History and Film Studies

History and Film Studies is a combination that brings together two disciplines united by their interest in how the past is represented, remembered, and given meaning. History is the systematic study of evidence from the past, the analytical work of establishing what happened and why, and the critical engagement with how different historians and traditions have told the story. Film Studies treats moving images as objects of serious intellectual inquiry, asking how films are constructed, what meanings they generate, and how they function within and in relation to the societies that produce and consume them.

Together they raise a fundamental question: what does it mean to represent the past, whether in an archive document, a memoir, or a feature film?

At the University of East Anglia, this three-year full-time programme develops your skills across both disciplines simultaneously. In History you will engage with primary sources, historiographical debates, and the craft of historical argument, studying a range of periods and topics with appropriate depth. In Film Studies you will develop close reading skills applied to the moving image, understanding how cinematography, editing, sound, and narrative structure combine to produce meaning.

The combination is genuinely enriching: historical knowledge deepens your engagement with period films and the politics of historical representation, while film analysis gives you new tools for thinking about how the past is made present in popular culture.

UEA has a strong tradition in both disciplines, and the programme benefits from a rich research culture in film and screen studies alongside a history department with distinctive strengths.

Graduates pursue careers in journalism, publishing, broadcasting, education, arts and cultural administration, film and television production, and the heritage sector. Many go on to postgraduate study in history, film studies, or media and cultural studies. The combination of archival rigour and screen literacy is increasingly valued in media and culture industries.