Social and Cultural History

One year full-time or two years part-time

This postgraduate course is designed for students who wish to develop their knowledge and understanding of Social and Cultural History across a range of periods, regions and theoretical perspectives.

Students will develop the skills necessary to understand, critique, utilise and communicate concepts and theories used within social and cultural history. They will acquire methodological skills for historical research, particularly the selection, evaluation and interpretation of primary sources, including those available via the internet.

The course encourages intellectual independence and openness through the study of Social and Cultural History as interpretation of the past.

The course comprises 120 credits of taught modules and a 60 credit dissertation. Students must take the history research skills module and complete a dissertation. The remainder of the programme is made up from a selection of specialist modules (normally five 20 credit modules) which reflect staff research expertise.

• Re-engages social and cultural theory with the everyday, in terms of the experiences of people in the past, and people's perceptions of and approach to history in the contemporary world
• Students study a range of specialist topics in-depth with staff who are engaged in research and publication
• Much of the teaching is centred on the use and interpretation of primary sources, giving students the opportunity to engage in active learning

20 credit modules:

• Notions of Queenship in Elizabethan England
• English Local History
• Popular culture and the British experience of War, 1939-45
• Violence and the law in English society
• A world of goods: shopping and consumption in the eighteenth century
• Making the home: gender and material culture, c.1700-1900
• Madness and Mad-doctoring in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries
• Men at Arms: Masculinity and War in Britain
• Gender and crime in history, c.1700-1900
• Narrating the nation: rethinking modern British history
• Representing Total War
• Research skills

  60 credit modules:

• Dissertation

Reading lists will be supplied at the start of the course.

Course outline

The MA in Social and Cultural History is designed for those who wish to develop their knowledge and understanding of social and cultural history. It allows students to undertake detailed analysis of a variety of places, periods and processes - from crime and madness in the eighteenth century to the place of medievalism in 20th century popular culture. By studying particular topics in-depth, students are encouraged to think not only about the diversity of the past, but also how history itself is constructed. The course offers training in research skills and in the use of a wide range of primary data sources, placing historical documents and their analysis at the centre of the learning process. It also develops the student's ability to critically discuss key processes and debates, and the nature of historical evidence.

Course structure

The MA is taught on a full-time and part-time basis, with the opportunity to complete in one and two years respectively. The year is split into three trimesters.

Full-time students take 60 credits in each of the first two trimesters, running from September to January and February to May. They then complete their dissertation in the summer trimester, running June to September.

Part-time students take 80 credits in total in their first year (normally two 20 credit modules in each of the first two trimesters) and 100 credits in their second years, including the 60 credit dissertation.

Modules are normally of seven weeks duration, with classes typically running from 6.00pm to 9.00pm on weekday evenings. All students must take History Research Skills before proceeding to their dissertation. There is the opportunity to take one module outside of the Social and Cultural History programme.

Assessment is by coursework only, comprising essays, student presentations, book reviews, seminar portfolios, etc. For the award of Masters, students must accumulate a total of 180 credits, including a 15,000 word dissertation, undertaken under the supervision of an appropriate member of the course team. A Postgraduate Certificate is awarded for 60 credits and a Postgraduate Diploma for 120 credits.

Each module incorporates a variety of materials and teaching methods, including workshops, discussions of primary and secondary materials (such as film and videos, documentary sources and online resources), and student presentations. At Masters level study, we aim to encourage student-led debates and exchange of ideas.