History

Why do wars and conflicts start? How has technology impacted societies? How and why is the past used and abused by political leaders, groups and nations?

Learning about the past can help us understand and solve many of the world’s problems today.

At Kent, you will explore over 1500 years of history in Britain, Europe and across the world. From the fall of the Roman Empire to the 21st century, you’ll consider how political, social and cultural changes have impacted class, gender, race, injustice and power.

You will live and learn in Canterbury - a city steeped in history. Canterbury Cathedral was founded in 597, and forms part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the heart of the city.

With London and mainland Europe nearby, you’ll also have the opportunity to visit sites such as the battlefield of Waterloo, trenches of the Great War and the site of the Normandy landings.

Our well-established links with the National Archives, Commonwealth War Graves Commission, British Library, Canterbury Cathedral and the Imperial War Museum will give you access to collections, artefacts and opportunities including visits and potential work placements.

Year 2

The following modules are what students typically study, but this may change year to year in response to new developments and innovations:

Compulsory modules currently include the following:

• The Medieval World: Power and Faith

  How did power manifest itself in the Middle Ages? Was faith a political tool that could be harnessed for diplomatic ends? How did these two forces interact when challenged by cultural clashes and population movements? This module provides an in-depth examination of the history of Medieval Europe (c.400–c.1400), examining the sweeping political and social transformations following the collapse of the Roman Empire in the fifth century.

• The Modern World: Revolution and Crisis

  How was our modern political, cultural and social system made? How does it function and what historical forces are still actively at play? This module will examine the formation of modern political culture, democracy, party politics, ideological divides, enlightenment, and secularisation between 1700 and 1990. These are all hallmarks of the pluralist and inclusive world we prize today.

  The world between the eighteenth and twentieth centuries was beset by crises. People sensed that they lived in an exceptional moment in time when change and hope could free people from tradition, superstition, and economic exploitation. There was a sense of dissatisfaction with existing systems of power, exclusion, capitalism and injustice. Revolution, reform and the Cold War all became key themes in humanity’s struggle to exit the crisis of the Ancien Régime and create a better world.

• Undergraduate Dissertation: Design and Planning

  How do you identify a workable dissertation topic? How do you formulate your research questions, define your structure, locate your sources, and identify a potential supervisor? These are all common questions, and we are here to help walk you through all the key elements you’ll need to produce a fully-fledged dissertation proposal, which will prepare you to tackle your first major research project with confidence.

Optional modules may include the following:

• A History of Eastern Europe in 10 Objects

• Armies at War, 1792-1815

• Blitzkrieg to Baghdad: Armoured Warfare in the Theory, Practice and Imagery, 1916-2003

• Cholera to Climate Change: Environment and Society in Modern Britain

• Churchill’s Armies: The Armies of the British Empire and the Second World War

• Civil War America, 1848-1877

• Conquest and Resistance in Southern Africa, 1750-1918

• Europe in Extremes: Communism, Fascism and Nazism, 1917-1939

• From Crisis to Revolution: France 1774-1799

• How the West was Won (or Lost): The American West in the 19th Century

• Marvels, Monsters and Freaks 1780-1920

• Modern German History since 1918

• Surgery, Science and Society since 1750

• Telegraph to Television: War and the British Media, 1853-1945

• The Art of Death: Representations, Rituals & Records in Medieval Europe

• The Cold War

• The Crusades

• The German Wars of Unification, c.1813-1871

• The Imperial Presidency: U.S. Foreign Policy from Franklin Roosevelt to Barack Obama

• ‘The Jewel in the Crown’: India and the Making of Imperial Britain

• Vikings: A Global Saga

• Violence and Justice in Medieval Europe (c.500-c.1400).

• War and Modern Medicine 1850-1950

Please see the course page on our website for full module details.

Year 3

The following modules are what students typically study, but this may change year to year in response to new developments and innovations:

Compulsory modules currently include the following:

Undergraduate History Dissertation

What does a research project look like? Why is it so integral to the discipline of History? This module is designed to for you to engage in exciting independent research on a historical topic, as part of your final years of study.

This module focuses on in-depth scrutiny of a subject through primary and secondary research. You’ll also engage in primary research, in archives or online, explore the rich historiography of your chosen topic, and learn how to integrate these findings into a long-form written piece. You’ll be supervised by a subject specialist and have the chance to discuss your ideas with peers and supervisors in lectures, workshops, and one-to-one settings.

The research project is your chance to engage in real historical research, just as a professional historian would, and to put the research skills and training you developed earlier in your degree into practice. It will also help foster transferable skills such as organisation, independence, and project management as well as being a fantastic example of your skills to show employers.

Optional modules may include the following:

• Fight the Power: African American History from Jim Crow to Black Lives Matter

• From Buffalo Bill to Bison Burgers: The American West in the 20th Century

• Global Insurgency and Counterinsurgency in the Modern Era

• Gothic Art: Image and Imagination in Europe

• Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes: A History of the Modern Body (1800-1950)

• To Do No Harm: Medical Ethics and Patient Rights in the Modern World, 1800-2000

• From ‘Madness’ to Mindfulness: Mental Health since 1850.

• Terror, Murder and Bloodshed: The Renaissance in Italy and beyond, c.1400-c.1550

• The American Revolution

• Cultural History of the Great War: Britain, France, and Germany in Comparison

• The Hundred Years’ War, c.1337-1453

• The Nature of Command

• Capitalism: Classes, Cultures & Conflicts

• Conquests, Cultures and Identities: England AD 800-1100

• From Mercenaries to Freedom Fighters: Transnational Soldiering, c.1700-2020

• Ireland: A Military History since 1689

• Liberation Struggles in Southern Africa

• Loyalists: The Wrong Side of the American Independence

• Making Room for Medicine: Medical Space, Environment and Health

• Napoleon and the World, 1799-1815

• Saints, Relics & Churches in Medieval Europe, c.500-1500

• Sex, Health and Deviance in Britain since 1800

• The Carolingians and the Invention of Order

• The Eternal Nazi: Global Legacies of the Third Reich

• The International History of the Vietnam Wars

• The Legacy of the Second World War

• The Renaissance: Nature, Magic and Knowledge

• The Spanish Second Republic and Civil War, 1931-1939

• War, Peace and Diplomacy in the Late Middle Ages, c.1200 – c.1450

Please see the course page on our website for full module details.

Year In Industry (optional)

Year in Industry

You have the option to add a year in industry to this course. We already know you have the confidence and commitment to thrive in the workplace and kick-start your career. This is your chance to prove it, to yourself and to employers. The Year in Industry can be added during your studies at Kent.

Any questions? We have the answers!

When should I start looking? Companies will recruit at different times of the year based on their size. It's good to be application ready by the summer of your first year.

Where can I get help finding a placement? Book an appointment with a placement adviser via the careers service.

Will I get paid? Most of our placements are paid.

Do I have to pay tuition fees? Yes, you’ll pay a substantially reduced fee. Fees for the current year (subject to changes) can be found on our tuition fees website.

Where can I get visa advice if I’m an international student? Kent Students' Union can help with any visa queries.

Does the University keep in touch? You receive four-weekly check-in emails, a visit from the team every three months and you can reach out to us any time by email or phone.

Do I work for a full year? The minimum requirement for an industrial placement is 44 weeks.

Year Abroad (optional)

Go Abroad

Taking a year abroad – whether you study at one of our prestigious partner universities or do an internship – is an amazing opportunity. The Year Abroad can be added during your studies at Kent.

Any questions? We have the answers!

Is there any additional funding for the year abroad? You may be able to apply for funding; check with our Go abroad team.

Do I have to pay tuition fees for the year abroad? Yes, you’ll pay a substantially reduced fee. Fees for the current year (subject to changes) can be found on our tuition fees website. You don’t pay anything to the host uni.

Will I still get my maintenance loan? Yes.

When does the year abroad take place? Between your second and final year.

Do I have to learn a foreign language? You’re taught in English in many destinations, but you’ll get more out of your year if you learn the local language.

Does the University keep in touch? You have full access to all Kent’s support services as well as our dedicated Go abroad team.

Year 1

You take the compulsory modules then choose one of three module pairings; 'Early Medieval History, (c. 400 – c.1050)' and 'Late Medieval History, (c. 1050 – c. 1450)'; 'The Rise of the United States Pt. 1' and 'The Rise of the United States Pt. 2' or 'The Making of Modern Europe' and 'The Making of Modern Britain'. Then you choose 2 more optional modules from the remaining list.'

Compulsory modules currently include the following:

• Controversial Histories

  How do we navigate the juncture between history, culture, and the politics of evidence? This module explores a series of historical controversies, in which conflicts over information and interpretation generated significant outcomes. You’ll learn to reflect on and put into practice some of the core skills of a historian including locating, assessing, and critiquing the credibility of evidence, and considering the plausibility of arguments built around it.

  You’ll explore controversies which questioned our understanding of history and challenged the rigour of historical claims. These case studies will come from different geographies and periods, and their significance will be explained in lectures and explored in seminars. You will address topics such as culture war divisions, political and technological revolutions, waypoints in nationalism or radicalism, and contests over heritage and colonial conflict.

  The emphasis throughout the module is on putting thinking into practice, and we’ll encourage you to create your own arguments and positions, mobilising historical evidence in different ways in the process. This will sharpen your skills of analysis, as well as your confidence in constructing your own arguments and making your voice heard.

• History Makers

  How do historians from a range of backgrounds approach and understand the discipline of history? What is their relationship to the past and to the archive? You’ll learn about some key figures who have shaped how history can be written, with attention to the ideologies, assumptions, and various methods or ambitions that different authors have applied to their historical subjects.

  Seminars each week are dedicated to different ‘history makers’ and will allow you to read and reflect on significant texts, legacies, and historical reputations. Seminars are supported by lectures that put the historian and their approach in a wider context.

  The module supports the transition from school study to a deeper reading of historical interpretation and identifies some patterns, tools, and 'schools' of historical practice which developed in the second half of the twentieth century and remain influential today. This allows you to find your voice in telling history, and gives you the tools to make it heard.

Optional modules may include the following:

• Early Medieval History, (c. 400 – c.1050)

• Late Medieval History, (c. 1050 – c. 1450)

• The Rise of the United States Pt. 1

• The Rise of the United States Pt. 2

• The Making of Modern Europe

• A Global History of Empire

• Histories of Health and Medicine since 1800

• Renaissance to the Enlightenment

• The Making of Modern Britain Conversation starter

• War and Society in Europe, c.1789-1945

Please see the course page on our website for full module details.