BA (Hons) History

Summary 2012/13

• Join a History degree ranked top in the North West for overall student satisfaction (National Student Survey, 2011);
• Study Modern History from across the globe;
• Work with historians whose research has been rated 'world-leading' and 'internationally excellent'.

At Edge Hill, we are dedicated to delivering cutting-edge teaching and research in the fascinating field of Modern History - from the African-American fights for civil rights to the origins of the Israeli/Palestine conflict.

Our research has been judged to be 'world-leading' and 'internationally excellent' (RAE 2008), and our teaching has been praised in all areas by the Quality Assurance Agency. In the 2010 National Student Survey we were rated number 1 in the North West, and 10th in the UK for student satisfaction.

We pride ourselves on our warm, student-centred culture and we strive to nurture the skills, knowledge and confidence of everyone whom we welcome into our community. Our mission is to help each of our students realise their full potential and become independent, confident and employable graduates.

2012 Entry Requirements

280 UCAS tariff points overall, preferably to include History.

BA (Hons) English / English Language / English Literature and History: Preferably to include A level English.

Details

Who is this course for?

People of all ages and backgrounds come to Edge Hill to study History, which makes for a stimulating and enriching experience for everyone.

What will I gain from this programme?

You will specialise in British political, social or economic History, European or American History. The modules emphasise the importance of historical understanding and interpretation of source materials.

You'll learn to communicate effectively; your studies will involve you giving presentations to your classmates, responding to their opinions as well as developing sophisticated skills of analysis and argument on paper. You will have to think on your feet, work independently and you'll learn how to make sense of a large quantity of complex data. In the fast moving world of modern business, employers value this ability more than any other.

What will I study?

The course and our research are focused on the History of Britain, Europe, the USA and Asia from the late eighteenth to the early twenty-first centuries. We believe that the study of this period of History provides us with a profound understanding of the world that we live in today and the challenges that we face.

In Year 1, you will have the opportunity to learn about the broad spread of Modern History. Equipped with historical skills and knowledge, you will then have the choice to specialise in different areas of our discipline. You might wish to study the history of communism in Eastern Europe, contemporary France, the British Empire or the United States. The list goes on. In your third year, you may want to write a piece of original research, make a documentary, or just take regular taught modules. It's up to you.

How will I study?

The programme has been carefully designed to ensure that students develop their confidence, knowledge and skills in a gradual way and in a highly supportive environment. In the first year, for example, you will have valuable in-depth sessions each week with your personal tutor. We also have an 'open door' policy, so that you can have easy access to us outside of the classroom. We see our relationship with students as one in which we work together with you to help you succeed; it's a collaboration.

At Edge Hill, you will have access to the latest History resources that will support your learning. You will be able to read newspapers and journals online from the eighteenth to the twenty-first centuries, consult the latest journals, and use websites that are created to support each topic.

Who will be teaching me?

Our staff are highly experienced and enthusiastic teachers, who research and write History. They are at the cutting edge of the subject, and will share with you their ideas and new interpretations in a wide range of topics. In the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise, 30% of their published research was judged to be either 'world-leading' or 'internationally-excellent'.

How will I be assessed?

Pattern of assessments are varied and designed to ensure you acquire a wide range of skill, particularly those required by future employers. You will learn to write essays, critically analyse documents, give oral presentations and do exams. Exams never count for more than 50% of the marks for any module although the experience of doing exams is invaluable for entry into a wide variety of professions, including law, accountancy, the civil service and many financial and managerial careers. We want you to develop an ability to work independently, so in Year 3, many modules are assessed entirely on the work you produce.

What are my career prospects?

A history degree could be the foundation for a successful career in areas such as teaching (further training required), civil service, business, media and journalism, local government, retail management, law and information management.

A recent survey of the academic backgrounds of Britain's leading Chief Executives, conducted by Manchester Metropolitan University, showed that History was one of the most commonly studied degree subjects among the country's business elite. In few other subjects can you combine the skills of analysis, communication, self-organisation and teamwork.

A Great Study Environment

Based in 160 acres of beautifully landscaped grounds, the Ormskirk Campus is a unique and inspirational place to study. Industry standard resources and cutting edge technology combine to make an interactive and highly advanced teaching and learning environment. Everything you could want is on one site with 25 acres of sport and leisure facilities, more than 1,000 rooms in halls of residence and fantastic modern spaces in which you can study and socialise.

The University library gives you access to thousands of books, journals, online resources and extensive PC and media provision. You'll get all the support you need to succeed, reflected in Edge Hill University being ranked in the top two in England for students' personal development, and the top three in the country for assessment and feedback, in the 2011 National Student Survey. The University is also featured in the top four in England for graduate employment.

How do I apply?

Apply online through UCAS at www.ucas.ac.uk.

See our How to Apply pages for more information on the application process and our Admissions criteria.

Fees and Finance

For academic year 2012/13, Edge Hill University will charge £9,000 for full-time BA, BSc and LLB degrees. Eligible students will not have to pay upfront for their tuition. The cost of tuition will be paid by a loan which you will only start to repay once you have finished the course and are earning over £21,000.

Eligible full-time students can also apply for a maintenance grant, subject to household income, and a non-means-tested loan to help with living costs.

Edge Hill University offers a range of scholarships for prospective full-time students. These include £2,000 Entrance Scholarships rewarding determination, commitment and achievement in creative arts, performing arts, sport and volunteering. Eligible entrants with outstanding grades are recognised through the £1,000 High Achievers Scholarship.

The University will also be offering awards, worth £3,000 in cash benefits and fee/accommodation waivers for academic year 2012/13, to eligible prospective full-time students through the National Scholarship Programme.

For more information on scholarships, including eligibility criteria for each award, visit www.edgehill.ac.uk/scholarships.

To find out more about fees, grants and loans for academic year 2012/13, visit www.edgehill.ac.uk/undergradfees2012.

Please note, the above information is for UK and eligible EU students only. International students should check the fees and finance information at www.edgehill.ac.uk/internationalfees2012.

Not got the entry requirements?

Students returning to education may present their previous experience in work (paid or unpaid) to support their application.

Students with relevant study through either a professional body or appropriate academic course can apply to join the programme at an advanced stage.

For personalised advice based on your circumstances, please contact us or come to an event.

Where can I find out more?

If you would like to receive a copy of our prospectus or be kept updated about forthcoming events, contact the Course Information, Advice and Guidance Team by emailing study@edgehill.ac.uk or calling 01695 657000.

If you want to attend one of our open events held throughout the year, visit www.edgehill.ac.uk/opendays to book your place.

You will also find Edge Hill University staff at many national careers fairs and UCAS events.

Still want more?

If you have any questions you would like to ask the programme leader about this course, please contact:

• Roger Spalding, Department of History, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Edge Hill University, St Helens Road, Ormskirk, Lancashire, L39 4QP
• Tel: 01695 650890
• Email: spaldr@edgehill.ac.uk

Overseas students should visit www.edgehill.ac.uk/international or email international@edgehill.ac.uk for further information.

Combinations

Joint

• BA (Hons) Creative Writing and History (WV91)
• BA (Hons) English and History (QV31)
• BA (Hons) English Language and History (QV3C)
• BA (Hons) English Literature and History (QV3D)
• BA (Hons) Film Studies and History (WV61)

Combined

• BA (Hons) History with Creative Writing (V1W8)
• BA (Hons) History with English (V1Q3)
• BA (Hons) History with Film Studies (V1W6)

Modules

Year 1

The Medieval Outlook focuses on the period between the end of the Roman Empire and the Renaissance. You'll learn about the emergence of Europe as a distinct entity, comprised of a variety of peoples with diverse cultures and languages.

The Dawn of Modernity examines the process by which the ideas and attitudes of the medieval period are dramatically re-shaped by the great voyages of discovery, the Reformation, and the advances in knowledge brought about by the developments of the Renaissance.

Europe Re-made introduces you to the key developments that transformed European society between 1789 and 1919. The module is primarily concerned with the broad political, economic and social influences that caused this transformation which was of immense significance not only for Europe but also for the course of world history during the twentieth century.

Imperialism, Liberation and Globalisation – The 20th Century examines some of the main events, political and social movements, economic developments and ideologies which dominated the twentieth century around the world. You will study the rise and fall of the great ideologies of Communism, Nazism and Fascism, the causes and outcome of the second world war and the development of the Cold War between the Super Powers after 1945. The module will also look at international relations and the global economic system after the fall of the Soviet Empire in 1989-1991.

"Isms", History, Theory and Practice investigates the nature and practices of academic history, for example the importance of evidence and constructing an argument. You will then consider ideologies essential for the effective study of history, like conservatism, socialism and feminism.

History and Society: Applications and Employment examines the role that history plays in the wider world, for example in shaping political debate. In the last part of the module the transferable nature of history skills are explored, and you will work on relating your skills to actual job specifications.

Year 2

You will study six modules in total during year 2 of the programme, completing at least one module in each of the broad subject areas of American history, European history and British history.

European Modules

France: The Clash of Left and Right, 1936-1968 gives you an introduction to the history of France during a turbulent era of war, political conflict and social change. How did French democracy survive in an era when many were willing to kill each other for their political beliefs? You will examine competing explanations for developments such as the defeat of 1940, wartime collaboration and resistance, the violent struggles over the end of the French empire in Algeria and elsewhere, and the changing roles of women and immigrant minorities. This module introduces a subject that is both related to but also distinct from the more familiar Hitler-and-Stalin-centric story of twentieth century Europe, offering the prospect of widening your horizons.

Identity and Diversity: Contemporary France from 1968 to the Present is an introduction to the history of contemporary France. The international dimension is emphasised, by stressing such themes as foreign policy, racism and colonial legacies. There is also a focus on popular protest, popular culture, social inequality and history as experienced 'from below'. By providing you with the comparatively rare opportunity to study the very recent history of an important neighbouring country which is often stereotyped and misunderstood in the UK, it is anticipated that you can develop a wider cultural awareness as a job-seeker, tourist or citizen in the European Union.

Communism in Eastern and Central Europe After 1945 examines the rise, stagnation, collapse and ongoing legacies of the communist experiment that ruled half of Europe during the decades after the Second World War. The module examines both the Soviet Union itself during the post-Stalinist era and the countries of east-central Europe, allowing you to choose to study the history of Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania or Yugoslavia. This history is of growing relevance to you, given that twenty years after its collapse the communist period can now be seen in historical perspective, and given the close relationships which many of the successors to these states have developed with the UK since the enlargement of the European Union in 2004 and 2007.

American Modules

The South, Slavery and the Civil War, 1800-1877 examines the history of the United States from its revolutionary origins in 1776. The module focuses on the threat to the new republic created by the growth of black slavery, southern secession and the civil war and the rebuilding of the nation in the reconstruction era, 1865-1877.

Immigration, Urban Growth and Economic Expansion, 1877-1941 focuses on the new issues that emerged to challenge the republic from the 1880s onwards. These included urbanisation, mass immigration, business domination of politics and society, and the Wall Street Crash and Great Depression.

Mission and Manifest Destiny: U.S. Foreign Policy and Expansionism, 1840-1898 begins by examining the process of frontier expansion within the United States during the nineteenth century. It assesses the impact of the move west on native American populations and also the ideological justifications advanced to justify this expansionism, such as mission, manifest destiny and American exceptionalism.

Ideals and Self-Interest: U.S. Foreign Policy since 1898 examines the emergence of the United States as a global superpower, from the war of 1898 against Spain to the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan in the present day. The various strategic doctrines which have advanced to further American foreign policy in this period, such as containment, are examined and their strengths and weaknesses assessed.

British Modules

The Rise and Fall of the British Empire focuses on the expansion and dissolution of the British Empire in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Particular attention is given to the debates amongst historians on these subjects. At the heart of the module are fundamental, and much disputed, questions regarding the nature of imperialism, and the process by which Britain attained - and lost - an empire that at different times stretched across Africa, Asia, America and the Pacific.

From the Gallows to the Prison: Society and Punishment 1700-1900 examines major shifts in the pattern of punishment over the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. This was marked by a withdrawal from physical punishments and a reliance on the deterrence of the death penalty to much greater use of the prison which was perceived to be more rational and reform oriented. Emphasis will be placed on contemporary representations of these forms of punishment and the nature of the society which supported them. Consequently it will be possible to understand how crime, law and punishment are historical processes that evolve over space and time and are specific to particular societies.

Crime and Policing: Identifying and Controlling the Criminal Classes during the Nineteenth Century examines the various sections of nineteenth-century society that were perceived to make up the criminal classes. The social divisions and mechanisms which operated to marginalise some social groups will be analysed as well as the evolution of the modern police which made the behaviour of such groups increasingly open to surveillance and control. Particular emphasis will be placed on the relationship between crime, law, policing and divisions within society relating to class, ethnicity and gender.

Year 3

In year 3 of the programme you must undertake two 'Special Study' modules or, if you prefer, a Dissertation and just one 'Special Study' module. Further modules can be chosen freely up to the required 120 credits (all individual History modules in Year 3 are worth either 40 or 20 credits).

Dissertation

Dissertation (40 credits) allows you to undertake a sizeable piece of work of the kind commonly undertaken by professional historians. Dissertation work is of great value to your development as an historian. It also provides you with important transferable skills. These include working independently; gathering evidence from a variety of sources, problem-solving and presenting an argument.

Special Study Modules

Special Subject Option 1 - African American Leadership 1880-1940 (40 credits) engages you in a detailed examination of the lives and careers of the leading African American civil rights spokespersons in the last years of the nineteenth century and first half of the twentieth century, specifically, Frederick Douglass, Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. Du Bois and Marcus Garvey. The evolution of the thought and philosophy of each is examined by an in-depth reading of their speeches, letters and writings. The module also looks at their contrasting ideas in response to the common problem of seeking to improve the lives of African Americans in an unequal, segregated society.

Special Subject Option 2 - The History of Interpersonal Violence from c1750 (40 credits) seeks to demonstrate that violence possesses a history which is time and place specific but also that there are some areas of continuity. For example, most interpersonal violence has been committed by men against men and violence by women has been seen as more serious, and even abnormal, than that by men. This module further seeks to identify and analyse different and contrasting attitudes to violence and the perceptions of it relating to gender, class and culture over the past 200 years. The subjects examined include masculinity and violence, youth gangs, domestic violence and infanticide.

Special Subject Option 3 - 1968 And All That: Protest in Western Europe (40 credits) covers what is arguably the most exciting period of Western European history since the Second World War: the rise and fall of a cycle of protest movements often referred to by the label ‘1968’, but which arguably lasted from the late 1950s to the early 1980s.

These protests included a range of movements that transformed European society, including student protest, industrial unrest by workers, the womens' liberation movement and the idea that ‘the personal is political’, the anti-Vietnam War movement, campaigns against dictatorships, anti-racism, the so-called 'New Left', environmentalism, terrorism, and conservative reactions from the 'other side of the barricades'.

You will have the opportunity both to examine these international movements comparatively, using evidence from case studies such as Britain, France, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain and West Germany, and to pick a specific example of protest, related to your own interests, to research in an extended essay.

Other Modules

Black Life and Black Protest in the United States, 1895-1945 (20 credits) examines African American life and history from the 1890s through to the end of the Second World War. It considers the reasons for the widespread introduction of racial segregation in the United States at the end of the nineteenth century and its impact on African American communities. You will examine the efforts of African American leaders to challenge discrimination, from Booker T. Washington through to Asa Philip Randolph, assessing their strengths and weakness. The extent to which developments in this period sowed the seeds for the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s are also assessed.

Black Life and Black Protest in the United States since 1945 (20 credits) analyses the reasons for the emergence of the post-war civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s. The contribution of leading individuals within the movement, like Martin Luther King, is also examined together with the life and career of Malcolm X and the Black Power movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s. The module concludes by assessing the legacy of the civil rights era for present day race relations and the extent to which the election of Barack Obama in 2008 means that the United States can now be described as a post-racial society.

History: Growth and Contexts (20 credits) tracks the development of history as an academic subject, and relates that development to changing economic and social contexts. Put simply, for example: the late 19th century, a time of unprecedented growth and strength for Great Britain, produced a history that viewed the past as a golden path of achievement leading to the glories of present imperial strength. In the aftermath of the First World War it became impossible to sustain such a triumphant view of British history. The module deals with the period 1880 to the present-day.

History and Society (20 credits) seeks to demonstrate that academic disciplines do not develop within social vacuums. Currently, for example, British television’s output contains a relatively high proportion of historical documentaries. Often, by the use of editing, images and commentary these present a seamless vision of 'reality'. By doing so, such programmes suggest that their interpretation is an uncontested truth. This module will equip you to critically analyse such programmes with a view to understanding how they 'work' and that the 'reality' they present is often the focus of considerable debate.

History and ICT - Website and Database Design, Construction and Application (40 credits) uses IT to investigate historical problems and communicate the results of historical enquiry. Detailed guidance, help and support are part of the teaching programme and on completion of the module you should have extended both your understanding of the way technology can be an integral part of historical research and writing and enhanced your own IT competence and confidence.

History Video Project (40 credits) requires you to select an area of historical discussion, such as the intentionalist / functionalist debate around the nature of the Nazi state, and produce a 25 minute video to illustrate and outline the subject area. This module does not involve original research but requires you to demonstrate a developed understanding of the debate that forms your subject matter. You will conclude the module able to represent that debate in an effective and appropriate fashion.

British Rule in Palestine (40 credits) explores the origins and development of British rule in Palestine, a seminal chapter in the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict, the Middle East and the British Empire. It focuses on the political objectives and impact of British rule in Palestine, with particular reference to the evolution of the Zionist-Palestinian conflict.