Modern History & Politics Degrees at Aberystwyth University
Modern History & Politics Degree - 3 year Degree (V135)
with the Department of International Politics
Modern History & Politics Degree
The Modern History & Politics degree scheme has been designed for those students who wish to concentrate on recent history and politics, and who wish to place the study of political ideas and institutions in the context of an understanding of historical development. It combines the expertise of historians and political scientists from two departments that enjoy notable reputations in their respective fields and whose areas of interest span the entire globe.
Modern History & Politics Degree Year 1
As a student on the Modern History & Politics degree scheme you'll divide your time equally between the Departments of History and International Politics.
As with all history students, you will be expected to take the ‘core’ Introduction to History module that seeks to ease the transition to undergraduate studies by providing an introduction to key historical skills and approaches. Otherwise, you'll choose modules from the range of the History Department's modules, including:
- The Rise and Fall of the Soviet Union
- Jews in the Modern World, 1750 to the present
- The Making of the American Nation, 1783-2000
- Power, Protest and Society in Modern Wales, 1850-1997
The remaining modules will be taken from those offered by the Department of International Politics, including:
- Introduction to the Third World in International Politics
- World Politics in the Age of the Two World Wars
- War, Strategy and Intelligence
- Revolution and Continuity in Political Philosophy
Modern History & Politics Degree Years 2 and 3
Both departments seek to build on the principles of study established in Year 1 with a range of different types of modules in the second and third years.
In the Department of History and Welsh History, students will choose a mixture of modules, from surveys of a particular period or theme to in-depth studies of sources. Current modules include:
- Studying Cuban History through Film
- Images of Stalinism
- The Domestic Politics of US Foreign Policy
- The Holocaust
- Weimar Germany: The Making and Breaking of German Democracy
The remaining modules will be taken from the full range offered by the Department of International Politics, including:
- European Politics
- Politics in Russia since 1953
- Warfare after Waterloo: Military History, 1815-1918
- Islam, Foreign Policy and the Developing World
- Terrorism, Culture and Identity
Modern History & Politics Degree Dissertation
You'll also have to write a dissertation on a topic of your choice. Depending on where your particular interests lie, you can choose to write your dissertation with either department.
Modern History & Politics Degree sample module - Module Example
Studying Cuban History through Film
The history of Cuba since 1959 is a dramatic story of revolution, social and economic change, and international conflict. This module will evaluate documentary and feature films produced by Cuban film-makers as source material for the political and social history of Cuba during this period. The module will seek to contextualize these sources by considering issues surrounding both their production (the role of the artist, the Cuban film institute and the Cuban government, the 1990s economic crisis and the search for outside funding) and their reception. Further contextualization will be achieved by examining other, more ‘traditional’ sources for the study of Cuban political and social history.