Program Overview

Course overview

The Cultural History pathway encourages you to investigate artefacts and ideas, material objects and mentalities, medical documents and museums, photographs and films and explore key themes that have shaped the past, including national identity, gender, race, sexuality and modernity.

Introduction

On this absorbing MA programme you’ll study one of the most exciting fields of historical inquiry; cultural history examines the culture of the time in order to understand how people made sense of the world they inhabited. It will introduce you to the specialist research methods used by cultural historians, to ongoing historiographical and theoretical debates and to related disciplines such as cultural studies, literary studies, history of art and sociology. You will also get the opportunity to explore the area of cultural history that interests you most in your dissertation.

The MA draws together case studies from across Britain and continental Europe, the European empires and North America from the eighteenth century to the present day.

Please note: when applying for this programme, please choose ‘MA History’ on the online application form. You should specify the specific pathway which you wish to study in your personal statement.

Who is this course for?

This programme will appeal to a wide range of students, including those who’ve recently graduated in History or a related discipline or have decided to return to university later in life. The structure of the course provides a good grounding for those intending to proceed to doctoral research.

It will appeal particularly to those with a keen interest in understanding the culture of time, and who have an interest in history through the lens of sociology, culture, art and literature.

What you'll learn

Taking the Cultural History MA will: