BA History and Ancient History

CLA1001: Greek History: Problems and Sources

This module introduces you to the history of the Greek world from the Archaic period to the rise of Rome. You will explore who the 'Greeks' were, and how their culture came to dominate the eastern Mediterranean and beyond, as well as exploring in depth the different forms of ancient evidence that help us to reconstruct their world. This module offers an introduction not only to the political and military history of the Greek world, from the Persian Wars to the campaigns of Alexander and the eventual conquest by Rome, but also to their economic, social, religious and intellectual life.

• To provide an introduction to Archaic, Classical and Hellenistic Greek history.
• To develop an understanding, through a close study of ancient evidence and modern scholarship, of the limitations of textual evidence, as well as the general themes and problems of the periods and regions covered.

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CLA1002: Roman History: Problems and Sources

In this module you will explore Roman History from the mythologised story of the foundation of the city in 753 BCE to the end of the Roman Empire in the West over a thousand years later. In particular, you will focus on the late Republic and Principate, a time of rapid imperial expansion, violent internal conflicts and the emergence of a new political order dominated by autocratic emperors. Within a broadly chronological structure, you will explore a range of important topics and questions concerning the Roman world through critical engagement with a wide variety of ancient material and modern scholarly approaches.

This module is designed to:

• help you gain knowledge and understanding of the grand sweep of ancient Roman history from its earliest times until the end of antiquity
• provide information about important aspects of - and debates about - political, cultural, social and economic history
• enable you to develop sophisticated skills of critical analysis and historiographical methods through exposure to a variety of relevant ancient sources and modern scholarly approaches to the subject

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HIH1421: Understanding Medieval and Early Modern History

This module is designed to introduce you to histories of the world from antiquity, through the Middle Ages, and into what we traditionally the early modern period. Taking a thematic approach, it seeks to develop your understanding of politics, society, economy, and religion across different regions during these years. Key themes include rulership and government, power and resistance, religion, cultures of knowledge, trade and the environment, and encountering the 'other'. This is an introductory module and no prior knowledge is required.

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HIH1422: Understanding Modern History

This is a module that introduces you to the key processes, ideas, and connections in modern history from the eighteenth century to the present. It covers themes such as colonialism and postcolonialism; states, ideologies and nationalism; gender, sexuality and the body; science and technology; race, class, religion, and disability; violence and conflict; and development and humanitarianism. The module traces these themes across multiple countries and regions around the world, highlighting connections and differences between them, and exploring the multiplicity of experiences and ideas that have produced numerous, and at times competing, conceptualisations of 'modernity'. This is an introductory module and no prior knowledge is required.

This module explores some of the most important historical developments from around the world from the eighteenth century to the present. It provides a taster of topics you can explore in greater detail in future years of study. The module is global in its scope, focusing on exploring a range of regions and nations whose histories have been foundational to the formation of the 'modern' world as we know it today. While introducing you to the key features that have led to the development of 'modern' states, societies, and cultures, it simultaneously challenges Eurocentric ideas of 'modernity', accepted historical chronologies, and dominant historical narratives.

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HIH1137: Becoming a Historian: Core

Studying history at university is not only about increasing your knowledge of the past, but mastering particular ways of researching, processing information, and communicating arguments effectively. This module introduces you to the essential skills that will enable you to become a historian, and familiarises you with the innovative ways we teach and assess these skills at Exeter.

Part of the module will facilitate your transition to studying history at university by covering key practical skills, from conducting independent research to reading critically. The other part will introduce the key intellectual tools you will need, surveying the evolution of history writing over time and the important approaches and ideas that historians use to study the past. By the end of the module, you will acquire skills that will be developed further across your degree and in future careers, and that will enhance your development as an open-minded and internationally-engaged individual.

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CLA1030: Ancient World: Racecraft

How did 'race' come to be an important part of the contemporary world? Has race always been a criterion for categorising people and organising social difference, as it is now? Questions of this kind will be at the core of this module which will look at how social difference was organised in ancient worlds. If we take our jumping off point that Greeks and Romans did not have a concept of race that maps neatly onto our notions of race, how did they organise social difference? And - where did ideas about race come from if the Greeks and Romans thought so differently about it? To answer these questions, we will look at ancient and modern ideas together in order to appreciate that race is neither a fixed or nor timeless way of categorising and making hierarchies between people. Instead, race is 'crafted' (as argued by sociologists Karen and Barbara Fields). We will be thinking about race in the ancient world as crafted in particular ways to support modern ideas about whiteness, empire, and civilisation.

No prior skills, knowledge or experience are required to take this module, only willingness to examine its origins and effects with curiosity and a sensitivity to others' lived and ongoing experiences of racism. This module is suitable for non-specialist students, and is recommended for interdisciplinary pathways: joint honours students are warmly welcome.

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CLA1031: Text and Context: Women in Homer

This module explores the roles of women in the Homeric epics, alongside an investigation of the latest scientific and archaeological discoveries unearthing the real experiences of women in the Late Bronze Age. We will ask questions like: why has the Iliad often been thought as 'all about men'? Why does the Odyssey start with a woman being told to shut up? Is there a way that we can read women back into Homer? How do we interpret powerful women from the Late Bronze Age like Puduhepa, Queen of the Hittites - and what might she have to do with Homeric epic? And how might discoveries in archaeology and science shed new light on the experiences of women in the ancient world - and make us read these texts in a different way?

The aims of the module are:

• To explore the many different roles played by women in the Homeric poems, and to unpack how setting these alongside the historical experiences of women in the Late Bronze Age can change and shape the way we think about Homer - as well as the importance of women, both narratively and historically.
• To analyse the Homeric epics within their ancient literary, historical and cultural context, and - at the same time - to critically examine how contemporary concerns and theoretical approaches can change the way we understand the past.

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CLA1035: Roman Death and Commemoration

This module explores how people in the Roman world considered the fundamental and ever-present questions surrounding death and commemoration. By interpreting a wide range of sources including inscribed monuments, grave goods and literary texts, you will examine how Roman society treated and remembered its dead. You will focus not only on topics including burial and cremation practices, funerary portraiture, the composition and display of epitaphs, and regional patterns of commemoration, but also on how social inequalities affect the ways in which people are represented and under-represented in our source materials. You will also look at how aspects of Roman commemorative practices resonate in the modern day. All texts will be studied in translation and no prior knowledge is required.

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CLA1301: Ancient Sources (Written Evidence): Tyranny

The word 'tyranny' means something quite different today than it did in the ancient world, where it was the name given to the form of monarchy established in many Greek states in the 7th and 6th centuries BCE. Tyranny was not a special form of constitution, or necessarily a reign of terror; the tyrant might either rule directly or retain existing political institutions but exercise a greater influence over their working, and his rule might be benevolent or malevolent. This module will explore the ways in which autocratic power was understood and discussed by different Greek authors and their successors, and the challenges involved in trying to reconstruct the historical reality and significance of tyranny.

The aims of the module are:

• To engage in in-depth thinking about the literary sources for archaic tyranny
• To illustrate the advantages and limitations of textual evidence for understanding the ancient world and the archaic period in particular

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CLA1354: Ancient Sources (Material Evidence): Brave New Rome of Augustus

The Augustan Age is seen as one of the turning points in the history of Rome, Italy and the Ancient Mediterranean, embodying tradition and innovation, continuity and novelty. Yet the great building programs that transformed Rome into an imperial capital, were not always celebrated, but criticised and feared for what they represented - tyranny. In this module you will consider how the visual and architectural language was developed as a tool of power. We will read the tremendous wealth of evidence against the grain - along with the silences - to uncover multiple histories of the age, whether in monuments, engravings, poetry, or political writings.

• You will consider: What models are drawn on to create the new capital city worthy of empire? How is the art and architecture used to rewrite history and bring in new ideals where gods mingle with mortals and myth becomes reality? Can we begin to understand the effect of the new structures on the Roman population? How did the building programme refocus the centres of activity and redirect the movement and gaze of the city? In what sense is the building programme innovative and to what extent is it simply mirroring trends of other great cities with similar types of rule? Is it a monument to immortality?
• This module also provides an introduction into how to use and analyse visual and material evidence as a historical source, drawing on key texts, including poetry and the Res Gestae.
• You will engage in in-depth thinking into the underlying aims of and influences on the building programme, the monuments and art of Augustan Rome.

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CLA1405: Text and Context: Roman Laughter

What made the Romans laugh? What were the limits of Roman humour? What does this reveal about Roman culture and society? This module addresses some of the key issues of the politics and poetics of Roman humour. It is concerned with the way the Romans employed wit, satire and irony for comment, criticism and deconstruction, as well as a powerful weapon in their rhetorical battles. We will consider a range of materials, from the poems of Catullus, to the fables of Phaedrus, to non-elite art. Ultimately, we will address whether the humour that seems to turn everything on its head seeks to subvert or reinforce prevailing power structures.

You will learn how to analyse, evaluate and use texts from a range of genres and how to relate their style and content to the wider context of Roman literary culture and society. In considering what we can learn about the Romans from their use of humour, you will also be encouraged to think about uses of humour in the modern world and the socio-cultural insights that can be gleaned from thinking about what makes us laugh.

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CLA1508: Ancient World: Roman Philosophy

This module aims to offer a chance for students from various backgrounds to explore a period of philosophy that is less often studied than Greek philosophy but which is rich in its intellectual and cultural interest. It shows how Roman Philosophy emerged against the background of later Greek (Hellenistic) Philosophy and how Roman thinkers gave a distinctive character to philosophical thought. It also offers you the chance to explore fundamental philosophical questions about human values and happiness, ethics and nature, mind and body, death and the gods, as these are treated by important Roman thinkers such as Lucretius, Cicero, and Marcus Aurelius.

• To examine a range of central philosophical questions debated in Roman philosophy and to set these debates against the background of later Greek (Hellenistic) thought, which strongly influenced Roman thought.
• To explore contrasting approaches of two leading philosophical movements in this period - Epicureanism and Stoicism - whose ideas are still relevant and significant today.
• To cover a range of topics that includes ethics (virtues and values), mind-body relationships, the nature of death, and the nature of the gods, through a set of readings by major Roman authors, especially Cicero, Lucretius and Marcus Aurelius.
• To engage with the philosophical questions conveyed in these readings and to become thoughtful and critical readers of a range of stimulating texts in Roman culture.

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HAS1003: Climate Emergency! An Introduction to Environmental Arts and Humanities

This module is an introduction to cultures, histories, and politics of environmental and climate change. Science has proven beyond doubt the global scale of human-natural engineering leading to the present climate emergency and environmental crisis; so what is the role of the arts and umanities in effecting positive change through understanding, interpreting, and finding meaning?In this module, you will learn about the specific issues facing the Earth today, about the implications of these global challenges facing all of us, and about the ways in which studying this can help us address problems in the present and the future. By placing current debates and dilemmas in cultural and historical contexts, the module allows you to explore how different disciplinary perspectives, and the different kinds of source material they use as evidence, enable us to understand more clearly why the world is facing an environmental and climate crisis, as well as how we might create a more just and equitable world. This module will provoke you to think with and through the relevant literary, historical, socio-cultural, philosophical, and political contexts, providing relevant skills for a wide range of arts, humanities and social sciences courses.

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HIH1423: Sources and Skills: Modern

The module Modern Sources & Skills introduces source genres, themes, and approaches that are important in the study of modern history. The focus of the module is on exploring the possibilities and limitations of our extant sources in a wide variety of genres – from personal letters and diaries, political treatises and state papers, plays, novels, and creative arts, to scientific texts, social surveys, material culture, oral histories and more. Through these, you will learn about forms of knowledge, culture, and politics in modern societies. You will also become acquainted with the ways in which these sources and societies have been understood by scholars.

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HIH1424: Sources and Skills: Early Modern

The module Early Modern Sources & Skills introduces source genres, themes, and approaches that are important in the study of early modern history. The focus of the module is on exploring the possibilities and limitations of our extant sources in a wide variety of genres – from personal letters and diaries, political treatises and travelogues, plays, ballads, and satirical prints to scientific texts, art and material culture. Through these, you will learn about forms of knowledge, culture, and politics in early modern societies. You will also become acquainted with the ways in which these sources and societies have been understood by later scholars. The content of your module will vary depending on which stand you will take within Early Modern Sources & Skills. Strands may vary year by year; examples are ‘Early Modern Venice: Representations and Myths’ and ‘The Body in Eighteenth Century Britain’.

MODULE AIMS – INTENTIONS OF THE MODULE
The primary aim of the module is to:
• Introduce you to a range of source genres available to historians of the early modern period and reflect on their uses
• Help you gain an understanding of key aspects of early modern societies
• Provide you with an insight into the various approaches scholars have brought to the study of early modern sources and societies
• Hone your critical reading skills and prepare you for academic writing, and allow you to practice presenting your ideas orally in a formative setting

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HIH1619: Sources and Skills: Medieval

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CLA1025: Classical Language and Texts Greek I (A)

Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and around the ancient world, from the islands of the Aegean Sea to Greek colonies in the Western Mediterranean, Asia and Africa. More Greek texts survive than any one individual could read in a lifetime, making it one of the best documented languages of ancient societies and providing us with fundamental first-hand knowledge about the ancient world. Through the coinage of new words, ancient Greek continues to be a productive language nowadays. This module, designed for those with no previous experience of the language, introduces you to the fundamentals of ancient Greek morphology, syntax and vocabulary. It will particularly appeal to those who have encountered the classical world through texts in translation and wish to know more about the languages in which these works were composed. By the end of the module, you will be able to read, comprehend and translate simple sentences and short passages of ancient Greek.

This module aims to:

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CLA1026: Classical Language and Texts Greek I (B)

Building on a solid foundation of learning in Classical Language and Texts: Greek I (A), this post-beginner module introduces further Greek morphology, syntax and vocabulary with a view to equipping you with the skills to read longer and more complex texts. By the end of the module, you will be able to read, comprehend and translate GCSE-level sentences and passages, and will be well-prepared, should you wish, to proceed to Greek II.

This module aims to:

• Build upon your pre-existing knowledge of basic Greek morphology, syntax, and vocabulary
• Develop your language-learning skills
• Enhance your understanding of how knowledge of Greek can enrich our understanding of the culture of ancient Greece
• Deepen your appreciation of the relationship between Greek and other Indo-European languages, including English

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CLA1027: Classical Language and Texts Latin I (A)

There is arguably no better way to get beneath the skin of the cultures of the ancient world than through the ancient languages. Latin was originally the language of a small area of Italy called Latium, in which the city of Rome was located, but as Rome's power grew the reach of the language expanded right across the Roman empire. Even after the fall of the Roman empire, Latin remained alive, while also becoming the root language for many modern languages in turn (including English). This module, designed for those with no previous experience of the language, introduces you to the fundamentals of Latin morphology, syntax and vocabulary. It will particularly appeal to those who have encountered the classical world through texts in translation and wish to know more about the languages in which these works were composed. By the end of the module, you will be able to read, comprehend and translate simple sentences and short passages of Latin.

This module aims to:

• Introduce you to some basic Latin morphology, syntax, and vocabulary
• Equip you with the language-learning skills required to proceed further with your study of Latin
• Draw attention to the ways in which knowledge of Latin enhances our understanding of Roman culture
• Illustrate the relationship between Latin and other Indo-European languages, including English

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CLA1028: Classical Language and Texts Latin I (B)

Building on a solid foundation of learning in Classical Language and Texts: Latin I (A), this post-beginner module introduces further Latin morphology, syntax and vocabulary with a view to equipping you with the skills to read longer and more complex texts. By the end of the module, you will be able to read, comprehend and translate GCSE-level sentences and passages, and will be well-prepared, should you wish, to proceed to Latin II.

This module aims to:

• Build upon your pre-existing knowledge of basic Latin morphology, syntax, and vocabulary
• Develop your language-learning skills
• Enhance your understanding of how knowledge of Latin can enrich our understanding of Roman culture
• Deepen your appreciation of the relationship between Latin and other Indo-European languages, including English

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CLA1032: Ancient Sources (Material Evidence): Globalisation and the Roman Empire

In this module you will learn to use the idea of globalisation as a lens to view the ancient Roman world - taking in major historical events, military and imperial expansion, economic changes and connectivity, the cultural impacts on conquered peoples, and influences absorbed from neighbouring societies. You will explore these themes with a focus on understanding historical change through material culture and archaeology. The module is recommended for historians, archaeologists and HASS students with interests in the deep historical and anthropological dimensions of globalisation, materiality, imperialism, objectscapes and urbanism, although no prior knowledge of these subjects is required to enroll.

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CLA1033: Ancient Sources (Written Evidence): Greek Historiography

This module will consider the development of the Greek prose historical tradition. It will provide an in-depth study of the ideas and historiographical approach of major historians from Herodotus onwards. You will learn how to analyse, evaluate and use texts, and how to relate their style and development to the wider context of literary developments, and to analyse and evaluate these texts within the Greek historiographical tradition. No prior knowledge of the topic is required.

• To acquaint you with the general features of Herodotus, Thucydides, Xenophon, Polybius and other key authors in relation to the history and literature of the Greek world.
• To engage in in-depth thinking into central issues of ancient historiography in general like the establishment of truth, the role of authority, the art of story-telling, the construction of outsiders and of the past.
• To teach you how to analyse, evaluate and use texts, and how to relate their style and content to the wider context of literary developments.
• To analyse and evaluate the place of these texts within the Greek historiographical tradition.

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CLA1202: Classical Language and Texts: Greek II

This module will build on your knowledge of Greek from Greek level I or equivalent. You will learn to read and understand unadapted passages from Greek texts, without assistance. You will also complete some English to Greek work. You will be taught to use grammatical aids which will enable you to follow linguistic structures to help you to solve problems of syntax and grammatical structure. You will have regular practice at translating text and will be assessed through the year. This module will prepare you for higher level Greek classes at stage 3.

The aims of the module are:

• To develop your linguistic confidence.
• To develop your ability to read extracts without adaptation from the most important and influential Greek authors.
• To encourage you to appreciate the style of different authors and the relationship between language and literary content.

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CLA1204: Classical Language and Texts: Greek III

This module will build on your existing knowledge of Greek. It will increase your fluency in reading whole Greek texts and strengthen your linguistic abilities. You will focus on studying a main set text and supplementary and supporting texts which will be complemented with classes dedicated to language and syntax work.

The module aims are:

• To study set texts, Greek language work and the practice of literary criticism together in a single integrated module.
• To prepare you for the study of Greek language and literature at a more advanced level.

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CLA1252: Classical Language and Texts: Latin II

This module will build on your knowledge of Latin from Latin level I or equivalent (e.g. GCSE). You will learn independently to read and understand passages without adaption from Latin texts. You will be introduced to grammar and syntax not covered at previous levels of study. Texts will be chosen from various authors of prose and poetry to encourage you to appreciate the style of different authors and the relationship between language and literary content. Building on developing your knowledge of Latin grammar and syntax, study of language and literature will progressively be introduced as your confidence increases.

The aims of the module are:

• To develop your linguistic confidence.
• To develop your ability to read extracts without adaptation from the most important and influential Latin authors.
• To encourage you to appreciate the style of different authors and the relationship between language and literary content.

View an example full module specification

CLA1254: Classical Language and Texts: Latin III

This module will build on your existing knowledge of Latin. It will increase your fluency in reading whole Latin texts and strengthen your linguistic abilities. You will focus on studying a main set text in each term and supplementary and supporting texts which will be complemented with classes dedicated to language and syntax work.

This module aims:

• To study set texts, Latin language work and the practice of literary criticism together in a single integrated module.
• To prepare you for the study of Latin language and literature at a more advanced level.

View an example full module specification

CLA2001: Greek History: Problems and Sources

This module introduces the history of the Greek world from the Archaic period to the rise of Rome. It explores who the 'Greeks' were, and how their culture came to dominate the eastern Mediterranean and beyond, as well as exploring in depth the different forms of ancient evidence that help us to reconstruct their world. This module offers an introduction not only to the political and military history of the Greek world, from the Persian Wars to the campaigns of Alexander and the eventual conquest by Rome, but also to their economic, social, religious and intellectual life.

• To provide an introduction to Archaic, Classical and Hellenistic Greek history.
• To develop an understanding, through a close study of ancient evidence and modern scholarship, of the limitations of textual evidence, as well as the general themes and problems of the periods and regions covered.

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CLA2002: Roman History: Problems and Sources

In this module you will explore Roman History from the mythologised story of the foundation of the city in 753 BC to the end of the Roman Empire in the West over a thousand years later. In particular, you will focus on the late Republic and Principate, a time of rapid imperial expansion, violent internal conflicts and the emergence of a new political order dominated by autocratic emperors. Within a broadly chronological structure, you will explore a range of important topics and questions concerning the Roman world through critical engagement with a wide variety of ancient material and modern scholarly approaches.

This module is designed to:

• help you gain knowledge and understanding of the grand sweep of ancient Roman history from its earliest times until the end of antiquity
• provide information about important aspects of - and debates about - political, cultural, social and economic history
• enable you to develop sophisticated skills of critical analysis and historiographical methods through exposure to a variety of relevant ancient sources and modern scholarly approaches to the subject.

View an example full module specification

CLA2030: Ancient World: Racecraft

How did 'race' come to be an important part of the contemporary world? Has race always been a criterion for categorising people and organising social difference, as it is now? Questions of this kind will be at the core of this module which will look at how social difference was organised in ancient worlds. If we take our jumping off point that Greeks and Romans did not have a concept of race that maps neatly onto our notions of race, how did they organise social difference? And - where did ideas about race come from if the Greeks and Romans thought so differently about it? To answer these questions, youwill look at ancient and modern ideas together in order to appreciate that race is neither a fixed or nor timeless way of categorising and making hierarchies between people. Instead, race is 'crafted' (as argued by sociologists Karen and Barbara Fields). You will be thinking about race in the ancient world as crafted in particular ways to support modern ideas about whiteness, empire, and civilisation.

No prior skills, knowledge or experience are required to take this module, only willingness to examine its origins and effects with curiosity and a sensitivity to others' lived and ongoing experiences of racism. This module is suitable for non-specialist students, and is recommended for interdisciplinary pathways: joint honours students are warmly welcome.

View an example full module specification

CLA2031: Text and Context: Women in Homer

This module enables you to explore the roles of women in the Homeric epics, alongside investigation of the latest scientific and archaeological discoveries unearthing the real experiences of women in the Late Bronze Age, which might have informed the Homeric poems. We will ask questions like: why has the Iliad often been thought as 'all about men'? Why does the Odyssey start with a woman being told to shut up? Is there a way that we can read women back into Homer? And how might discoveries in archaeology and science shed new light on the experiences of women - and make us read these texts in a different way?

The aims of the module are:

• To enable you to explore the many different roles played by women in the Homeric poems, and to unpack how setting these alongside the historical experiences of women in the Late Bronze Age can change and shape the way we think about Homer - as well as the importance of women, both narratively and historically.
• To enable you to analyse the Homeric epics within their ancient literary, historical and cultural context, and - at the same time - to critically examine how contemporary concerns and theoretical approaches can change the way we understand the past.

View an example full module specification

CLA2035: Roman Death and Commemoration

This module explores how people in the Roman world considered the fundamental and ever-present questions surrounding death and commemoration. By interpreting a wide range of sources including inscribed monuments, grave goods and literary texts, you will examine how Roman society treated and remembered its dead. You will focus not only on topics including burial and cremation practices, funerary portraiture, the composition and display of epitaphs, and regional patterns of commemoration, but also on how social inequalities affected the ways in which people are represented and under-represented in our source materials. You will also look at how aspects of Roman commemorative practices resonate in the modern day. All texts will be studied in translation and no prior knowledge is required.

View an example full module specification

CLA2202: Classical Language and Texts: Greek II

This module will build on your knowledge of Greek from Greek level I or equivalent. You will learn to read and understand unadapted passages from Greek texts, without assistance. You will also complete some English to Greek work. You will be taught to use grammatical aids which will enable you to follow linguistic structures to help you to solve problems of syntax and grammatical structure. You will have regular practice at translating text and will be assessed through the year. This module will prepare you for higher level Greek classes at stage 3.

The aims of the module are:

• To develop your linguistic confidence.
• To develop your ability to read extracts without adaptation from the most important and influential Greek authors.

To encourage you to appreciate the style of different authors and the relationship between language and literary content.

View an example full module specification

CLA2205: Classical Language and Texts: Greek IV

This module offers you the opportunity to really get to grips with Greek literature in the original language. By reading a themed selection of texts within their historical, intellectual and literary-cultural contexts, as well as engaging with modern interpretations of these works, you will broaden your knowledge of Greek literature, develop sophisticated skills of literary analysis and enhance your understanding of the Greek language. At the end of the year, you will have gained an appreciation for the subtleties of literary texts and will be able to regard yourself as 'reading', rather than 'translating' classical literature. The module will therefore be an excellent way to round off your study of Greek literature if you are finishing at this point, as well as providing vital preparation for those who will be going on to take Greek V.

View an example full module specification

CLA2252: Classical Language and Texts: Latin II

This module will build on your knowledge of Latin from Latin level I or equivalent (e.g. GCSE). You will learn independently to read and understand passages without adaption from Latin texts. You will be introduced to grammar and syntax not covered at previous levels of study. Texts will be chosen from various authors of prose and poetry to encourage you to appreciate the style of different authors and the relationship between language and literary content. Building on developing your knowledge of Latin grammar and syntax, study of language and literature will progressively be introduced as your confidence increases.

The aims of the module are:

• To develop your linguistic confidence
• To develop your ability to read extracts without adaptation from the most important and influential Latin authors.
• To encourage you to appreciate the style of different authors and the relationship between language and literary content.

View an example full module specification

CLA2254: Classical Language and Texts: Latin IV

This module offers you the opportunity to really get to grips with Latin literature in the original language. By reading a themed selection of texts within their historical, intellectual and literary-cultural contexts, as well as engaging with modern interpretations of these works, you will broaden your knowledge of Latin literature, develop sophisticated skills of literary analysis and enhance your understanding of the Latin language. At the end of the year, you will have gained an appreciation for the subtleties of literary texts and will be able to regard yourself as 'reading', rather than 'translating' classical literature. The module will therefore be an excellent way to round off your study of Latin literature if you are finishing at this point, as well as providing vital preparation for those who will be going on to take Latin V.

View an example full module specification

CLA2301: Ancient Sources (Written Evidence): Tyranny

The word 'tyranny' means something quite different today than it did in the ancient world, where it was the name given to the form of monarchy established in many Greek states in the 7th and 6th centuries BCE. Tyranny was not a special form of constitution, or necessarily a reign of terror; the tyrant might either rule directly or retain existing political institutions but exercise a greater influence over their working, and his rule might be benevolent or malevolent. This module will explore the ways in which autocratic power was understood and discussed by different Greek authors and their successors, and the challenges involved in trying to reconstruct the historical reality and significance of tyranny.

The aims of the module are:

• To engage in in-depth thinking about the literary sources for archaic tyranny
• To illustrate the advantages and limitations of textual evidence for understanding the ancient world and the archaic period in particular

View an example full module specification

CLA2354: Ancient Sources (Material Evidence): Brave New Rome of Augustus

The Augustan Age is seen as one of the turning points in the history of Rome, Italy and the Ancient Mediterranean, embodying tradition and innovation, continuity and novelty. Yet the great building programs that transformed Rome into an imperial capital, were not always celebrated but criticised and feared for what they represented - tyranny. In this module you will consider the visual and architectural language that was developed as a tool of power. We will read the tremendous wealth of evidence against the grain - along with the silences - to uncover multiple histories of the age, whether in monuments, engravings, poetry, or political writings.

• You will consider: What models are drawn on to create the new capital city worthy of empire? How is the art and architecture used to rewrite history and bring in new ideals where gods mingle with mortals and myth becomes reality? Can we begin to understand the effect of the new structures on the Roman population? How did the building programme refocus the centres of activity and redirect the movement and gaze of the city? In what sense is the building programme innovative and to what extent is it simply mirroring trends of other great cities with similar types of rule? Is it a monument to immortality?
• This module also provides an introduction into how to use and analyse visual and material evidence as a historical source, drawing on key texts, including poetry and the Res Gestae.
• You will engage in in-depth thinking into the underlying aims of and influences on the building programme, the monuments and art of Augustan Rome.

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CLA2405: Text and Context: Roman Laughter

What made the Romans laugh? What were the limits of Roman humour? What does this reveal about Roman culture and society? This module addresses some of the key issues of the politics and poetics of Roman humour. It is concerned with the way the Romans employed wit, satire and irony for comment, criticism and deconstruction, as well as a powerful weapon in their rhetorical battles. We will consider a range of materials, from the poems of Catullus, to the fables of Phaedrus, to non-elite art. Ultimately, we will address whether the humour that seems to turn everything on its head seeks to subvert or reinforce prevailing power structures.

You will learn how to analyse and critically evaluate texts from a range of genres and how to relate their style and content to the wider context of Roman literary culture and society In considering what we can learn about the Romans from their use of humour, you will also be encouraged to think about uses of humour in the modern world and the socio-cultural insights that can be gleaned from thinking about what makes us laugh.

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CLA2508: Ancient World: Roman Philosophy

This module aims to offer a chance for students from various backgrounds to explore a period of philosophy that is less often studied than Greek philosophy but which is rich in its intellectual and cultural interest. It shows how Roman Philosophy emerged against the background of later Greek (Hellenistic) Philosophy and how Roman thinkers gave a distinctive character to philosophical thought. It also offers you the chance to explore fundamental philosophical questions about human values and happiness, ethics and nature, mind and body, death and the gods, as these are treated by important Roman thinkers such as Lucretius, Cicero, and Marcus Aurelius.

The aim of this module is to:

• Examine a range of central philosophical questions debated in Roman philosophy and to set these debates against the background of later Greek (Hellenistic) thought, which strongly influenced Roman thought.
• Explore contrasting approaches of two leading philosophical movements in this period - Epicureanism and Stoicism - whose ideas are still relevant and significant today.
• Cover a range of topics that includes ethics (virtues and values), mind-body relationships, the nature of death, and the nature of the gods, through a set of readings by major Roman authors, especially Cicero, Lucretius and Marcus Aurelius.
• Engage with the philosophical questions conveyed in these readings and to become thoughtful and critical readers of a range of stimulating texts in Roman culture.

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HAS2011: Adventures in Environmental Arts and Humanities

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HIH2002: Uses of the Past

In this module you will explore how people in the past used history to explain their present, and how people today use history. You will look at the ways in which the past has been constructed, including the roles people have played, the impact of different cultures, and how things have changed over time. You will explore the authority that different cultures have given to the past, what makes a past 'authentic' and 'powerful', how notions of good or bad history have changed over time, and you will assess why people have turned to the past in order to make sense of their worlds. You will compare past and present uses of history across different cultures, and the way in which history is used by different states and rulers, and in education, entertainment, and public commemoration. You will also look at how groups have attempted to make sense of their past using a range of sources: for example, chronicles, paintings, films, genealogies, statues, and memorials.

This module aims to:

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HIH2011A: Forgetting Fascism, Remembering Communism: Memory in Modern Europe

This module will examine the ways in which European memory has been constructed since the Second World War. It will partly focus on countries, from Spain to Germany to Russia, which have attempted to 'come to terms' with their experience of Fascism and/ or Communism. It will examine the way in which histories are remembered, remoulded or forgotten when one regime collapses and another takes its place. It will address how the memory of the past is constructed at many levels: through transnational advocacy, state commemorations, trials and funerals; through novels, films, buildings, statues and everyday objects. It will also place European memory politics in global context, exploring both the differences from, but also connections to, other ways of remembering difficult or violent pasts across the world.

For the most part we will use focussed (and often national) case studies, to a) historicise this process: to understand how Europeans came to believe it necessary to remember their 'difficult pasts' and b) to explore the competition and contestation over which 'difficult pasts' were the most important, how these should be remembered, and - in some cases - whether these pasts should be remembered at all.

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HIH2245: From Gallows to ASBOs: Crime, Punishment, and Society in Britain and Ireland

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HIH2249: Vikings and Other Invaders: Europe under Siege in in the Tenth Century

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HIH2251: Beyond Bridgerton: A Peoples' History of Britain, 1688-1834

The popular image of eighteenth-century Britain is one of high society and country houses, teeming with aristocrats and landed gentry, inspired by countless Jane Austen adaptations and Regency romances like Bridgerton. But who made up the bulk of Britain’s population, and what was the daily reality of life beyond the ballroom? This module challenges you to take a fresh look at this crucial phase of British history and consider the lived experience of diverse social communities during the tumultuous ‘long’ eighteenth century. This was an era marked by the shock of industrialisation, imperialist expansion, and near-constant warfare. Beyond Bridgerton: A Peoples’ History of Britain considers how ‘ordinary’ people both shaped, and were shaped by, these changes, and how we can recover these marginalised voices. It also invites you to reflect on our contemporary obsession with the eighteenth-century’s social elite: what does this tell us about Britain today?

The module aims to:-

• Develop your understanding of how diverse communities navigated, and shaped, the changing social, political, and economic structures of Britain in the ‘long’ eighteenth century.
• Develop your ability to critically evaluate the historiographical approaches, and primary sources, relating to the subject.
• Develop you critical awareness of how and why the history of Britain in the long eighteenth century has been portrayed in modern popular culture.

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HIH2595: Hunger Games: Poverty, Famine, and Environment

This module isn’t just about famines in modern history. It’s about how the threat of famines and food poverty shaped the modern state, family size and sexuality, our eating habits, our food systems and our attitudes towards the environment and the climate crisis. Case studies will cover some topics from Ireland and the British Isles, the Indian sub-continent, and the Ottoman Empire, and will focus on the modern period (roughly 1750 onwards). The subject matter is serious but the seminars will have you playing survival games at subsistence farming and engaging with everything from economic theory to collective memory to try and understand how famine has—until now—evaded every human effort to eradicate it. This module reintroduces you to modernity—its hungry side. No prior knowledge of famine history or environmental history is required to take the module, but coming to the module with an openness to reading a variety of sources from testimonies and lived experiences to economic analyses is encouraged.

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HIH2597: Beyond the Tudors: Europe’s Worldview Transformed c.1500-1600

Summary

The Tudor period is quite rightly seen as a crucial one in English history, but it wasn’t only England that was transformed at this time. Indeed, English history can only be fully understood in the context of great changes that swept across all of western Europe in the sixteenth century. Dismissing the medieval period as a ‘dark age’ full of ignorance and savagery, Europeans saw their own time as one of light and learning, when the errors of the past were rejected and knowledge, belief, art and culture were made anew. Rather than focusing narrowly on the better-known Tudors in isolation, this module therefore situates England within broader European society, charting how existing worldviews were challenged, reformed and reconstructed at this time.

This module introduces you to transformations in the ways that sixteenth-century Europeans understood themselves, their bodies, their history and their religion. We also consider how novelties such as the printing press facilitated the spread of new ideas, and how European ‘discoveries’ of new parts of the globe were absorbed into western worldviews. If you have studied the Tudors before the module will bring new depth and perspectives to your understanding; alternatively, if you are new to the period, the module gives an excellent insight into what made both England and this wider world tick.

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HIH2186A: Deviants and Dissenters in Early Modern England

How societies define and create deviants and dissenters can tell us a great deal about those societies: what they value and seek to promote and encourage is inevitably also revealed through what they seek to discourage or stamp out. This module explores who were the people, and groups of people, who deviated in some way from the 'norms' of early modern society, or who disagreed with its political, religious, legal, economic, and medical institutions and tenets, and why. It will further examine what it meant to be defined or categorised in this way. What kinds of ideas and beliefs might place a person or people on the margins of early modern English society and culture? What were the consequences of espousing such ideas or beliefs, or of acting on them? But deviance could also be experienced through the body: what bodily appearances, practices and behaviours might similarly place you on the margins of early modern society? These are the kinds of questions you will explore in this module, using a wide range of primary sources, which will provide a foundation for thinking about those you might examine in your dissertation research next year. You will also have the opportunity to develop your debating skills, and to synthesise and substantiate arguments as you build your own ideas about these often contested areas of historical study.

This module aims to:

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HIH2237: Doing History in the Digital Age

This module will enable you to develop independent learning skills, an understanding of the value and use of primary sources in history, knowledge of historiography, and critical and presentational skills. It is a progression from the Year 1 core modules in History, and from Sources and Skills. It will also help to prepare you for writing a dissertation in your final year.

The module is compulsory for Single Honours History students. It is optional for Combined Honours History students, but a prerequisite for students wishing to undertake a dissertation in History in their final year. The module is also available to students on other programmes as an optional module.

This module builds on work done in Year 1 in the core modules in History, and in Sources and Skills modules. It is a guided independent study module, which aims to develop your independent learning, understanding of the value and use of primary sources in history, knowledge of collections, archives, and databases, and critical and presentational skills. It also serves as part of the preparation for the final element of independent study in history programmes in the final year, in the form of the Dissertation or Research Project Dissertation.

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HIH2244: Rebellion! Uprisings in England and France, 1173-1569

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HIH2248: Strategy and Success in the Second World War

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HIH2252: Atlantic History, 1500-1850: Communities, Identity and Empire

This module explores the history of the Atlantic world and the interconnected development of Africa, Europe and the Americas between 1500 and 1850. The rise and fall of the trans-Atlantic slave trade is a central element of this history, alongside the establishment and loss of European imperial possessions in the Americas. Competition for military, economic and cultural hegemony was acute, but the Atlantic world was also a site of connection. This module will therefore give students the opportunity to study the intellectual and material networks which influenced the lives of the people living there. It will encourage critical engagement with the rich historiography on the Atlantic world as well as the evaluation of the historical evidence which has shaped this scholarship. Students will encounter political, social, cultural, intellectual and economic histories that deal with identity, power and social structures; violence, warfare and revolution; and the intellectual and material drivers of human exploitation – but also of human solidarity and connection. An Atlantic lens, drawing on case studies from and connections between Africa, Europe and the Americas, is a powerful tool for studying such themes. It encourages a substantive focus on race, slavery and different European imperial dynamics right across a formative period for the modern world. For example, students will examine the varied and changing ideas about race, culture and identity, looking at African-European-Indigenous interactions but also at the transformation of these societies across the Atlantic. Students will be asked to enquire into the relationship between ideas about race, un-free labour, resistance and imperial possession. We will focus on individuals, groups, communities and states, adopting an approach that explores history bottom up as well as top down. This analysis will raise awareness of the historical roots of current conflicts and tensions.

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HIH2253: Creating an American Empire: From Westward Expansion to Colonial Empire

This module explores the history of United States’ territorial expansionism and the controversial rise of a U.S. empire across the long nineteenth century (c. 1783-1902). That period saw the United States develop into a continental and colonial empire that extended across the American West and then claimed insular possessions such as the Hawaiian Islands and the Philippines. In this module, you will explore how historians have approached U.S. expansion and the drivers and debates surrounding the American empire, from the Revolutionary era to the Spanish-American War.

Topics will likely include concepts of the “frontier” and of “borderlands”; slavery and free-land expansionism; Native Americans, Indian Removal and resistance, and federal Indian policy; the Mexican American War and the U.S. annexation of Texas and California; the incorporation and settlement of the West through farming, homesteading, speculation, mining, and railroad development; transpacific trade, immigration, and diplomacy; and the mythology of the frontier in US popular culture. Towards the end of the nineteenth century, the U.S. expansionist gaze turned increasingly towards "frontiers" in Latin America and Asia-Pacific, leading to new and troubling questions surrounding the formal or informal imperialism of the United States.

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HIH2596: Russia’s Empires: Societies, Peoples and Cultures

Over the course of the last four centuries, Russia has formed the central part of a series of states that can be categorised as empires in various ways, from the rapid geographical expansion seen during the imperial period, to the formation of the multinational USSR, to the present-day Russian Federation. This module will focus on various parts of this long period to explore the enduring questions of what empire has meant to these states and the varying nature of their imperial projects; what the experience of empire has meant to those peoples living within it and how this has changed over time; and how empire has shaped the society and culture of Russia over the centuries. The content of this module will be determined by staff expertise so may focus entirely on the imperial period, straddle the revolutionary divide of 1917, or explore the dynamics of the Soviet Union and its influence in the post-Soviet world.

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HAS3999: Study Abroad

The Study Abroad programme enables you to undertake a year-long study placement at a partner university outside of the UK, as part of your degree programme.

This module serves as the administrative mechanism for recording the Study Abroad assessment results of students within the Faculty of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (HASS). Students participating in the Study Abroad programme and based in a HASS department (except for the Law School, the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, Modern Languages, and the School of Education) will be registered on this module during their Study Abroad placement year.

The Study Abroad programme widens the range of modules available to you during Stage 3 of your degree programme; enables you to broaden your academic horizons by studying in a different learning culture and (where relevant and appropriate) in languages other than English; and aims to promote resilience, independence, cultural awareness, and communication skills.

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HAS3998: Employment Experience

This module allows you to undertake and to learn from an extended work placement during the third year of a four year “with Employment Experience” programme. You will use one or more work placements to gain skills that equip you to work in the employment market and to improve your knowledge of the work environment. You are encouraged to think about the intercultural competence and the employability skills that you acquire during your year.

To progress to this module, you will have secured a suitable placement for a minimum of 26 weeks.

Having developed the skills necessary to find relevant roles and apply for roles in the graduate labour market, this is an invaluable opportunity to develop work-related skills and experience that will further enhance your success in the graduate labour market and support your future career choices.

During your placement year you will be supported by the Module Convenor and Placement Team.

The module assessment structure provides opportunity and support for you to evaluate your skills and achievements using personal development techniques.  You will also write an Employer Report to showpiece the culmination of your academic and business skills.

This module aims to:

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CLA3009: Dissertation

This module gives you the opportunity to pursue an independent research project on a topic of your choice in the field of Classics and Ancient History, and to write up your research in an extended dissertation. Enrolment on this module in your final year of study is subject to submission of preliminary materials in the previous academic year, and approval of them by the module convenor (dissertation coordinator). The decision to write a dissertation should not be taken lightly: before enrolling on this module, please consider whether you possess an adequate degree of independent learning skills as well as writing skills and time management skills.

Although you will work for the most part independently, each dissertation will be supervised by a member of staff, to be assigned by the module convenor. Your supervisor will read and comment on some drafts, giving advice on the style, the argument and directions for further investigation. It will be your responsibility to liaise with your supervisor and keep them posted about the progress of your work. You will be allowed to arrange up to four meetings with your supervisor, with a maximum of two meetings per term. In addition to this 1-to-1 supervision, you will receive general advice and guidance on how to conduct research suitable to an UG dissertation, and how to write up and present a suitable UG dissertation, in two plenary sessions led by the module convenor.

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HIH3005: General Third-Year Dissertation

The History Dissertation module gives you the opportunity to undertake independent source-based research on a topic of your choice. Over the course of your final year, you will research and write an extended essay based on the analysis of primary sources. Although the onus is on you to identify and research your own chosen area, you are assigned a supervisor from the Department to advise and guide you through the process. The dissertation allows you to put into practice the key skills of source analysis, argumentation and independent study that you have learnt at levels 1 and 2, and represents the culmination of your training as a historian. The dissertation is your chance to pursue original research, to offer a contribution to the field and to add your voice to the debate!

The dissertation is compulsory for all final-year Single Honours History students and may be opted for by final-year Combined Honours History students, provided that they have taken HIH2001 Doing History at level 2, as the dissertation builds on this module.

This module allows you to:

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HIH3330: Truth

Everything is relative! Nothing is real! Perhaps scepticism about truth in science, morality, and religion once belonged to radical fringes—but today’s global politics and culture seem to be overwhelmed with competing and contradictory beliefs about everything from the shape of the earth to whether Chat GPT has a soul. In disciplines such as History, there are still deeper questions lurking. Does the practice of history help us to identify the truth about past events, or does history play a role in encouraging scepticism and uncertainty over the ‘truth-makers’ of our society? In this module, your convenors and seminar leaders will take you through some core readings on knowledge, the history of science, and readings on the production of social truths concerning (potentially) gender, morality, politics, and alternative belief systems and cults: but from there you will be working to develop your own projects, developing case studies on key themes (a few are recommended in the video introduction). There will be scope to delve deeper into the philosophical questions lurking in any historical study of ‘truth’—and if those don’t appeal, there will also be room here to explore the social and cultural practices that make the truth—whatever it might contain!-- so irresistible to those living within a particular culture and time.

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HIH3333: Disease

This module explores the concepts of sickness and health. While these might appear to be universal human conditions, this module invites you to think about how the conceptualisation, management, and experience of sickness and health has varied significantly across time and space. From definitions produced by the World Health Organisation for the entire globe to the individual's subjective experience of bodily, mental, and emotional suffering and wellbeing, what it means to be well and unwell is never detached from historical context. Through case studies drawn from across geographies, chronologies, and scales, you will be encouraged to reflect on how disease categories, treatment regimens, and illness narratives have been historically constructed. This module will also highlight what we can learn about a given political, social, and cultural context by putting sickness and health under the microscope. Both concepts have been central to the definition of the normal and the pathological, whether in relation to disability, sexuality, or race, as well as to the representation of the 'other'.

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HIH3334: War

War is an ancient and contested concept. The Greek philosopher Heraclitus called it 'the father of all' around 500 BCE while the Bible lists 'conquest' and 'war' as two of the four horsemen of the apocalypse. Wars were proclaimed to be 'just' or 'holy', but many people reject it on philosophical or religious grounds. The concept of 'total war' developed in tandem with efforts to codify the laws of war and mitigate its impact. War was praised as antidote to modern materialism, but the 'military-industrial complex' (Dwight D. Eisenhower) creates ever more sophisticated high-tech weapons. War is the subject of countless games but defined by cruelty. It was, for a long time, regarded as the ultimate test of manhood but is now increasingly conducted by drones, robots, or in cyberspace. It was once just waged against enemy armies but is now also fought against drugs, smoking, or obesity. In this module, you will explore and discuss different concepts of war and its impact on thought, society, culture, and people.

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HIH3335: Violence

This module explores the social and cultural histories of collective violence, focusing on the act of violence itself. Engaging with the extensive theorisation of violence offered by different social sciences, the module will examine why violence has taken particular forms and rituals, what it has meant to perpetrators and victims, and the limits placed on violence by formal and informal rules and practices. The module will explore the roles of religion, ethnicity, group dynamics, and gender, phenomena ranging from riots and massacres to the duel, as well as the halting of violence through surrender or negotiation.

This 'Concepts' module requires you to engage with historical ideas and theories relating to violence that are applicable across time and space. You will be encouraged to think beyond the detail of your Special Subjects and Dissertations, using a range of illustrative case studies to examine broader ideas. You will have to consider how ideas and concepts about violence vary, develop, or manifest consistently in different time periods and places, and why they are constructed as they are. What can this tell us about past peoples and societies, and what are the implications for the world in which we now live?

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HIH3336: Revolution

Along with major wars, with which they are often associated, revolutionary struggles have formed some of the most dramatic turning points in the development of human societies and their governments. At times the threat and promise of revolution has been an all-consuming preoccupation, epitomised by 'classic' revolutions such as those in France in 1789 and Russia in 1917, but also encompassing many other examples of both successful and failed attempts at revolutionary change right up to the present day. On this module you will take an inter-disciplinary approach to the global phenomenon of revolutionary change, starting before 1789 when revolution tended to be a word ascribed to significant events after they had occurred before moving to the post-1789 period when the idea of revolution changed and people became consciously involved in attempts to reshape their governments and societies in the hope for a better future, even if the end result was often very different.

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HIH3455: Sexualities

This module explores the conceptual frameworks that shape approaches to the history of sexuality. While sexuality might appear to be a universal human (even biological) element of our personalities and identities, this module introduces you to the claim, central to much recent historians' work, that the thinking about ourselves as having a sexual identity is peculiar to some twentieth century cultures. As a result, the history of sexuality invites us to explore the different ways bodies and desires have been conceptualised in different times and places. What concepts have been deployed to make sense of human sexual experiences? What shifting categories (gender, race, nature, age) have been critical to the ways in which societies organise sexual behaviours, or demarcate the moral from the immoral, the pathological from the unhealthy, the normal from the abnormal, the legal from the illegal or the appropriate from the distasteful? Drawing upon case-studies drawn from across geographies, chronologies and scales you will be encouraged to reflect on how sexual categories and modes of regulation reflect different political, social and cultural contexts shedding light and offering new perspectives on our own worlds.

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HAS3006: The Legend of King Arthur

The deeds of King Arthur and his court are imprinted on the landscape, embedded in (pseudo-)historical texts, and have been repeatedly re-invented in romances, novels, film and television programmes. This interdisciplinary module asks you to investigate the appeal of the 'once and future king' from the Middle Ages to the twenty-first century, including the ways in which his legend has been adapted and extended over time. The Southwest has unique links to the Arthurian myth, and this module allows you to explore the manuscript and archaeological resources that distinguish this region.

No prior knowledge, skills or experience are required: this module is suitable for all students at this level.

NB This module is also listed as an MA option: undergraduate and postgraduate students will be taught together in mixed classes. An undergraduate student who has taken this as a Stage 3 module cannot then take it as a masters module.

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HIH3417: The Yes, Minister Files: Perspectives on British Government since 1914

This module uses the hit BBC comedies Yes, Minister and Yes, Prime Minister as a window on to the world of British government. The programmes were based to a considerable extent on insider information, and the course will explore some of the real life counterparts to things that happened in the series. The module will also show how Yes, Minister relates to other fictional representations of British politics. If you want to understand how Britain has been governed over the last century, this is the course for you.

Possession of a sense of humour is recommended but is not essential.

Sir Humphrey Appleby: Bernard, if the right people don't have power, do you know what happens? The wrong people get it: politicians, councillors, ordinary voters!

Bernard Woolley : But aren't they supposed to, in a democracy?

Sir Humphrey : This is a British democracy, Bernard!

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HIH3418: The Russian Revolution

The Russian Revolution was one of the greatest events of the twentieth century, heralding the emergence of the first communist regime and providing the inspiration for subsequent revolutions across the world. This module examines the revolutionary period from 1914 to 1922, exploring how and why revolution emerged, the progress of events during the crucial year of 1917, and how the Bolsheviks seized and held on to power during a tumultuous civil war. As well as examining political developments, it seeks to explore the fluctuating aspirations of ordinary people and the emergence of a revolutionary culture, while contrasting Bolshevik aspirations to build a pioneering new state and society with the reality of the foundation of the Soviet Union.

This module studies the revolutionary period in Russian history (1914-22) through the wide range of sources available, including memoirs, diaries, letters, political manifestos, official documents and correspondence, newspapers reports, photographs, and film. It encourages you to analyse and evaluate the reliability and value of these sources, place them in the broader context in which they were produced, and relate them to the subsequent arguments of historians.

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HIH3421: Magic in the Middle Ages

This course explores how medieval people thought about magic and the magical practices that they used. It takes a long chronological sweep, from the period of conversion to Christianity in the early Middle Ages to the development of new ideas about witchcraft in the fifteenth century.

The course will examine the key changes which took place during the period, including the Church's efforts to Christianise popular practices; the impact of new magical texts which circulated in Europe from the twelfth century onwards; intellectual debates about what magic was and how it worked; and the rising number of trials of magical practitioners. It will also examine how these factors contributed to the invention of a new crime, witchcraft, and the first witch trials.

This module will bring together a wide range of evidence, including religious treatises, academic theology, magical texts, works of literature and trial records to examine both the reality of medieval magic and perceptions of it. It will place this evidence in its social and cultural context, and analyse the key debates in modern historiography.

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HIH3424: Governing the World: A History of Internationalism from WW1 to the Present

Since the 19th century individuals and states sought to promote national interests in various international fora and to find ways to ‘govern the world’ for the greater good of mankind. This module will introduce students to the rich and complex history of internationalism and the evolution of iconic organisations such as the United Nations from diverse perspectives, engaging with leading as well as lesser known twentieth-century thinkers, policy makers, activists and transnational groupings both within and beyond the Western world. It will examine critically internationalism’s role in the shaping of the modern world, including contemporary critiques and acts of retreat from multilateralism and global cooperation.

The module focuses on internationalism’s dynamic relationship with nationalism and the dialectic between ideals and power politics that had defined visions of global cooperation throughout the 20th century. You will develop skills in researching, interpreting, and analysing both primary and secondary material related to the history of internationalism and international institutions. Drawing on archival, published and translated sources, as well as on a growing number of online digital archives, the module will use official institutional sources, as well as oral histories, letters, post-war memoirs, photographs and video material.

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HIH3426: Health and its Politics in the 20th Century

Who has a right to health, and who is responsible for maintaining it? Who should pay for it and who should provide it? Questions around access to health and medical management have been central to how international order, state formations and political systems have been imagined and organised in the 20th century. We will explore relationships among social and political structures and health in local, national and global contexts, moving in space, time and thematic approach throughout the course. We will focus on intersections of medical technologies and scientific knowledge; social movements and political ideologies, such as empires and the bacteriological revolution; reproductive rights and women's health movements; socialist ideas of health and decolonisation; and the rise of global health and the neoliberal world order.

The module aims to:

• Introduce you to the entangled histories of health, society and politics in the 20 thcentury through analyses on local, national and global registers.
• Drawing on published and translated source collections as well as a growing number of online digital archives,

The module will make use of sources ranging from governmental records, medical literature, news media, oral history interviews, public health campaign materials, advertisements, personal letters, photographs, conference proceedings, memoirs.

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HIH3430: From the Grand Tour to Gladiator: Modern Encounters with the Ancient World

The classical world is all around us. We encounter the classical world in museums, buildings, gardens, films, poems and video games. We find classical references in political, economic, social and cultural debates on topics such as education, democracy, slavery, sexuality or imperialism. In this module, we will examine why the cultures of Greece and Rome still matter to global societies.

Covering roughly the period from 1750 to the present day we will excavate the ways the ancient world has shaped the modern. We will explore the centrality of Greece and Rome to concepts of civilization, national identities, political ideology, race and sexuality. Why is the ancient world so prominent in narratives of Western triumphalism, marshalled in support of white supremacy and imperial politics, harnessed to legitimate dictatorships or wielded to promote liberal democracies? How is ancient history relevant to movements for sexual liberation or deemed illustrative of the dangers of pornography? How and why are ancient cultures appropriated to shore up racialised, classed and gendered structures of oppression?

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HIH3434: The Body in Early Modern England

This module will provide a detailed analysis of both the history of the body in early modern England and historical sources available for the subject. Seminars will focus on exploring key issues and questions in the study of the body and its historiography. Topics covered may include: anatomy; sex and gender; sex, reproduction, and sexuality; medicine and midwifery; life-stages from conception to old age; illness and disease; death and dissection; regulating the body (including morality, size, behaviour); deformed, disabled, foreign, monstrous bodies.

If you have not previously studied the period you will be expected to do some general reading to familiarise yourself with the early modern world.

You will require at least 90 credits of History at level 1 and/or level 2 to complete this module.

• To analyse the history of the body in early modern England
• To analyse the historical sources available for the subject

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HIH3441: Britons Abroad: The Experience of Travel, c. 1650-1900

Travel today is commonplace, familiar to us all, and often routine; but it hasn't always been so. From the early modern period in Britain, domestic and international travel increased markedly, driven by socio-cultural phenomena such as the Grand Tour, commercial expansion and the Atlantic economy, as well as developments in transport and travel infrastructure. By the twentieth century travel had been 'democratised', opening up mass tourism. For the first time in history, large numbers of travellers were beginning to explore the globe, encountering new countries, environments and peoples. But the history of travel isn't just about journeys and destinations...it encompasses a huge range of historical factors including gender, health, sexuality, race, transport, the body, risk and vulnerability. This module enables you to explore the experience of travel over the course of three centuries. Alongside broader narratives of the development of tourism, transport and material culture, and drawing on a wide variety of source materials, including travel literature, personal narratives, advertising, art and literature, it focusses on the profound changes to individuals of encountering 'new' peoples and places, and their experiences of journeys in the past.

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HIH3446: The Celtic Frontier

The events of 1066 brought radical and permanent change not just to England but to Wales, Scotland and Ireland which, over the next century, became targets for Norman ambition. In This module you will examine the processes, voluntary and involuntary, by which these countries were brought into line with continental norms.

You will focus on studying all aspects of the impact of the Normans on the British Isles between 1066 and 1215. A variety of primary sources will be used to examine the processes of conquest and assimilation. Writings of both conquerors and conquered are used and will include correspondence, ethnography, satire, chronicle, poetry, prophecy, and charters. Texts may be from Latin, French, English, Welsh and Irish origin.

We welcome students from other disciplines; however you will require at least 90 credits in History at level 1 and/or level 2.

The events of 1066 brought radical and permanent change not just to England but to Wales, Scotland and Ireland which, over the next century, became targets for Norman ambition. This course examines the processes, voluntary and involuntary, by which these countries were brought into line with continental norms.

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HIH3451: Borders and Mobilities in Postcolonial South Asia

Tracing contested borders and frontiers cleaved by Empire, this module examines histories of war, peace, and resistance in postcolonial South Asia. Drawing on the intertwined histories of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and Sri Lanka, we will study the cartographic anxieties and boundary-making practices that enumerate identity and shape mobilities in the region. We will adopt an intersectional approach that foregrounds caste, gender, race, religion and class and unsettles the nation-state's rigid, exclusionary borders. Spanning a range of topics including ethnic conflict, diplomacy and disputed territories, statelessness and citizenship, this module explores the postcolonial states and societies of South Asia.

The module will enable students to utilise interdisciplinary frameworks in postcolonial studies, diplomatic history, migration and borderland studies to better understand South Asia. You will be introduced to scholarship that challenges methodological nationalism and top-down approaches by putting forward a nuanced, intersectional agenda. Drawing on diverse sources including archival documents, diplomatic memoirs, biographies, fiction, translated works, and cinema, you will also be equipped to work with primary sources effectively and innovatively.

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