English and History

We’re used to thinking of Literature and History as separate and distinct subjects. But are they? Both produce knowledge of the past; both focus on the reading and interpretation of texts; and both are concerned with narrative, or stories. Perhaps instead we should think of history as literature based on a true story, and of literature as a kind of living, imaginative history.

The unique English and History degree at Warwick explores these ideas through modules that span time and geography: from the ancient to the contemporary, and from Europe to Asia, Africa, and the Americas.

As well as choosing from a wide range of modules in both departments (and in others), you will study special core modules that are exclusively for English and History students, bringing the two subjects together and thinking about how literature helps us to understand the past, and how history can illuminate works of literature. You will examine the literary techniques employed in historical writing, and consider how the past is represented in poetry, plays, and novels. At all times, we will encourage you to develop your own ideas and arguments, to critically analyse what others say and write, and to think in new and imaginative ways about how we know the past through texts.