History (Joint Honours) BA (Hons) module details
The curriculum for History at DMU is diverse, international in focus and innovative. We use a mixture of year-long and half-year modules to allow students to broaden out their studies and to experience a variety of different teaching methods, module structures and assessment patterns.
If you are interested in learning about British, American and European History you will be well catered for. We are also proud to offer the opportunity to specialise in areas that are either unique or extremely uncommon in History degrees delivered in the UK. For example, our modules include; photographic history; the history of sport and leisure; South-East Asia and ethnicity/migration/racism; and history and employability.
Year one (Level 4)
Presenting and Representing the Past
Introduces you to the key methods and approaches used by historians
The Making of the Modern World
Tackles the key developments in global history since the 18th century
Year two (Level 5)
Students choose two year-long History modules, or the equivalent made up of a mixture of the full and half-year options listed below.
Visualising the Modern World 1860-1950 (half-year option)
Explores photography’s significance in a wide range of contexts that defined late nineteenth and twentieth century history, such as empire, the everyday, celebrity culture and science.
The Historian’s Craft: Sources and Methods in History
Focuses on developing important historical skills, particularly finding and analysing a wide variety of different historical sources. Compulsory for joint honours students wishing to do a History dissertation in third year.
The Cold War (half-year option)
Uses a thematic and a comparative approach in order to explore some of the contested issues in our understanding of this key period in 20th century history.
Histories of the Global South
This module looks at the modern histories of 19th and 20th centuries' Latin America and Africa to understand how cultures and societies experienced colonialism and developed post-colonial identities and trajectories. You will be encouraged to look for patterns that will deepen your understanding of history as a global and transnational process.
Sport in Twentieth Century Britain (half-year option)
Explores the significance of sport in twentieth century British society, by examining the role of the commercial, voluntary and state sectors in shaping sport’s historical development.
Divide and Quit: the closing days of imperial rule in India (half-year option)
This module will demonstrate that the long nineteenth century (1789-1919) reflected and formed the basis for the emergence of the multicultural society which would emerge in Britain during the second half of the twentieth century by examining the key groups which settled in the country during the period under consideration, including the Irish, European Jews, Germans, Italians, South Asians and Black people.
The Origins of Multicultural Britain (half-year option)
This module explores the history of the closing days of British imperial rule in India. The inter-war period will be examined in relation to the transformation of the nationalist movement under Gandhi's leadership. At the same time during this period, India was moving towards communal style politics and increasing Muslim separatism under the leadership of Jinnah. The module concludes with an examination of the causes and consequences of partition and the legacy this has left in the region.
History in the Workplace (half-year option)
Offers students the opportunity to undertake a work placement in a history-related industry, together with practical sessions and advice aimed at improving student employability, job-hunting and career planning skills. Only available to single Honours students.
Year three (Level 6)
Students choose two year-long History modules, or the equivalent made up of a mixture of the full and half-year options listed below.
NB - The Dissertation is compulsory for single Honours students, optional for Joint honours.
Dissertation
An in-depth individual research project based on primary source material. Joint honours students may choose to do a History dissertation.
Yugoslavia and Beyond (half-year option)
Investigates the processes behind the creation and collapse of the Yugoslav state, its ideological, political and social underpinnings, and its inherent flaws.
Photography and Conflict (half-year option)
Investigates the use of photography in the social understanding of conflict, for instance through the history of photojournalism, propaganda, and archiving practices.
Borders and Boundaries: Legacies of Colonial Rule: India and Pakistan since 1947 (half-year option)
Since 1947 India and Pakistan have both been through enormous change, India is now looking for a global position and Pakistan has played a pivotal role in the 'war on terror'. Both of these events will shape the future but how did they get to this position?
Environmental History of the Americas (half-year option)
This module looks at the modern history of the Americas through the lens of environmental history, asking how human societies have understood, managed, and changed the natural environment around them.
Jews in Twentieth Century Britain (half-year option)
This module will examine some of the main themes of British-Jewish history during the twentieth century including, but not limited to: the impact of migration; changes to the religious profile of the community; support for Zionism in a British context; political affinities and preferences; the extent of social mobility; the development of a sporting tradition and the nature and impact of antisemitism.
History and Heritage (half-year option)
Students will study the diverse field of heritage, and its relationship with history. It will examine theoretical debates about what heritage is, who owns and controls it, and how understandings of it change over time and place. It will also explore different ways in which heritage is presented and mediated, the development of a distinct heritage industry, and the ways in which media and digital developments have affected the sector. It will draw in examples and case studies from a variety of global, national and cultural settings.
Witchcraft, Magic and the Supernatural in Britain and Europe from 1500 (half-year option)
Students will examine the religious and cultural history of early modern Europe, including Britain, through a study of the supernatural. There will be case studies of the witchcraft persecutions in Europe; fairies, spirits and folk beliefs; ghosts and revenants; informal medicine and healing; the material culture of the supernatural. There will be comparative studies across.
Transatlantic Sport (half-year option)
This course introduces students to approaches to transnational and comparative history through the study of the development of modern sport in Europe and the USA.
Note: All modules are subject to change in order to keep content current