ObjectivesThis course provides a comprehensive understanding of contemporary debates on how societies and cultures have functioned in the past, and relates the history of your own society and culture to that of others. The transferable skills obtained in research, critical analysis, writing and presentation will be an excellent base for a number of diverse career paths, as well as leading to further postgraduate study.
Entry requirementsEntry Requirements: Usually a degree in history or a cognate subject, 2i or above.
Academic titleMA Social and Cultural History
Course descriptionCourse Content
Students take two compulsory modules, Researching History and Approaches to History, in which they will gain practical training on a variety of research methods and learn about diverse theoretical perspectives that inform historical research today. Students will choose four optional modules from a range of topics, each requiring an essay of around 4,000 words. These include:
* Studying Global History: 1500-2000
* Gender in Early Modern Europe: 1500-1700
* Popular Culture in Wales: 1800-1914
* The American Dream
* The Great War, Memory and Remembrance in Europe: 1914-1940
* Nation and Identity: 20th Century and Contemporary Welsh Fiction
* Revolution and After: World Communism 1919-43
* Researching the History of Women and Gender in Modern Wales
* Decadence, Revolt and the Search for Authenticity: European Cultural History 1920-1980
Students will also write a dissertation of between 15,000 and 20,000 words in which they develop and demonstrate their capacity for independent study in the application of research skills to a topic of their own choice within the sphere of early modern and modern history, subject to departmental approval.
How To Study
Teaching emphasises student-centred learning: you will be taught in small seminar groups and tutorials which encourage lively debate and give students the opportunity to lead sessions. Teaching will normally take place in the evenings between 6pm and 9pm.
All taught modules will be assessed by 3,000-word essays and other forms of continuous coursework. The 15-20,000-word dissertation will give you a unique opportunity to develop independent research in an area of your choosing under recognised experts in the field.
Career prospects
The transferable skills obtained in research, critical analysis, writing and presentation will be an excellent base for a number of diverse career paths, as well as leading to further postgraduate study.