History

Exploring primarily modern and contemporary history, our course is diverse, international in focus and innovative. Reflecting the globalised world we live in, the curriculum covers a wide range of European and non-European histories and examines topics such as colonialism, decolonisation, immigration, ethnic minorities and gender.

This course will hone your ability to absorb, communicate and critically analyse complex information. As you progress through the course, we’ll challenge you with more in-depth explorations and you can deepen your own historical interests. You’ll be supported by a passionate teaching team who are leading experts in their fields and provide a dynamic learning environment with a variety of teaching and assessment methods.

You will learn about British, South Asian, European, African and North and South American history and also discover unique specialist topics such as history of photography and history of sport and leisure. You can also select a route through this degree in English Literature or Education.

Key features

• Develop a wide range of transferable skills by learning how to research and communicate complex information effectively. Our graduates use these skills to forge successful careers across various professions including teaching, the law, marketing and the heritage and museum sector.

• Specialise in distinctive areas such as photographic history, history of sport and leisure, war and conflict, migration, ethnicity and racism.

• You can select a route through this degree in English Literature or Education. These carefully chosen routes will complement and enrich your understanding of your main subject, alongside broadening your skillset to give you a wider range of career paths available upon graduation

• Learn from academics with international reputations who utilise innovative teaching methods to deliver a lively learning experience, which is enhanced by lectures from visiting guest speakers.

• Boost your career prospects through placement and internship opportunities – our students have gained valuable skills at a large regional newspaper, the award-winning King Richard III visitor centre in Leicester, as well as teaching in Spain.

• Benefit from organised visits to archives and museums such as the National Archives in London. You can also access DMU’s own historical collections, such as the Stephen Lawrence Papers, the Ski Club of GB archive and the Kodak collection, held at the Kimberlin Library.

If you are interested in advanced entry into Year 3 of this course, please visit the DMU website for the course details: https://www.dmu.ac.uk/study/pre-edu-2030/history-ba-degree/history-ba-degree.aspx

First year
Block 1: Modern Britain Since 1800
Block 2: Empire, nation and revolution in the 19th century
Block 3: Global Cities OR can select to study one route from the list below:
Education Route – Childhood, Social Justice and Education
English Literature Route – Introduction to Drama: Shakespeare
Block 4: Ideology, War and Society in the 20th century

Second year
Block 1: Global Cold War
Block 2: Multicultural Societies in History
Block 3: Humans and the Natural World OR continue with the route selected in the first year:
Education Route – Preparing for Professional Practice
English Literature Route – Text Technologies
Block 4: Investigating the Past

Third year
Block 1: Culture, Society and Conflict
Block 2: Independence Movements
Block 3: The World on Display OR continue with the route selected in the first year:
Education Route: Reflection on Practice: Teaching and Learning
English Literature Route: World Englishes: On the Page and Beyond
Year long: Dissertation

We want to ensure you have the best learning experience possible and a supportive and nurturing learning community. That’s why we’re introducing a new block model for delivering the majority of our courses, known as Education 2030. This means a more simplified timetable where you will study one subject at a time instead of several at once. You will have more time to engage with your learning and get to know the teaching team and course mates. You will receive faster feedback through more regular assessment, and have a better study-life balance to enjoy other important aspects of university life.

Structure
Our teaching is interactive, informal and enjoyable. We encourage you to develop your own thoughts, ideas and viewpoints and you will build the skills you need to be effective in both historical study and the modern workplace.

The modules are all designed to improve your skills as an effective historian from analysis and research to reasoning and evaluation. They are also constructed to help you develop aptitudes and characteristics that will improve your employability for a wide range of careers.

You will be taught by experts in their field, the people who are writing the books you are reading. Our history staff are renowned nationally and internationally for the quality of their teaching and research. We work hard to ensure that the student experience is lively, dynamic and stimulating, and regular guest lecturers and speakers address both curriculum-related topics and topics of broader historical interest.

There is a varied mix of assessment including: work in pairs and in groups, primary source analysis, presentations, portfolios, podcasts and/ or videos, essay writing, timed essays, and individual project work culminating in a dissertation. The assessments are designed to build on each other as you progress in your studies and you will have opportunities to receive feedback on your work throughout. With a variety of different assessment methods, you can build on your individual strengths as well as develop a range of skills in creativity, project management, teamwork, verbal communication, writing for a variety of audiences and the use of different technologies.

Contact hours
You will be taught through a combination of lectures, tutorials, seminars, group work and self-directed study. In your first year, you will normally attend around 9 hours of timetabled taught sessions (lectures and tutorials) each week, and we expect you to undertake at least 28 further hours of independent study to complete project work and research.