History

Course summary

Explore interesting new ideas. Become an expert researcher. Gain the confidence to argue your case. History will help you build all these skills and qualities – and many more too. It’s an ideal choice if you relish debate, can see comparisons between events and enjoy the challenge of weighing up different theories before arriving at your judgement. We’ll help you develop a broad worldview and the ability to look below the surface of the process of change. What you’ll study You’ll cover a broad sweep of history, studying pivotal developments in both Britain and the United States. In British history, you’ll look at the seventeenth century, focusing on the turmoil leading up to the English Revolution. In American history, you’ll focus on the years from 1865 to 1975. This period saw momentous events, from America’s emergence as an economic giant and subsequent collapse in the 1930s to her establishment as a superpower and the struggle for Civil Rights. Your sources will range from the latest research in leading journals to lectures by eminent contemporary historians. Throughout the course, you will ask yourself this key question: How does a nation form and sustain itself? Where History Can Take You History is seen as a weighty subject that demonstrates excellent powers of analysis and communication. If you go on to study it at university, you’ll be well-placed to find a job – History graduates enjoy some of the highest rates of employment. QEH historians have gone on to work in journalism, politics, the foreign office and civil service. Others have become successful lawyers and academics, and a few have even taken up teaching!