History/Scottish Literature

History is the study of how human societies have changed over time, and Scottish literature brings that inquiry into close focus by examining the literary traditions of one of Europe's most distinctive cultures. Together they train you to read carefully, to place texts and events in their contexts, and to understand how the past shapes the present. At the University of Glasgow, where the history programme ranges from medieval to modern and draws on research expertise in Scottish, British, European, American and global history, slavery studies, gender history, and war, intelligence and genocide studies, you will encounter both breadth and depth across the two disciplines.

This part-time programme allows you to engage with history and Scottish literature while balancing other commitments, and the year abroad gives you the opportunity to study in a different national context, which can be a genuinely illuminating perspective from which to return to questions of Scottish identity, culture and historical experience. Scottish literature is a rich tradition encompassing medieval poetry, the Enlightenment, the Romantic period with Burns and Scott, the twentieth-century renaissance associated with MacDiarmid and others, and a thriving contemporary scene in both English and Scots.

The two disciplines reinforce each other productively. History gives literary study a sense of material context and social force; literature gives historical inquiry a texture and vividness that documents alone cannot provide. You will develop strong skills in research, interpretation, written argument and critical analysis.

Graduates typically move into careers in education, heritage, museums, archives, journalism, publishing, broadcasting, the civil service, the arts and cultural organisations. Postgraduate study in history, Scottish studies, literature, library and information science, or related fields is a natural next step for many.