What our students say about History at Queen Mary
Stephen Keene
V140 Modern and Contemporary History
"The structure is very versatile so the degree can be shaped by you as you go on and develop certain interests. I enjoy the way the course offers the opportunity to cover so many different areas of history, at Queen Mary, and at the University of London as a whole…I have particularly enjoyed the courses I have taken on film history and modern political history, which have been very interesting and challenging, particularly when dealing with documents that have only just been released."
BA Modern and Contemporary History
UCAS Code V140
This BA programme is for those with a strong interest in the making of the world we live in today. You will be able to choose from a wide range of courses focussing on the history of Europe and the United States in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The Department of History at Queen Mary is home to many of the leading historians of this period. Our staff has expertise in modern British, European, and American history, as well as in the international relations that have defined the contemporary world.
In your first year, you will choose from a specified set of introductory courses that will give you a strong grounding in the history of modern Britain (from 1760-1880 or post-1945), America (1763-1917 or 1900 to the present), or Europe (since 1890). You will also take a non-assessed, six-week workshop on historical writing to assist you in preparing coursework to university standard. In both your first, second, and third years, you will be able to select courses covering a broad spectrum of historical fields, from the history of foreign relations to the history of ideas.
In your final year, you will be able to apply the knowledge and skills you have acquired on earlier courses to primary source material, which you will encounter either through a document-based “special subject” (one of our intensive third-year courses), or through original research on a subject of your own choice, leading to a 15, 000 word research dissertation.
Our teaching methods reflect the richness and diversity of historical sources for the modern era. You will learn about this period through lectures, film screenings, field trips and seminars. Your reading will encompass historical studies, archival documents and works of literature. Finally, you will be able to take advantage of Queen Mary’s strong connections with the political and scholarly networks of London: you may meet some of the major figures of recent political history through the Mile End Group, or use the unique resources of the National Archives, just a Tube-ride away. Whatever you choose to do, Queen Mary is a special place to study modern and contemporary history.