Program Overview

• Focus in-depth on some of the monumental historical events of the past two centuries, such as the world wars and the rise of Soviet Communism
• Secure work placements at leading historic and cultural venues such as the Mary Rose and British Museum
• Join a student-led history society on trips to sites of historical interest and talks by major historians
• Learn from expert tutors and their cutting-edge research

The past two centuries have seen enormous advances in technology and economic globalisation, but they have also witnessed catastrophic world wars, the Holocaust and the rise of Soviet Communism. Modern History at Winchester allows you to study how such relatively recent events have formed the modern world we inhabit.

In Year 1, you take core modules that explore the nature of history as a discipline. You look at the changing assumptions, methods and definitions of history and explore the current concerns of historians.

Having acquired research skills and knowledge in Year 1, your studies in Years 2 and 3 are more specialised.

In Year 2, core modules in Reading History and Practising History deepen your understanding of the discipline. You also select from a range of optional modules that focus on the modern world, concentrating either on using original documents, or exploring continuity and change over long periods. Options may include The British Raj, Revolutionary Russia, Nazism and the Holocaust, and The History of Rock and Roll.

In Year 3, you produce your dissertation and take core modules in Writing History and History and the Public Sphere. Optional modules take the form of Depth Studies and Comparative Studies. An understanding of methodology is developed by Depth Studies, which establish a comprehensive knowledge of a particular period by evaluating the use of primary and secondary sources and any issues associated with them as evidence. While an area of historical concern across more than one country and culture is examined by Comparative Studies.