This core module introduces you to theories of history, methodologies and conceptual problems of advanced historical work from the ancient to the contemporary world. The module will help you acquire some of the fundamental skills involved in historical study – including writing at university level – as well as help you with online research, footnoting and compiling a bibliography. It consists of one lecture and seminar per week.

This module introduces you to the discipline of political history, by analysing, from a comparative perspective, key modern political ideologies, developments and political leaders from a comparative perspective. In addition to a theoretical foundation, it provides a basic understanding of how the modern world has been shaped by dictators, wars and revolutions. The module is divided into four thematic blocks of five weeks each. The order of the blocks and the particular lecture topics may vary from year to year, but the four-part structure ensures that you are exposed to a wide array of methodological and empirical issues critical for the study of political history.

Assessment by: a combination of coursework and a two-hour unseen written paper. There is also a range of coursework on which feedback is given.

This module explores the historical and contemporary role of religion in promoting peace and conflict through a series of case studies. The contexts chosen for study may vary from year to year but will normally include examples drawn from the West, the Middle East, and Asia. The module is divided into four blocks of five weeks each. By taking this module you will gain an introductory, but insightful, comprehension of religious belief and its role in promoting peace and conflict.

Self, Citizen and Nation introduces the importance of intellectual and cultural history as a way of understanding yourself and the world around you. It contributes to the department’s core strengths in the history of ideas, philosophy, ethics and culture.

The course consists of four themes, each focusing on the relationship between human beings and their surroundings:

• the Medieval Self (the discovery of the individual, gender, childhood, the visual dimension, citizenship and ethnicity)
• Humans and the natural world (the human body, human mind, animals and birds, the rural and urban environments)
• Early modern identities (emotions and the soul, the self, religion and identity, ethnicity and nationality, gender and sexuality)
• Political systems in theory and practice (monarchies, republics, democracies, utopias and dystopias)

Throughout the module you will engage with a wide variety of primary source material, including images, philosophical and literary texts, letters and works of self-reflection.

This is an introduction to political theory and an exploration of why central political ideas and concepts influence our understanding of the world around us. Assessed by: one essay and a two-hour unseen examination.

This unit introduces students to the comparative approach to politics and government, in addition to building a understanding of the politics and governance of four key members of the European Union: the UK, Germany, Italy and France.

The first half of the unit is focused on the UK and also considers the EU as an institution, while the second half concentrates on the other three countries at the unit’s core.

Students will not only build an essential foundation for studying the politics of the UK and EU, but will also develop their skills in comparative methods.

In this module we examine the modern tradition of political thought. Students will be introduced to the major figures in this tradition – English thinkers such as Hobbes, Locke and Mill – and continental thinkers such as Rousseau and Marx.

Through these thinkers, we will explore key themes and concepts such as sovereignty, justice, human nature, property, rights, liberty, democracy and equality.