America, and the
Mediterranean; the ransom, exchange and sale of captives; and the development of slave
markets in the European colonies in the Americas. We will study childhood and family life in
various enslaved communities; the material lives of slaves; and the rise of distinct cultures
within the African diaspora. We will compare the Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch, French and
British Empires with regard to the practice of slavery. We will also trace patterns of slave
resistance, escapes, rebellions, and the creation of maroon communities. The semester will
end with an examination of the tangled international politics surrounding the abolition of the
transatlantic slave trade and the end of plantation slavery across the Atlantic World.
2017/8 - HIS-6082A GRAND STRATEGY
Autumn Semester, Level 6 module
(Maximum 999 Students)
UCU: 30
Organiser: Dr David Milne
MODULE - 40% PASS ON AGGREGATE
Module Type: Coursework
Timetable Slot:C1C2C3
This module examines the theory and practice of grand strategy in historical and
contemporary contexts from a variety of analytical perspectives. It defines grand strategy as
‘the calculated relation of means to large ends’. It focuses on how parts relate to the whole in
whatever an individual, a corporation or a nation might be seeking to accomplish. The
strategists considered range over some two and a half millennia. Some represent the best
thinking and writing on this subject; others exemplify success and failure in the
implementation of grand strategy.