Postgraduate History Modules

The module examines various aspects of the first half of the twentieth century, focussing particularly—but not only—on Europe and America. It examines the rise of mass society and modernity as social and cultural phenomena; the rise of mass politics in Europe, America, and beyond; the phenomenon of mass statelessness; the main strands of totalitarian ideology and liberal democracy; mass mobilisation in war and politics; economic and military conflict; and the growing ascendancy of the United States. 

The module examines various aspects of global history in the second half of the twentieth century. It takes its cue from a growing literature which sees ‘globalisation’ as a key feature of global history over the last half century. It will explore key areas in the process of globalisation: the creation of international institutions of truly global reach after the Second World War, in particular those connected to the United Nations and Bretton Woods; decolonisation, and the subsequent globalisation of the nation-state as the standard state form within a new world order, and of new conceptions of state ‘technopolitics’ to go with it; the global political, military, and cultural confrontation of the Cold War; the international political economy of oil; the global politics of the environment and of population control; and the global spread of a universalising discourse of human rights.

This module introduces you to the major developments in historical approaches since the Second World War and to some of the major schools of, or tendencies in, historical research such as the Annales School, the English historians’ response to Marxism, cultural history, the linguistic turn, gender, history of science and critical social theory (Geertz and Foucault). The focus is on the application of the ideas to historical practice then and now.

This module covers what the dissertation project will entail. You will be expected to produce a short dissertation proposal for submission and you will be allocated a tutor who will supervise your dissertation preparation work. You will have one-to-one meetings with your supervisor, but you will also attend available generic sessions on skills run on the Research Skills module and available across the University.

Special subject modules include:

• Activism, Affluence and Apathy
• After Hitler: Politics and Society in West Germany in the Adenauer Era, 1945-65
• Emotional Expression and English Culture in the Mid-20th Century
• Facing The Führer: British Foreign and Defence Policies Towards the European Dictators 1935-9
• From Rule Britannia to Pax Americana: A History of the International Economy since 1850
• Healthy, Wealthy, Wise? The Origins, Development and Efficacy of Modern British Welfare Policy
• Imperialism and the Global Environment: Europe and the Transformation of the Tropical World
• Morality and the Market
• Of Rice and Men: NGOs and humanitarianism since 1945

The range of single modules available to you, both in and beyond the History department, includes:

• Advanced Perspectives on Africa
• African Fiction and its Critics
• America as a World Power
• Approaches to Twentieth Century British History
• Approaches to US Foreign Policy since 1945
• Beyond Boundaries: Post National Narratives
• Cold War Film
• Conflict in the Middle East
• Contemporary Gender Issues in Africa
• Diplomatic History in the Twentieth Century
• Feminism in the Muslim World
• Genocide in World History
• Greece and Turkey from Empire to Nation State
• Greek Politics and Culture since the Civil war
• History and Politics of Southern Africa
• Media and Popular Culture in Africa
• Nations and Their Neighbours
• Nation, State and the ‘Return to Europe’ in Central and Eastern Europe
• On the Road to Nowhere? The politics of traffic, transport and mobility in twentieth century Britain
• Performing Female: African Theatre and Culture 1840-1940
• Russian Political and Intellectual Thought
• The CIA, US Foreign Policy and International Relations since 1945
• ‘The Scum of the Earth’: Refugees and Statelessness in Comparative Perspective, 1914-1945
• US Foreign Policy and Terrorism
• Warfare at Sea from the Armada to D-Day