History and Sociology BA

History Workshop

What does it take to be a historian? In this module, you will study the process of historical research, learning discipline-specific methods and essential study and writing skills through close engagement with a historical text (usually a work of narrative non-fiction) linked to your tutor's research interests. You will develop skills in critical reading, historiography, essay writing, bibliographic techniques, and reflection.

The assessment for this module is aimed at giving you a strong foundation in the skills you will need throughout your degree and beyond: critical reading and writing, bibliographic techniques, and the ability to reflect on and articulate your skills as a historian.

20 credits

Doing Social Research

This module introduces students to doing social research. Students will explore this through close engagement with the ways other academic projects (including those conducted by staff in the school) have been done as well as through trying out various approaches to doing social research themselves such as designing surveys, conducting observations and carrying out interviews. Students will gain familiarity with the process of doing social research, from designing research questions, and consideration of the approach taken, to the selection of methods, the implementation of ethical research in the field and the analysis and writing up of data.

20 credits

Introduction to Social Theory

This module aims to introduce you to major interventions and advances in social theory in the nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first centuries. It focuses on a variety of crucial theories of social relations, conditions, and processes, such as social conflict, exchange, power, and resistance, among many others

The module seeks to guide you in becoming familiar with, and in understanding the meanings of, the concepts, ideas, and arguments central to those social theories. 

Moreover, you will acquire and develop the skills necessary for researching, grasping, and communicating different theoretical conceptions of the social world. For this purpose, you will be supported in studying a selection of primary texts in social theory.

The module places emphasis on socio-theoretical innovations in explaining the problems and challenges posed by social reality as well as in imagining social change.

A series of lectures will provide expositions of the concepts, ideas, and arguments in the theoretical works at issue on the module. The corresponding series of seminars will support you and your fellow students in collaboratively deepening your knowledge and investigations of the theoretical substance and in sharpening your study and research skills.

20 credits

Thinking Historically

Building upon the foundational skills acquired in the introductory 'History Workshop,' this module will cultivate your ability to critically engage with the past, develop disciplinary awareness, and apply historical thinking. To do so it provides an introduction to the breadth of interests in the school and the way historians have made sense of patterns in historical developments. Moving from the Ancient and Medieval past to the contemporary world, the module shows how Sheffield historians approach the periods and places that interest us, whilst provoking you to ponder the issues involved in framing historical questions of your own. In this module, you will explore a recurring set of questions which inform history as a discipline: how and why have historians divided up the past into discrete periods, and with what consequences? How have historians constructed narratives that give shape and meaning to the events of the past? How can we evaluate the truth of historical representations and interpretations? How are they shaped by the availability of sources about past societies, and what determines which sources have survived to the present day? How have relationships of power influenced the sorts of stories that we tell and the voices that we hear from the past, and how do they continue to do so?By the end of the module, you will not only have a strong sense of what it means to see problems through a historical lens, but also a better understanding of the chronological and geographical range of work undertaken by Sheffield historians.

20 credits

Theories of Society

This module aims for in-depth investigations of decisive advances in sociology's theoretical inquiry into social relations, conditions, and processes. You will receive guidance in interpreting key concepts and ideas in a range of different contributions to social theory and in analysing the configurations of those concepts and ideas.

 

The module will support you in developing the skills to engage closely with complex primary socio-theoretical writings in order to understand, reconstruct, and articulate their essential logical steps and arguments. Moreover, the module seeks to encourage and facilitate critical assessments and discussions of the successes and limitations of different socio-theoretical works. It aims to foster a comparative perspective on the similarities and differences between the theories of society under inspection.

 

The module will enable you to recognise social theory's potential to help make sense of persistent problems and challenges posed by social relations and conditions as well as to help envisage ways of addressing those problems and transforming the social world.

 

A series of lectures will set out and scrutinises the conceptual configurations, inferences, and arguments presented in socio-theoretical writings. The corresponding series of seminars will provide an environment for you and your fellow students to collaborate in in-depth interpretations, analyses, and critical discussions of the course content and in honing your skills to reconstruct and compare a variety of socio-theoretical arguments

20 credits

History optional modules:

The 'Disenchantment' of Early Modern Europe, c. 1570-1770

This module explores the fundamental shifts in mental attitudes and public behaviour that occurred in Europe between the age of the Reformation and the age of the Enlightenment. The central focus of the course will be the examination of the supernatural - religious beliefs, but also witchcraft and magic. You will explore the changing ways in which beliefs impinged on people's lives at various social levels. You will also have an opportunity to study the impact on people's world views of such changes as rising literacy, urbanisation, state formation and new discoveries about the natural world. All these will be investigated in the institutional contexts of state and church and the ways in which they sought to channel and mould beliefs and behaviour. This module enables you to understand how the early modern period is distinctive from and links medieval and later modern historical studies.

20 credits

Beyond Borders? A Deep History of the Connected World

We live in a moment where the world is more interconnected than ever before, where big brands dominate global economies and imaginations, TikTok shapes trends across the planet, political rhetoric reverberates across borders, and pandemics and climate change offer threats on a planetary scale. We cannot avoid global thinking, and the impacts of international networks - from media to economies to culture and consumption - are so engrained that we barely even notice them. But how did we get here? How did the world become so intensely interconnected? And why do those processes of entanglement matter?

At a time when the rise of this increasingly global outlook is facing challenges from ethnonationalism and isolationism - from Brexit to Trump and Modi's India - this module will equip you to understand the processes at work in global integration (and isolation), not as a linear narrative of 'progress', but as historically contingent, complex and messy. In this module, we will trace the ways in which these global interconnections developed, from the earliest tentative colonies and the rise of empires, enslavement and extraction. Through the lens of global history, we will see revolutions, liberation, and worldwide conflicts, the modern international order of nation states, waves of decolonisation, and ecological crises.

Through the study of transnational structures, cultures and systems which reach from Asia to Europe and from Africa to the Americas, alongside an understanding of the many peoples of every status who were agents in these exchanges, this module will challenge you to ask: what drives nations and individuals together, or pulls them apart? What makes and breaks cultures, states, and communities? And how did we end up in a place where environment; food systems; national security; human rights; political, religious and racial ideologies; culture and language; war and peace, are all so globally determined and yet so locally rooted.

20 credits

The Long View: an introduction to archaeology

This module traces the development of modern humans through to the modern era. It introduces the wide range of materials and methods that archaeologists use to study the past.  The practical laboratory-based classes and field classes provide experience in the basic identification, investigation and interpretation of archaeological evidence. They are supported by lectures that introduce archaeological methods, theories and worldwide case studies. From field to laboratory using examples from throughout the world, you will learn about how archaeology shapes knowledge about the deep and recent human past.

Through this module students will be introduced to debates on the formation and development of archaeological thought through a world-wide perspective from the Palaeolithic to the present. They will be presented with techniques and ideas used by archaeologists to explore the human record and understand the past. It offers an opportunity to explore and discover the archaeological record through practical engagement, using field and laboratory methods, while also highlighting the importance of selecting analytical techniques appropriate to the question posed and the data available. The module will enable students to develop core skills in decoding and critically understanding literature, observation, recording, analysis and interpreting archaeological evidence.

20 credits

Core modules:

History and the Public

This module explores the theory and practice of public history by providing students with the opportunity to communicate their scholarly work to an audience beyond the boundaries of our discipline. Students will work collaboratively in writing a critique of a piece of public history as part of a broader evaluation of the use of history outside academic settings. The course will engage in debate about important questions facing historians in the present, and consider ideas about the role and purposes of History as an academic subject.

20 credits

Solidarity: Politics, Law, and Society across the Globe

In this interdisciplinary module, we explore how solidarity has been understood, practised, and contested across the globe. From Cuban solidarity for African liberation struggles to cross-species solidarity in climate activism today, we explore the possibilities of solidarity in action. In doing so, we will look at the wide-ranging impact that solidarity has had from individual survival to regime change. Taking a critical approach to the topic, we will also explore situations in which acts of solidarity can amplify forms of exclusion and injustice.

20 credits

Plus the below - details to be confirmed.

- Parchment to Pixels: Interrogating Historical Evidence
- Sociological Theory and Analysis

History optional modules:

History and Historians

How has History developed as a subject of inquiry? Why do historians view the same issues and sources in different ways? What forces internal and external to our profession have shaped the way the past has been written? And who has had the power to write history and for what ends? This module, building on the foundational work students have done at Level 1, poses these questions. It is designed to encourage greater methodological reflection on the part of students. What kind of historian are they? And why? It also sets them up for more advanced interrogation of 'historiography' elsewhere in the programme.

20 credits

Trumpism: An American Biography

Donald Trump's election, commentators claim, was unprecedented as well as unexpected: a break with more than two centuries of custom. Yet closer scrutiny of American history suggests Trump is no aberration. The module will interrogate the U.S. past to better understand the present, looking at the likes of populism as a political language, whiteness as a psychological wage, masculinity as a path to high office, protectionism as an economic policy, and deindustrialization as a political spur. By asking historical questions about the roots of Trump's rise, we will situate the American present in a complex and often painful past.

20 credits

A History of Eastern Africa since 1940

This module examines the history of Eastern Africa during the era of decolonisation. It focuses on comparisons and connections between three states: Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. The module assumes no prior knowledge of African history and seeks to provide an accessible, dynamic introduction to the region's often contentious past.

The module begins by situating Eastern Africa within the context of British colonialism, which came under increasing strain due to the global impact of the Second World War. It then turns to the contrasting experiences of independence in the region. We will analyse the development of nationalist movements in Tanganyika and Uganda, which took peaceful if still politically contentious paths to independence. On the other hand, in Kenya the end of empire took a violent shape. We will ask whether the 'Mau Mau' conflict was an anticolonial struggle or civil war. The journey from colonial territory to independent nation-state was not the only possible outcome at this moment, as we go on to explore the rise and fall of regional integration projects and the notion of an 'East African' identity.

The region's states became democracies at independence, but multiparty politics soon gave way to single-party governments in all three countries. Yet 'authoritarianism' meant different things across the region. We will study Tanzania's turn to revolutionary socialism and Uganda's years of dictatorship and civil war, including the notorious - but poorly understood - military regime of Idi Amin. Finally, we will examine the reasons behind the return to democratic government at the end of the Cold War - and the limits of reform.

Although this political story provides a spine to the module, we will understand it not just from the perspective of state actors, but those of ordinary East Africans. Themes of gender, race, generation, and class run through the module. For example, we will assess the role of women's activists in struggles for first independence and then democracy. We will examine the changing role of the family in decolonising societies, whether under socialism or military dictatorship and in contexts shaped by rapid urbanisation and the AIDS pandemic. We will explore the experiences of the region's minorities, such as Muslim communities and South Asian diaspora. 

Throughout the module, we will consider how historians can 'decolonise' the study of African history, especially by foregrounding the rich but often overlooked work of East African historians. In class, we will work at first hand with primary sources like newspapers, cinema, and short stories, to place the voices of the region's peoples at the centre of this overview.

20 credits

Life Worth Living

What does it mean for a life to go well? How does one live life well? What is a flourishing life? These questions have shaped intellectual endeavour for millennia. Life Worth Living explores approaches to these questions through engagement with diverse traditions/thinkers including classical Greek philosophy, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Confucianism, Existentialism, Marx, and Nietzsche. The module includes historical analysis of these traditions, visits from individuals whose lives are shaped by them, fieldwork to discuss the ideas beyond the classroom, and assessments to help students develop their own vision of a life worth living.

20 credits

From Democracy to Dictatorship: the 1973 coup in Chile

This document option explores the coup of 11 September 1973 as a turning point in Chilean, Latin American and global history. It will use primary sources to explore events on both sides of this critical date, casting light on life in Chile under both democracy and dictatorship. This module will also situate the Chilean coup in international and global history, asking why events in a small Latin American country held such global importance. We'll use government documents to explore why  the United States found it necessary to intervene against the Allende government and assist the reactionary forces who supported the military coup and transcripts of interviews to grasp how everyday life changed for Chileans in 1973. We'll also explore the significance of events in Chile for the wider global Cold War, using music, art and documents left by activists to ask why everyday people in countries across the world - including the United Kingdom - mobilised in solidarity with the Chilean people and in the name of human rights, and we'll also assess the impact this activism had.

20 credits

Murder in the cathedral: the Becket Affair

On 29 December 1170, Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, was brutally murdered in his cathedral by four knights of his King and one-time friend, Henry II. In the space of ten years, a close friendship had been ruined, and Thomas' stubbornness, flight to France, and untimely death created additional tensions for the English king. This document option investigates events surrounding Thomas' death and the emergence of his cult. It asks how a minor squabble became a continent-wide cause célèbre, forcing Henry into an act of ritual humiliation to clear his name while ensuring that Thomas' memory lived on.

20 credits

The Irish Republican Brotherhood, 1858-85

Britain's 'Irish problem' has long roots. This document module examines one of the most important violent Irish organisations that challenged British sovereignty in Ireland. Founded in 1858, the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) (or the Fenian movement, as it was also known) was a transatlantic movement dedicated to the overthrow of the British state in Ireland. Fuelled by hatred for the British after the dreadful Famine in Ireland of the 1840s, the Fenians constructed a sophisticated organisation that was part secret society, terrorist cell structure and propaganda machine. It was the early forerunner of the Irish Republican Army. This document option investigates aspects of Fenianism from a range of angles. Using sources written and produced by contemporaries, we will consider the dynamics of the IRB and its place within nineteenth-century Ireland.

20 credits

The Putney Debates, October 1647

Following the first English civil war there was political stalemate over the post-war settlement. By late 1647 there were calls for revolutionary political change, not least at the famous Putney debates. They came at a crucial moment in the development of the revolution, and successive editors between 1891 and 2007 presented the records of the debates in varying contexts in order to reveal the fundamental significance of the revolution. This module explores the background to the debates at Putney, what was said, and also considers how different editions of the debates reflect the shifting significance attached to the English revolution.

20 credits

A Very British Revolution? The 1926 General Strike

In this document module you will consider the significance of the 1926 General Strike to Britain's historical development in the interwar period. You will examine how the strike was interpreted by both contemporary actors and historians, and consider a range of different perspectives on its effects across class, gender and regional divides. You will gain confidence in analysing and debating different types of primary source evidence, including Royal Commission reports, government papers, press coverage, memoirs, and newsreel footage. You will also have the opportunity to develop your technique in writing gobbet-style analyses via seminar discussions, practice attempts, and formal assessment.The module covers the full chronology of the General Strike's origins, conduct, aftermath and subsequent construction in historical memory. This includes: its association with post-war problems in the coal industry; the growth of syndicalism and anti-capitalist ideologies; government attempts to resolve trade union unrest; the events of the strike itself; the information war in the press; local studies on the strike in different parts of Britain; the defeat of the trade unions and government retaliation; and how the strike has been remembered

20 credits

Plus the below - details to be confirmed:

- Byzantine Intersectionality: Gender, Race and Power in the Medieval Mediterranean
- Contemporary Crises in Historical Perspective
- Gender and the Georgians: Sex and Society in Britain 1714-1637

Sociology optional modules:

Digital Media and Social Change

This module will introduce you to a range of core theoretical frameworks in order to understand, analyse and evaluate the complex relationship between digital media and social change. You will focus on two key aspects of the relationship between digital media and social change. 

Firstly, you will examine purposeful activist use of digital media to create social change, investigating how new possibilities for participatory communication have been exploited by activists to contest inequalities. Topics you might cover include influential social movements, such as #BlackLivesMatter, to environmental influencers on Youtube and Instagram.

During the second half, you will analyse the large-scale social, economic and political changes created by the internet. This will include assessing the new forms of participation that have been created as audiences become producers, as well as the new forms of surveillance and inequalities that are entangled with these developments. 

This module will support you in developing the critical skills needed to discuss and unpack contemporary scholarship, providing vital scaffolding for your final year dissertations.

20 credits

The Sociology of Crime

Crime, and the process of criminalisation, are major features of all societies. Since the nineteenth century, sociologists have developed a range of criminological theories to explain 'criminality'.

During this module, you will review the historical development of a range of theoretical approaches to the study of crime and consider how sociologists have studied the primary institutions of social control. You will also investigate and discuss the contribution of the sociology of crime to issues of contemporary significance using a case study model of learning.

By the end of the module, you will appreciate the importance of a sociological approach to crime and criminalisation, and be able to apply criminological theories in order to understand some of the most pressing and topical crime problems of today.

20 credits

Sociology of Media and Consumer Culture

You will examine the relationship between media and consumer culture.

Some of the key debates you will explore during this module include engaging with various conceptual and theoretical understandings of consumer culture, discussing the relationship between media and marketing, and the impact of media on consumer culture.

By the end, you will have developed a deeper understanding of media, consumer culture, and their wider impacts on society.

20 credits

Sociology of Family: Continuity and Change

Using a sociological and anthropological perspective, this module seeks to problematise the concept of 'family' as a natural and universal phenomenon. The content covered will underscore the need to explore the notion of the family as a social and historical construction by examining the diversity of family life in countries around the world. 

While acknowledging the impact of social change on different family constructions, you will seek to understand how some family structures remain the same, creating a situation where one society can have multiple family structures. In particular, this module will encourage you to focus on the role of the state in constructing the family and the impact these different constructions of family life have on particular individuals, such as women, children and the elderly.

You expand your skills in applying sociological thinking to everyday life and this will increase your awareness of the ways in which some family constructs are privileged whilst others are marginalised in society. In addition to this, you will gain employability skills by enhancing your practices in critical reflection, and by developing your ability to write in ways that have utility beyond the University.

20 credits

Dynamics of Social Change and Policy

This module will present you with a 'sociological perspective on social policy' to provide a macro perspective on contemporary social and economic transformations in the UK and globally. Particular emphasis will be placed on the challenges posed for social policy theory and practice, as well as the potential to imagine alternative social policy scenarios.

Some of the issues you will consider include: globalisation, neoliberalism, falling fertility and ageing societies, precarious labour markets and migration, and mobility. You will be encouraged to take a comparative and international/global perspective, emphasising not only the perspectives of International Organisations, but also the challenges faced by other types of welfare regimes. 

The module will equip you with a deep understanding of key socio economic challenges faced by postindustrial societies while also reflecting on how these challenges are received and responded to by Global South countries. You will also develop your skills in policy report writing, an essential tool most will use in their professional careers.

20 credits

Doing Quantitative Sociological Research

This dynamic inquiry-based module will provide you with practical experience of conducting quantitative sociological research that has real-life application to the social world.

Using the latest UK dataset provided by the Office for National Statistics, you will experience the realities of planning and conducting quantitative research, developing your ability to communicate your findings in appropriate formats. 

There will be several hand-on workshops where you will be able to develop and practice your skills in using SPSS.

20 credits

Crime, Justice and Social Policy

During this module, you will examine the variety of responses to crime that encompass the use of both crime policy and social policy. Crime policy responses encompass the use of the role of the policy, courts and prisons. Alongside this is the social policy approach which includes health, housing, education, employment, youth and family as a means of crime reduction. 

The content you will cover seeks to demonstrate the criticism of 'traditional' crime policy-based responses to crime and the way in which social policy has emerged as an alternative way to tackle the so-called 'crime problem'. You will consider multiple theories of crime which make competing arguments for the use of crime or social policy as a response, the role of criminologists in policy making, and the criminalisation of social policy as an unintended outcome.

This module speaks more broadly to the challenges and dynamics of the policy-making process when seeking to tackle complex societal issues. You will therefore benefit from situating these challenges within specific examples of governmental attempts to tackle crime with direct and indirect policy initiatives.

20 credits

Men, Feminism and Gender relations

During this module, you will critically examine the growing body of sociological and other literature concerned with men and masculinities. The content you will cover will locate this growth of interest within the context of the feminist movement and subsequent writings/critiques of masculinities and patriarchy.

You will be supported and encouraged to connect the covered topics to wider scholarship on gender relations. Some of the key case studies that you will explore include men in sport, men and media, men and health/well-being, men and feminism, as well as men and sexualities. Methodological and epistemological issues involved in the study of men and masculinities will also form part of this module.

This module will also introduce students to the new skill of vlogging, which they will be supported to develop for their assessment.

20 credits

Sociology of the Body

In the social world, we are understood first through our bodies. This can have an impact on everything from our opportunities for employment to our access to medical care. During this module, you will examine the cultural and societal impact we have on bodies and they have on us by exploring the social contribution of the body and the ways it is controlled and experienced in contemporary society.

Throughout, you will be introduced to key theoretical approaches to the sociology of the body and develop understanding of the social construction of the body. You will have the opportunity to critically explore the range of social factors that can impact the body and identity and discuss how our bodies intersect with our multiple social identities. 

Overall, you will develop an understanding of some of the social factors that can shape bodily experience and identity, such as racialisation, gender, ageing, weight, medicalisation, and representation. You will also be encouraged to develop a social justice focused framework for understanding the marginalised body in contemporary society.

20 credits

In Sickness and in Health: The Sociology of Medicine

Covid conspiracies and care home crises. AIDS activism and autism advocacy. Questions relating to health and illness are amongst the most crucial facing society today. From before people are born until the moment they die, everyone is profoundly shaped by their engagements with medicine. 

In this module, you will examine the ways in which bodies, minds and societies are formed through engagements with and understandings of health, illness and medicine. You will explore topics such as: intersecting inequalities in healthcare provisions, patient experiences of ill health, activism and the fight for recognition, contemporary health crises, and the COVID pandemic. 

By critically examining these examples, you will develop a nuanced understanding of the role of health, illness and medicine within contemporary society.

20 credits

Understanding 'Race' and Migration

This module explores the meaning of 'race' and migration in various social and political contexts. It aims to develop an in-depth understanding of sociological theories of 'race', racism and migration through an exploration of the development of 'race' as an ideology, as a concept influenced by history and politics, and through its relevance in the contemporary context. The module examines how ideas about race and migration help to shape and determine social and political relations. It also explores the role of race and migration as major sources of social divisions and how racism operates in the reproduction of structural inequalities. These issues are explored through sociological theory, as well as policy and practice areas such as theories of racialised identities, immigration regimes, education and criminal justice.

20 credits

Social Problems: Policy and Practice

Drawing on current examples and comparative references, you will explore social and ideological constructions of social problems and the role of the state and other agencies in responses to them. This module is team taught which means sessions are delivered by a range of leading experts on different social problems.

Some of the key concepts and themes in social policy and practice that you will cover include inequality, justice and fairness, individual versus collective responsibility, and welfare versus social control. The content of this module mainly focuses on major contemporary issues, including welfare and work, housing and homelessness, and community participation.

By the end, you will be equipped with the necessary critical perspective and skills to understand and explore social problems.

20 credits

Doing Qualitative Sociological Research

Qualitative research still dominates sociological research and the skills and techniques that researchers use to generate qualitative data have numerous other applications in the work-place and beyond.

In this inquiry-based module, you will continue to develop your ability to collect, analyse, and present qualitative data by working on individual and team-based projects. Not only will you come up with your own research proposal for your Level Three dissertation, you will also utilise qualitative methods to produce a website that disseminates the findings of a group-based project.

This module will prepare you for your dissertation at Level Three, help you develop your ideas into realisable research projects, enhance your awareness of the importance of style and form, and allow you to experience the process of working with others to achieve shared objectives.

20 credits

Plus Current Sociology - details to be confirmed.

Core modules:

Short Dissertation

The dissertation in History is an exercise of 7,500-8,500 words in which students explore an individually chosen topic involving problems and issues derived from a module taken at level two or level three. It is expected to consist of research at a high level where interpretation and analysis will be of importance. The balance between primary and secondary materials will depend on the topic and an availability of sources. In each case students work independently under the guidance of a supervisor.

20 credits

Plus Sociology in the Social World - details to be confirmed.

History Special Subject modules:

Permissive Britain? Social and Cultural Change 1956-74

This module explores British society and culture as the nation moved from an era of austerity to one of unprecedented affluence. Key topics include the impact of affluence on class and gender relationships, the emergence of a national youth culture, changes and continuities in sexual behaviour, and debates about immigration and race. The unit encourages students to assess the significance of reforming legislation that relaxed the censorship regime, decriminalised homosexuality, enabled easier access to abortion, liberalised the divorce system and abolished capital punishment, examining the arguments of those who resisted, as well as those who championed the 'permissive society'.

40 credits

The World of Intoxicants in Early Modern England

Intoxicants were a key feature of early modern societies. This is as true for 'old' world alcohols like wine, beer, ale, and other fermented drinks as it is for 'new' intoxicants like opiates, tobacco, sugar, caffeines, chocolate, and distilled liquors that began to enter European diets after 1600 from the Levant, the Americas, and Asia. Focusing on intoxicants in England, this module considers a) the ongoing importance and, indeed, increasing significance of alcohols to culture, society, and economy over the course of the seventeenth century and b) the introduction and popularisation of new intoxicants over the same period.

40 credits

Cannibals and Christians: Mexico and Spain, c.1492-1600

This module examines the extraordinary clash of cultures which occurred following the 'discovery' of America, and the reciprocal relationship which developed between Europe and the 'New World' in the sixteenth century. Focusing on the sixteenth-century discovery, conquest and settlement of Central and South America, especially Mexico, the module will address such themes as the nature of the encounter, the intellectual and cultural impact, trade and exchange, migration, evangelisation and empire. The module addresses the encounter from a wide range of perspectives, evaluating the encounter from the viewpoint of sailors, conquistadors, priests, historians, explorers, missionaries, administrators and the indigenous people themselves.

40 credits

The Wars for Vietnam: Empire, Decolonisation and Liberation

In the middle decades of the twentieth century, Vietnam was wrenched by wars: a world war, a war of decolonisation, a civil war, the Cold War, and a war against its erstwhile communist allies. By studying these conflicts, we not only learn about modern Vietnam, but also the French empire, U.S. foreign policy, and communist internationalism in the mid-20th Century. As case studies, these wars shed light on larger global processes of imperial conquest, decolonisation and neo-colonial control, communist revolution and the limits of internationalism. As an archetype of national liberation, events in Vietnam also profoundly shaped anti-colonial struggles around the world and social movements in the United States and Europe, from Black Power to the women's liberation movement. This module explores the wars for Vietnam through the themes of empire, decolonisation, and liberation, paying close attention to Vietnamese perspectives, exploring the role of France, the United States, the Soviet Union, and China, and uncovering the global reverberations of these conflicts. We will investigate the historiography which set the broad parameters of debate, as well as newer scholarship which has challenged these orthodox interpretations, and we will examine a wide range of primary sources, from government documents, memoirs, and oral histories, to images, fiction, and film.

40 credits

Resistance & Liberation in South Africa: Gandhi to Mandela

This module analyses resistance to segregation, apartheid, and white supremacy in South Africa. Drawing upon memoirs, oral histories, novels, films, speeches, news reporting, online databases, and document collections, we begin with the non-violent campaigns led by Mohandas Gandhi in the 1900s against the segregation of Indians in South Africa, and end with Nelson Mandela's election as president in the country's first non-racial democratic elections in 1994. We will explore the inspirations, nature, and effects of a wide range of forms of political, social, and cultural resistance by opponents of white supremacy - from ordinary people to elite politicians - both inside South Africa and around the world.

40 credits

Makers of a New World: Merchants, Scholars and Commoners in Late Medieval Europe

Between 1350 and 1450, many of the foundations of the Europe as we know it and the world has experienced it were laid by specific groups of people: merchants who established capitalist market economy and, at the same time, shaped the appearance of their cities through patronage and the promotion of new artistic models; scholars who reconsidered past evidence and the meaning of the past through the 'rediscovery' of the Classics; and commoners that developed individual and collective ways of getting their voices heard in politics and religion.The module builds on new scholarship on the late medieval period and, to an extent, the early modern period and extra-European history to engage critically with developments that have more traditionally been referenced as the Renaissance, Humanism, the Waning of the Middle Ages, and approached as transition, crisis, transformation or, more specifically, through notions including the 'disanchantment', the birth of the 'nation-state' and 'European expansion'.

40 credits

Merchants, Pirates and Planters: The English Overseas, 1570-1624

The period c.1570-1624 saw a reorientation of England's global position, as increasing numbers of English people began to venture into unfamiliar regions. This course charts the nature and significance of their travels. We will encounter merchants in Europe, the Ottoman Empire and the far east, settlers and conquerors in Ireland and America, explorers in the frozen seas of the far north, and pirates in Spanish America. The latter part of the course focuses on the foundation of England's first 'successful' American colony, Jamestown. Throughout, we consider the motives driving these ventures, and the complex nature of the encounters that ensued.

40 credits

The National Security State, Treason, and Individual Rights during the Twentieth Century

National security scares over 'whistleblowers' such as Edward Snowden, Chelsea Manning or Kathrine Gun have catapulted the image of the 'traitor' back into public discourse. At the same time, controversies over Wikileaks' political agenda and Russian interference with the Brexit referendum and the 2016 US presidential elections were as much discussed in terms of British and US national security as a threat to the security of 'the West' as a whole. These conflicts stand at the end of a century that has seen the rise of the modern surveillance state and transnational security frameworks organized through institutions such as Interpol, NATO, and the Warsaw Pact states (until 1989/91).  Over the course of the 20th century, more and more people saw themselves suspected of betrayal of the community. The First World War transformed older clearly defined criminal offences of 'high treason' against the sovereign and their immediate family members to wider accusations of treason against the nation, state, and people. The rise of communism and fascism triggered the building of new domestic public security apparatuses in the interwar period. War crimes and genocide of the Second World War further complicated debates on the morality of collaboration with the enemy. In response, security agencies professionalized their work and the early Cold War saw calls for transnational bloc-wide security regimes to combat subversion by the Cold War enemy. Since then, state surveillance has come to be seen more and more as a constant everyday threat to privacy and individual rights after the digital revolution of the 1970s.  In this special subject, we explore through rich source material the political, emotional, social, and cultural dynamics that were at play when individuals or groups from across Europe, the US and Soviet Union were accused of betraying society. We will consider how people's ethnic, gender, and class background impacted their fate of becoming 'traitors'. Taken together, their cases will provide answers to the central question of how demands for the professionalization of the national security state have impacted ordinary people's lives and rights under different forms of government and how they shape our contemporary understandings of democracy and authoritarianism.

40 credits

Italy in the Age of Dante, ca. 1200-1350

In the 13th and 14th centuries, northern-central Italy was one of the most urbanized, economically dynamic and culturally innovative parts of Western Europe, to the point that important scholars of the past have seen the Italian city-states as forerunners of modern concepts of republicanism and individualism. The cultural efflorescence of this period is still visible in the historical city centre of many Italian towns, in the frescoes of Giotto, and in the literary works of authors such as Dante Alighieri (1265-1321), best known for his exploration of the Christian afterlife in the Divine Comedy. And yet, Dante's Italy was also plagued by instability, civil wars and factionalism, as exemplified by the poet's banishment from his city, Florence, on account of political rivalries. How did the Italian city-states manage to flourish economically and culturally in such a fraught political landscape? How could they reconcile intellectual sophistication and religious revival on one side, and significant levels of violence and turmoil on the other? This module will make use of sources such as artwork, chronicles, literature and charters to explore various facets of the political, social and cultural life of the communes with the aim of providing a deeper understanding of this multi-faceted society.

The module will introduce you to the political, religious, social, and cultural landscapes of the Italian city-states between the 13th and the 14th century. It will develop your awareness of the historiographical interpretations of the period and its key features, e.g., the communal movement, merchant capitalism, the 14th century crisis and lay sanctity.

40 credits

The World Transformed? The League of Nations and the End of Empire, 1919-46

The League of Nations was a major experiment in the organisation of international relations after the devastation of the First World War. Political theorists and historians have long debated its merits, and references to its failures line the pages of textbooks. But rather than reproduce these arguments about the inability of the League of Nations to prevent a second world war, this module takes a different approach. It draws our attention to the surprising role it played in a whole range of areas of international governance in former imperial territories in Central and Eastern Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. In this module, we see League officials working with institutions, governments, and non-governmental actors on programmes directed at disarmament, international crime, trafficking, public health, universal children's rights, slavery, communications, and much more. We ask: Who worked for the League or participated in its internationalist programmes? How did they realise their work? What problems, opportunities, or opposition did it cause? What was the significance of their work? And does a study of the League help us to better understand the UN and international organisations more generally today? 

In other words, instead of focusing on high politics, the module introduces students to the League's work in practice, offering insight into the experiences of millions of ordinary men and women as they sought to rebuild their lives after war, revolution, and the collapse of empires. The module draws on the completely digitised archive of the League of Nations. In this module you will be taught how to navigate this vast archive and search through its depositories. We will analyse sources ranging from reports to first-hand accounts of life in internationalised territories, where continued violence, food shortages, and other problems persisted long after the war. We will also examine magazines, film, photography, and architecture related to peacekeeping, which is held in the archive. The League's archive provides an excellent resource for writing dissertations and conducting original research.

40 credits

Sociology optional modules:

Children, Families and Welfare States

This module examines welfare state support and services for children, parents and families, informed by sociological and social policy theories, concepts and research. Adopting a comparative approach, the module critically reviews different approaches to, and configurations of, welfare state support and services for children, parents and families across the UK and Western/Northern European welfare states. Four policy and provision domains are examined, namely cash support for children and families; childcare and early years' services; parental leave and work-family balance policies; and child welfare and family support services.

20 credits

Organised Crime and Illicit Markets

This module will introduce you to the growing field of organised crime studies. This rich area of research encompasses many disciplines from criminology and sociology to history, economics and politics. At the heart of organised crime studies are attempts to understand how, why and when illicit marketplaces are created and sustained and the roles of various actors within these markets.

You will have the opportunity to explore how governments and law enforcement agencies have tried to respond to organise crime by investigating a range of case studies specific to illicit marketplaces. You will also analyse the role of the media and the influence of popular culture on the way organised crime is defined and understood.

By exploring the primary literature, which covers the historical and contemporary developments in organised crime, you will be equipped to engage with sociological debates surrounding the development of this type of criminality, particularly its (alleged) increasingly transnational nature over the past two decades.

20 credits

Digital Identities

This module explores how identities are being reimagined in a digital age. It provides students with an in-depth understanding of internet and social media technologies' roles in people's identity negotiations, the relationship between digital media and social life, and offers theoretical grounding for students to critically assess their own digital identities. It reviews debates about identity formations from the earliest digital media moments while also considering contemporary concerns like: identity concealment on social media platforms; a phenomenon called 'content moderation' (to ask which digital identities are not allowed); and the extent to which digital media users can (and want to) enact 'authentic' identities. But the module also asks why people might disconnect from digital technologies altogether, as these choices - especially in areas with high levels of internet and smartphone uptake - form a key part of who a person is and how they live their lives.

20 credits

Protest, Movements and Social Change

During this module, you will gain deeper insight into how we study protests and movements and their impact on social change. 

The content will take a historical overview, tracing the development of theoretical and empirical approaches to the study of social movements, matched with historical and contemporary case studies of movement from around the world. 

By focusing on what functions movements play in society, as well as how they have been studied, you will become equipped with the tools to both analyse movements, and engage with sociological debates surrounding larger questions of inequality, identity, democracy and social justice.

20 credits

Sociology of Evil

Despite the increasing secularisation and rationalisation of society, evil is still an all too familiar term. For some it invokes images of devils, demons and witches, for others criminals, terrorists and murderers. Moreover, the debates on the 'social evils' of poverty, prostitution and alcohol are continually recycled for each generation.

This module will introduce you to a sociological approach to evil. You will develop your own innovative case-studies of evil in combination with published research. Throughout, you will be asked to explore the ontology of evil, examine how evil is explained and accounted for, investigate the consequences of evil, develop an understanding concerning the representation of evil and assess the aetiological precedents for that representation, and, ultimately, critically determine the role evil has within society.

20 credits

Queer Identities in the Media

You will be introduced to queer theory in order to discuss the role of different media in how gender and sexuality are constructed, represented and expressed.

The content will trace activist and academic origins of the word 'queer' and explore queer (self-)representations in mainstream and alternative media, such as newspapers, films, zines, blogs, social media and dating apps. You will also investigate how different representations promote or challenge the binaries of male versus female, masculine versus feminine, and heterosexual versus homosexual, as well as how they promote gender and sexuality transnationally.

This module will enable you to think critically across a range of social sciences disciplines. It will introduce you to different methodologies and provide a grounding in interdisciplinary social science research.

20 credits

Algorithms, AI and Society

Algorithmic systems, AI, machine learning and other data-driven technologies are transforming society. They are having wide-ranging effects which are far from straightforward. Their use results in harms as well as benefits, and algorithmic systems and AI feed into and are fed into by inequalities.

You will critically interrogate claims that AI, automation and algorithms will simply lead to a better society. You will be asked to explore the negative effects of related change and the ways in which algorithmic and AI systems are not experienced equally by all. Throughout, you will review theoretical literature on AI-in-society and on algorithmic culture, focussing on high profile accounts of their social consequences in areas such as education, welfare, social care, big tech and the media.

By the end of this module, you will have gained a systematic knowledge of contemporary and advanced level debates relating to algorithms and AI.

20 credits

Sex Work: Rights, Regulation and Resistance

Sex workers across the globe often experience stigmatisation, marginalisation and criminalisation. Drawing on a large and growing body of international scholarship, you will be introduced to the complexities and diverse realities of sex work.

You will engage in content that explores the various sex markets, gendered differences in the buying and selling of sex, violence, exploitation and trafficking, sex worker-led activism and resistance, and the regulatory modules used across the globe to govern sex industries.

By the end of the module, you will be equipped with a critical understanding of a range of theories and concepts that help to make sense of the social, cultural, and legal dimensions of sex work.

20 credits

Digital Health

You will explore the social implications of digital technologies in health, considering what these mean for our experiences of health and illness as patients and as citizens, for the work of health care professionals, and for the provision of health care.

During this module, you will investigate a range of contemporary developments, such as self-tracking and gamifying health, telemedicine and care at a distance, health information on the net, electronic patient records, illness, death and dying on the web, and health activism and online patient groups.

Across the topics of investigation, you will consider questions about the changing representations and cultures of health and illness, whether we can all be medical experts now, who has responsibility for health, how we relate to health care professionals, the commodification of health data and the relative benefits for state and industry. 

20 credits

What it means to be human

New technologies and new scientific knowledge make powerful claims about `human nature’ that are reconstructing how we understand ourselves. At the same time, they also give us new potential to reshape our bodies and brains. This module aims to critically engage with these developments using concepts from a number of sociological traditions. Can biology tell us anything meaningful about social interaction or racial and gendered differences, or about ability and disability? What are the criteria by which we determine ‘the human’ and who decides what these shall be? Does our psychology have an evolutionary basis? How are the boundaries between humans and machines changing? What is the human impact on the environment? Should we use new technologies to enhance ourselves? The module will provide students with the opportunities and tools to grapple with these and other important questions.

20 credits