BA (Hons) History

Core units

• Academic & Professional Practice: You will build your confidence in both academic and professional skills. This unit will cover the academic skills which will be required at degree level study and you’ll practice them throughout the unit with support from key university services including the library and study skills team. There will also be the opportunity for you to reflect on and develop your own professional skills through interactions with employers, careers services and online resources. 
• Collaborative Communication Project: The unit focuses on the centrality of communicaiton, both as a process and as a project. Through the collaborative development of a communication solution to a specific communication problem, the unit aims to promote the principles and practices of team-based iterative project work. 
• Understanding Contemporary Britain: During this unit you will be introduced to key aspects of culture and society in Britain today. You will develop an understanding of the relationship between developments in culture, politics and society in the making of modern Britain and be able to identify a number of different critical perspectives on those developments. 
• Law & Government: You will trace a case study through the United Kingdom's political and legal system, following the case study from its inception in a political party's election manifesto, through the legislative process, to how the judiciary interprets its provisions within a court of law. Building out from this case study you will develop an understanding of practical and theoretical underpinnings of politics and law. 

Core units

• Historical skills: You will be introduced to the nature of history as a discipline, the different methods and approaches historians use to study the past, and the complexities of history as ‘the past’ and history as ‘interpretation’. You will learn what historiography is and how to identify, read, and analyse secondary evidence and will develop your written and verbal communication skills by reflecting on how to organise and present ideas in an appropriate academic manner, how to formulate arguments, and how to reference sources using footnotes and bibliographies. 
• Historical Evidence: You will learn how to analyse a range of primary sources, including newspapers, letters, diaries, photographs, film, radio, and material culture and will develop your ability to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of different types of historical evidence, and to interpret primary sources in relation to historiographical issues and debates found within the secondary literature. You will also learn how to conduct independent and group-based research projects using archival collections and digital resources and will develop your ability to present research findings in an appropriate academic manner, including referencing primary sources and archival collections in footnotes and bibliographies.
• The Making of Modern Britain, 1750-1945: You will explore new interpretations and critical approaches to the study of modern British history. Broader themes and historical debates will also be examined. You will be encouraged to place particular episodes or case studies in their historical context, and by doing so, to make links and further connections to wider historical issues and debates.
• Media Histories: This unit aims to introduce you to media and communication histories and key developments from the printing press to the internet. You will develop an awareness of both the technological developments that transformed the media but also recent developments in media history historiography, encouraging you to employ both a national and transnational perspective. 
• History in the Public World: The focus of this unit is the creation and interpretation of history in the public sphere, exploring how history is disseminated outside the confines of academia.
• European Histories 1800-2000: This unit will introduce you to European political, social, economic, and cultural history and considers a range of historical developments and contexts within Europe: from revolution, national unification, war and peace, through the Cold War, to the development of the contemporary European Union. 

Core units

• Interpreting History: You will be introduced to the diversity of specialisms within the discipline such as family history, women’s history, gender history, black history, and ‘history from below,’ and to the ways this history is presented.
• Community Histories: This unit builds on your understanding of local history and ‘people’s history’, focussing on the ways in which individuals have discovered recorded and presented the history of the locality or community in which they have lived and worked. See examples of student work.
• Post-War Britain, 1945-2000: You will be introduced primarily to a social, political and cultural history of post-war Britain. From the launch of the Welfare State in the 1940s to the so called ‘Cool Britannia’ of the 1990s. How have the lives of ordinary men and women changed? How has the meaning of British identity or what it meant to be British changed? You will have the opportunity to specialise and hone in on your research skills and ability to design a small research project.
• The Long American Century: This unit will chart American history from post-Civil War Reconstruction through the rise of the United States in the late nineteenth century, through the waves of reform and reaction in the twentieth century as the US took a larger place on the world stage. You will be introduced to multiple perspectives on the American past, covering topics ranging from race relations and the Civil Rights movement, to American foreign relations and the role of the American constitutional system in shaping American culture and institutions.    

Option units (choose two)

• Cold War Culture: This unit will introduce you to the history and study of the Cold War with a specific focus on the cultural Cold War and Cold War culture. The unit will foreground a socio-cultural perspective, exploring key events and developments of the Cold War and its impact on politics, culture, society and everyday life. 
• Youth Culture and Politics: 1945 to the Present: You will explore the intersections of youth culture and politics from 1945 to the present. Investigating the rise of youth culture - and media representations of youth culture - since the post-war period, you will also examine the variety of ways politics and popular culture are shaped and influenced by youth demographics. You will be introduced to the study of subcultures and popular music, and to the involvement of young people in cultural trends and political movements (e.g. civil rights). 
• Strikes, Riots and Blackouts, Britain in the 1970s: This unit will explore the intense political and ideological social divisions of the time, often expressed in cultural forms including Punk and alternative and community media.
• Women and Equal Rights, 1850-2000: This unit traces the campaigns and changes in British society that led to women being granted equal rights, with a focus on material culture.
• Before the Deluge: Europe and the World on the Eve of the First World War: This unit charts global political, economic, and social change prior to the war, challenging notions that pre-war Europe enjoyed the calm before the storm.
• The Twenty Years’ Truce: Global Culture and Politics in the Interwar Era: This unit will provide a global perspective on the political, cultural, social, and economic changes resulting from the Great War, while engaging historiographical debates about the breakdown of the Versailles system in the 1930s. 
• Migration Histories: You will explore histories of migration and will examine different historical and geographical examples such as the Swedish, German, Italian and Eastern European emigration from Europe to North America in the mid-nineteenth and early twentieth century, the Caribbean and Asian immigration to Britain in the post-war period, and East-West migration in the Cold War.
• The Victorians: This unit provides and exploration of the social and cultural history of Britain during the Victorian era (1837-1901). You will trace the everyday lives of Victorian people from birth to death through an examination of themes such as childhood, marriage, work, leisure, religion, and death and will be introduced to many of the important ideas and beliefs that shaped Victorian society, examining the deep societal divisions that shaped the lives of the Victorians.
• History of Political Thought (Politics): This unit will provide an introduction to key and contested concepts in political theory. This includes debates on notions of the state, power, civil rights & disobedience, justice, freedom, gender, equality, fairness, toleration and democracy. The historical development and contested meaning of these political concepts will be explored. 
• The Changing Coastal Resort: This unit introduces you to the changing state of the coastal resort in history, culture, politics and society from the eighteenth century to the present. Taking an interdisciplinary approach that combines critical perspectives and methodologies from tourism and hospitality, historical and cultural studies, you will explore the significance of coastal spaces and cultures in relation to diverse yet connected topics such as personal, social and national identity, politics and policy, (literary) tourism, heritage and conservation, public health and leisure, gentrification and urban regeneration.

A minimum four-week or optional 30-week (minimum) placement, intended to develop your abilities and understanding of the workplace. It also provides a platform for successful entry into the workplace following graduation.

Core units

• The History Dissertation: You'll carry out a significant piece of academic work on a topic of your choice (in consultation with the university). This takes the form of a 10,000-word dissertation which develops and demonstrates critical, analytical and research skills.
• The History Graduate Project: Working in small teams, you'll work on a proposal for a public history event in collaboration with a heritage/history-focussed external organisation. This will culminate in both a group presentation and an individual evaluation.

Option units (choose two)

• Woman’s Hour: 60 Years of Social Change?: The aim of this unit is to explore sixty years of British women’s history and social change through the lens of the long-running BBC radio programme, Woman’s Hour, which was first broadcast in 1946. The unit is rooted in the wider historiography of the period, when issues such as sexual discrimination at work and reproductive rights as well as the raising of children and the role of the housewife were widely debated. 
• History and Political Struggle: International Perspectives through Film: This unit explores how key political events, ideas and conflicts in history are represented in fiction and non-fiction film. It considers and compares varied perspectives from around the world on turning points in world affairs. You will also assess the role of national and international film movements and cultures in shaping popular histories and providing varied perspectives on political movements and moments.
• The Suez Crisis: You'll consider the social and political impact of the Suez Crisis of 1956, one of the most significant and dramatic moments in twentieth-century British history. Suez is of particular importance as it occurred at precisely the same time as the Soviet invasion of Hungary and the co-existence of these two great mid-century crises creates a fascinating historical challenge. Attention will also be paid to the role of the United Nations in its attempt to act as an international peace-broker.
• Cabinets, Conventions and Crises: International responses to Conflict and Security, 1856-1939: The unit will trace the role of governments and publics in shaping opinion and setting policy responses to security challenges in the world.  From the Paris Peace Congress ending the Crimean War, through the Hague Peace Conferences at the turn of the century and up to the failure of the League of Nations, the course will chart the intersection of defence planning, civil society, and international relations. 
• No Place Like Home: Housing, Homes and Homelessness since 1900: You will explore and evaluate the history of housing in Britain over the course of the twentieth century. Using a variety of approaches and sources, the unit examines the policy, provisions, attitudes to, and experiences of homes and houses. Considering a range of different types of housing - from terraced houses, prefabs and council flats to Barratt housing, gated communities and country houses - you will explore the individual experience, and wider social, economic, political and cultural context, of different types of houses. 
• Permissive Britain? Sexual Revolution, Reaction and Remembering, 1945-1990: The unit provides you with an opportunity to critically consider different intepretations of post-war Britain, different methodologies and approaches towards assessing the sexual and intimate lives of British people, and different kinds of historical evidence, such as film, television, music, oral history, sociological surveys, government reports, memoirs, diaries, newspapers and magazine articles.

Programme specifications provide definitive records of the University's taught degrees in line with Quality Assurance Agency requirements. Every taught course leading to a BU Award has a programme specification which describes its aims, structure, content and learning outcomes, plus the teaching, learning and assessment methods used.

Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the programme specification, the information is liable to change to take advantage of exciting new approaches to teaching and learning as well as developments in industry.

If you have been unable to locate the programme specification for the course you are interested in, it will be available as soon as the latest version is ready. Alternatively please contact us for assistance.

Placements provide a great opportunity to make your first career steps and enhance your employability while you’re completing your studies. You’ll get the opportunity to:

• Put the theory learnt throughout the course into professional practice
• Enhance your study and help you decide on subject options (where appropriate)
• Learn a wide range of skills such as time management, problem solving and team work (all of these are important to succeed in any career)
• Make contacts, as it is not uncommon for our students to be offered permanent positions to return to after graduating
• Gain a real insight into how the industry operates in roles that would be almost impossible to achieve for an outsider
• Many of our students, during their placement, are given responsibilities normally associated with graduate trainees.

You will begin your placement after completion of your second year of study and will undertake a compulsory four-week placement (on the three-year version of the course) or can choose to complete a minimum 30-week placement (on the four-year version).

The faculty running your course will offer the support of a Placement Co-ordinator. 

Through timetabled sessions and one-to-one appointments, they’ll help support you in your placement search including advice on finding a placement, information and advice on all aspects of job searching and job applications, as well as ensuring your proposed placement meets the requirements of your course.

Our CareersBU service is also available throughout your time at BU, offering services like CV checking and careers fairs to meet employers.

Placement Development Advisors will support you once you have started your sandwich placement – so you will be able to maintain contact with the university throughout.

• Huntley Film Archives
• Dorset History Centre
• Citizens Advice
• Hastings Fishermans Museum
• ABA Antiques

AccessBU: AccessBU provides you with the opportunity to tell us about your circumstances that are not always evident in your UCAS application. This widening access initiative also considers relevant criteria such as being in care or if you live in an area with a low participation rate in Higher Education - if you are eligible, your offer could be up to 16 UCAS tariff points below the published tariff.

Apprenticeships: We recognise the transferable knowledge and skills gained through apprenticeships and welcome applications from students with a Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship recognised by the Institute for Apprenticeships. Each application will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Deferred entry: We are happy to consider eligible applicants for deferred entry. If you have already submitted your application, please submit your deferral request through our website.

Direct entry: We welcome applications from students who have previously studied at degree level at other institutions and wish to transfer onto a BU course. Our Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) procedure enables credit awarded from one institution to contribute to a BU award, subject to an application process. Please visit our RPL webpage for more information.

Mature applicants: We recognise that mature applicants may have a wealth of experience rather than formal qualifications, so we’ll consider your application on these merits if included in your application. You’ll need to apply to BU in the usual way through UCAS and you may be invited to an interview to discuss your suitability for the course based on the experience you tell us about in your application.

We select candidates for this course by looking at your application; there are usually no interviews or selection activities needed. For that reason, make sure your application really stands out from the crowd, and leave us in no doubt as to why you should be joining BU. You can find some handy hints about filling in your UCAS form on our how to apply web pages.

We look at individual applications and make a tailored offer based on your potential to succeed on the course considering a range of factors, including your academic achievements, work and other experience, reference and personal statement, and in some cases, your performance at an interview or a portfolio review. Typically, we make an offer at the bottom of the tariff range.

AccessBU gives you the chance to tell us more about you and your life experiences if you haven’t had the same educational opportunities as other applicants. If you are eligible for AccessBU, your offer could be up to 16 UCAS Tariff Points below the published tariff.

This course has compulsory elements involving conducting oral interviews and working on projects involving members of the public. When required, students must complete a health and safety risk assessment to take part in these activities, for their safety and that of others. As part of that assessment students provide information about any conditions or disabilities that might affect their ability to undertake these activities fully or safely. 

If you have such a condition or disability, please let us know as soon as possible. You can contact our Additional Learning Support (ALS) service about this before or after making an application. We will then work with you to identify any support or adjustments you would need. Our ALS team works with the Faculty to seek to put in place reasonable adjustments and health and safety plans.

Exceptionally, it may not be possible to arrange for a student to access these courses without either over-riding their core standards or competencies or creating unacceptable risks to health and safety. If that is the case we will help you explore alternative course choices.

The exceptional analytical and communication skills you’ll develop as a history graduate will arm you with a wide range of qualities employers desire.

Many of our graduates go on to find work in education, marketing, local and central government, tourism, research, publishing and broadcasting, as well as working within museums, historical attractions and the arts sector.

Once you have completed an undergraduate Honours degree, you can further develop your education by studying for a postgraduate degree. Please visit our postgraduate section for further details about our range of Master’s degrees.

If you need to repeat one or more units during your studies (with or without attendance) the pricing will be pro-rata of the full-time fee.

Once you are have enrolled as a student at BU, there is a wide range of help and support available, depending on your particular needs.

• Library & Learning support
• Additional Learning support
• Peer Assisted Learning (PAL)
• Transport and travel.

What’s included in your tuition fee?

Your tuition fee covers expenses associated with your course including tuition materials, access to facilities, mandatory field trips and the following:

For September 2024 entry:

• Materials for laboratory and mandatory field-based teaching activity.
• Support for finding placements (UK or abroad) and fieldwork, and non-financial support whilst on placement if this is part of your course of study
• A range of student services – advisors, help desks, counsellors, placement support and careers service
• The Library – access to a wide range of electronic resources (databases, e-journals and e-books), print and multimedia collections, subject librarians and study spaces
• Access to Brightspace, our virtual learning environment, which offers a responsive and personalised learning experience with powerful learning analytics capabilities, integrated social media and advanced video features.
• IT labs (some open 24/7), wireless network, AV equipment to borrow
• Free software download to your personal device of Microsoft Office 365 ProPlus while you are studying, as well as access to applications provided on AppsAnywhere, subject to licensing and compatibility restrictions
• Peer Assisted Learning (PAL) scheme
• Disability and additional learning support, according to individual circumstances.
• The BU Language Centre to help you develop/improve foreign or English language skills
• 24 hours a day, 365 days a year security team.

Additional costs

We are committed to offering you value for money and ensuring there are no hidden costs while you are studying with us, therefore we have listed below any additional costs you may incur that are not covered by your tuition fee:

For September 2024 entry:

• Laptops, tablets and mobile devices and any software used on personal devices. Access to a personal computer is strongly recommended for your study. If you are experiencing financial difficulty, visit our website for information regarding hardship funds.
• Textbooks, general stationery and other supplies. Our award-winning library is stocked with a large range of textbooks and online resources, free of charge. The Students’ Union shop stocks a wide range of stationery supplies.
• Accommodation and living costs. Our accommodation price guide can be found on our website. 
• Travel costs to and from the University campus. An annual bus pass is included in your rent if you are living in halls of residence/Unilet accommodation or may be purchased separately.
• Travel costs to and from your placement (both in the UK and overseas). Information about funding your placement year can be found on our website.
• You will need to meet the cost of any Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check if required by your placement setting, including any Post Office verification changes. 
• Clothing or equipment costs required for your placement if this is part of your course of study.
• SportBU membership.

If you need to repeat one or more units during your studies (with or without attendance) the pricing will be pro-rata of the full-time fee.

Once you are have enrolled as a student at BU, there is a wide range of help and support available, depending on your particular needs.

• Library & Learning support
• Additional Learning support
• Peer Assisted Learning (PAL)
• Transport and travel.

Scott Keefer, leader of the History Programme, and is a Senior Lecturer in Modern History.  His research interests include the history of international law, nineteenth and early twentieth century international history, as well as the history of political culture. 

He has previously worked as an international lawyer, as well as teaching at the University of Heidelberg and the London School of Economics, where he received his PhD.  His research on the history of international law has included a number of publications, as well as a Fulbright Fellowship at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law in Heidelberg, Germany.

Laura Ramsay is a Lecturer in Modern History and the Level Tutor for undergraduate students in the first year of their history degree programme. Her research interests are in the social and cultural history of nineteenth and twentieth-century Britain, especially histories of sexuality, gender, and religion. 

Before joining the BA History team in 2018, she previously taught at Loughborough University and the University of Nottingham, where she also received her PhD. Her research on the engagement of Christian institutions with issues of sexuality and gender, includes a number of publications which are detailed on her BU staff profile page.

Kristin Skoog is a Senior Lecturer in Media History and the Level Tutor for undergraduate students in the third year of their history degree programme. Her research interests include media history, and women’s history, especially histories of broadcasting, and the role of radio in post-war reconstruction.

Before joining BU in 2011, she previously taught at University of Westminster, where she also completed her PhD. Her research on women’s radio and women broadcasters in the post-war period, includes a number of publications, which are detailed on her BU staff profile page.

Kate Terkanian is a Lecturer in Modern History with a special emphasis on Public History.  She has a variety of research interest that cover administrative history, gender history, and media history.  In particular, her research has focused on the establishment of gendered boundaries in organisations.

Kate received her PhD from Bournemouth University in 2019, and has led the History in the Public World, Community Histories and History Graduate Project units.  Prior to starting her PhD, she worked in both the television and heritage industries at institutions including the Voice of America and the Ashmolean Museum. She also holds a Master's Degree from University of Tulsa and an undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Ieuan Franklin is a Lecturer in History and Politics. His research interests span several disciplines, but mainly centre on the social and cultural history of post-war Britain, including youth culture; media history; oral history and folklore; politics and social movements. Between 2010 and 2011 he was Co-Investigator on a British Academy funded project led by Dr Chris Pullen, entitled ‘'Understanding the support needs of LGBTQ refugees and asylum seekers through listening to autobiographical storytelling'.

Ieuan received his PhD from Bournemouth University in 2010, and has developed and taught on a number of BA and MA units within the Faculty of Media and Communication since then. Between 2010 and 2014 he was Post-Doctoral Research Assistant on the AHRC-funded ‘Channel 4 and British Film Culture’ at the University of Portsmouth, and he also has experience as a Lecturer in Film Studies (Wiltshire College/Bournemouth University) and a freelance film archivist.

My main research interests are broadly related to the contemporary history and politics of Britain and Western Europe (primarily Germany) and are divided into three general areas: 1) the history of the post-45 European Left (socialism, feminism and anarchism); 2) the study of popular politics, grassroots activism and social movements, including comparative and transnational dimensions; 3) historiography, intellectual history and the history of the social sciences.

I was awarded my PhD from the Department of Culture, Languages and Area Studies at the University of Liverpool in 2015, where I wrote my thesis on the History Workshop movement in Britain and West Germany (c.1960s-1990s). Since then, I’ve taught at Manchester Metropolitan and Sheffield Hallam Universities and, for the academic year 2017-18, I worked as a Post-doctoral Research Associate for the AHRC-funded project ‘How Women’s Rights became Human Rights’. I joined Bournemouth University as a full-time lecturer in politics in 2019.

Dr. David McQueen is a lecturer in Media and Politics at Bournemouth University. David's research interests include questions of media, power and the mediation of politics, particularly in broadcasting and film. He has been teaching on media courses at different levels since 1991 and completed his PhD thesis in 2010 which is entitled BBC TV's Panorama, Conflict Coverage and the Westminster Consensus. He is author of Television: a Media Student's Guide and has edited and co-authored a number of books on the theme of corporate social responsibility (CSR) with a particular focus on energy and sustainability.

As a full time member of staff he has developed and taught on a number of BA and MA units within the Media School and is an active researcher with an interest in issues around media and power, conflict coverage, film and television history and public relations.