History

Course summary

In the interconnected world in which we all live, it has never been more important for individuals to have an understanding of humanity in all its bewildering complexity, and empathy for people and cultures different from our own. The study of the past introduces you to the sheer variety of human experience and also gives you essential skills for your own future. At this level we particularly seek to encourage students to develop their capacity for critical analysis and to consider political, economic, social and cultural aspects of the past. History demands of those who study it a willingness to read widely, to train in the rigorous and critical assessment of evidence and interpretations, and to develop a sympathetic and imaginative approach to the wide range of recurrent human problems.