Modern History

Modern history, broadly understood as the period from the eighteenth century to the present day, covers an extraordinary transformation in human society. It encompasses the age of revolutions, industrialisation, the emergence of modern nation states, the rise and fall of empires, two world wars, decolonisation, the Cold War and the rapid changes of recent decades. Studying this period gives you access not just to the events themselves but to the forces, ideas and social structures that shaped them, and it develops the analytical and interpretive skills that historians bring to the documentary record.

At the University of Essex, this three-year full-time degree focuses on Britain, Europe and the wider world from the eighteenth century onwards. You will examine the social, political, economic and cultural history of this period, working with primary sources and engaging seriously with the arguments of historians who have interpreted these events from different perspectives. The programme encourages you to think about how change happens, why some movements succeed and others fail, and how people in the past understood and experienced their own historical moment.

Questions of globalisation, war, ideology, race, gender and class all feature, and you will be expected to bring your own well-supported interpretations to bear on contested questions.

Seminar discussion, extended essay writing and archival research skills are central to the degree. You will develop the capacity to evaluate conflicting evidence, to construct a sustained argument, and to communicate your findings clearly and persuasively.

Graduates from modern history degrees move into careers in education, journalism, archiving, heritage, the civil service, law, public policy, business, the third sector and broadcasting. The analytical, research and communication skills the discipline develops are highly transferable, and many graduates also pursue postgraduate study in history, law, public administration or related fields.