The Department of History at Warwick University is one of the largest history departments in the UK, with an excellent international reputation and high rankings in university guides and surveys. It was ranked second-equal nationally in the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) and was rated Excellent in the most recent Teaching Quality Assessment. Warwick History attracts staff and students of high calibre from both the UK and overseas. The Department has 38 permanent academic staff, who research the histories of Africa, the Americas, Britain, China, Continental Europe and South Asia, and hosts four research centres: the Centre for the History of Medicine, the Global History and Culture Centre, the Eighteenth Century Centre, and the Centre for the History of Innovation and Creativity (CHIC) based in Venice.
Our postgraduate students participate in the Department’s vibrant and varied research culture and have the opportunity to work closely with leading scholars. The large postgraduate community of over 100 students join the over 600 undergraduates in the Department to help create a dynamic and exciting environment for learning and research.
Research Areas
History of the Americas
Warwick has one of the UK’s largest concentrations of scholars working on the history of the USA, Latin America and the Caribbean. Particular strengths are the history of slavery and emancipation in the USA and the Caribbean, colonialism and nationalism in Spanish America, Latin American film and literature and the history of contemporary US culture and society.
Modern History
The study of notions of modernity and the modern world has long been a central research interest of Warwick’s History Department. Current research includes the late 18th, 19th and 20th centuries in Europe, the Americas, South and East Asia, and Africa. Seminars and conferences hosted by the various History research centres often include speakers and other events of great interest to modern historians.
Early Modern European History
Research strengths include religious, social and cultural history in a British and wider European and colonial context. We have an unusually large number of Early Modernists at Warwick, whose expertise spans Europe. They run seminars, workshops and conferences, some of which are held at Warwick’s Palazzo in Venice, the subject of another research strength. A long-standing project on the early modern parish provides one focal point, and we also host an Early Modern Forum which brings together researchers from within and outside the Department.
South Asia and East Asia
We have a significant concentration of scholars working in the fields of South-Asian and East-Asian History. The Subaltern Studies group of historians of South Asia, work in fields as wide-ranging as social and environmental history, and the history of science, technology and medicine. Staff working on Chinese history cover both early modern and 20th-century China, covering social, cultural and political history.
History of Medicine
The History Department is the home to the Centre for the History of Medicine, funded by the Wellcome Trust. The Centre brings together activities in medical history from across the University to form a lively, interdisciplinary community. The Centre runs workshops, seminars and conferences, many of which are open to the public. Scholars based in the Department focus particularly on the history of medicine in Asia, Europe and the UK.
Eighteenth-Century Studies
We have a significant concentration of staff working on the history of the 18th century in Europe and the Americas. These staff are affiliated to the Eighteenth Century Centre, an interdisciplinary research centre that runs major research projects and provides a forum for academic staff and postgraduate students in the Humanities. The Centre is closely involved with the Department of History’s MA in Eighteenth-Century Studies.
Global History
Warwick’s Global History and Culture Centre provides a focus for the interdisciplinary study of global history and culture at an international level. Activities include symposia, conferences, day schools and seminar series; honorary visiting fellowships, postgraduate exchanges and postdoctoral fellowships. The Centre aims to place the study of global history and culture in a wider international academic community by fostering research-interchange programmes and networks with research groups and centres in other parts of the globe; and by encouraging graduate research in Global History and in wider world approaches to History and Culture in the University.
Research Degrees
The breadth of expertise and experience in the History Department, along with a thriving culture of research, seminars and conferences, make Warwick one of the best universities in the UK in which to undertake historical research. The Department offers expertise in topics ranging from early modern England to contemporary India, and has an international reputation for excellence. Research students work closely with their supervisor(s) on an individualised programme of research to produce a dissertation that reflects their particular interests. Research students are welcomed into the Department’s vibrant community of scholars, who support and encourage their development as historians.
MA by Research (MAR)
Duration: 1 year full-time, 2 years part-time
At the core of this programme lies the design, research and composition of a dissertation (maximum length 40,000 words). You meet regularly with your supervisor/s and other members of the department to review your progress. Alongside the research project, you are expected to follow the Warwick Historical Research Core module, Theory, Skill and Method.
Master of Philosophy/Doctor of Philosophy (MPhil/PhD)
Duration: PhD: 3 years full-time, 5 years part-time
Successful applicants are admitted in the first instance to the MPhil degree, and are expected to pass through an upgrade procedure from MPhil to full PhD status. At the core of this programme lies the design, research and composition of a dissertation (maximum length 80,000 words) that constitutes a significant and original contribution to knowledge.
Taught Master’s Degree
MA in History
Standard Duration: 1 year full-time, 2 years part-time
The MA in History allows you to draw from the strength and breadth of the Department’s expertise by constructing an individualised programme of study. Faculty interests range widely – from early modern England to contemporary India, from the history of slavery to the social history of medicine, providing you with a wide variety of approaches to the study of history. You will follow a theoretically and methodologically challenging core module on the practice of historical research, together with option modules reflecting your interests. You also complete a dissertation carried out under the supervision of one of the Department’s 40 or so faculty members.
MA in Global History
Standard Duration: 1 year full-time, 2 years part-time
This innovative MA course is one of the first in the UK to focus specifically on global history, one of the most dynamic areas of current historical enquiry and debate. At its centre is a core module which looks at the emergence of global history, the methods it adopts, the subjects it addresses and the criticisms it has attracted. The MA provides a route into the study of major regions of the globe, including Latin America, India and China. Students also follow a theoretically and methodologically challenging core module on the practice of historical research and complete a dissertation.
MA in the History of Medicine
Standard Duration: 1 year full-time, 2 years part-time
The MA in the History of Medicine introduces you to the advanced study of the history of medicine, and equips you with the conceptual and practical skills needed to carry out independent historical research in this field. The course places developments within medical theory and practice in a broad social and cultural framework. Students follow a core module that explores important historiographical approaches and debates within the history of medicine from the Renaissance to the twenty-first century, which is complemented by further modules on more specialised topics within the history of medicine, and on the broader practice of historical research..
MA in Modern History
Standard Duration: 1 year full-time, 2 years part-time
This MA offers an opportunity to reflect on the history of the modern world. Encompassing political, social and cultural history, the course draws on the expertise of the Department’s many historians working on the modern era in diverse geographical areas using a range of methodologies. You will follow a theoretically and methodologically challenging core module on the practice of historical research, together with option modules reflecting your interests, and also complete a dissertation. Students have access to excellent library resources that include the archival materials stored at the Modern Records Centre on the Warwick campus.
MA in Eighteenth-Century Studies
Standard Duration: 1 year full-time, 2 years part-time
This interdisciplinary MA draws on expertise from the Departments of History, English and History of Art. You will examine new approaches to major themes in eighteenth-century Britain, Europe and the wider world: enlightenment, consumption and luxury, gender, the middling classes, culture and commerce, material culture, global history, political radicalism and scientific and medical culture. You will follow a theoretically and methodologically challenging core module, together with option modules reflecting their interests, and also complete a dissertation. The MA is closely connected to Warwick’s renowned Eighteenth- Century Centre, and students are encouraged to participate in its vibrant programme of activities.
MA in Religious, Social and Cultural History, 1500-1750
Standard Duration: 1 year full-time, 2 years part-time
Religion and society were inextricably linked in the structures and culture of early modern Europe. This course explores religious, social and cultural developments in the context of the Protestant Reformation, the strains created by soaring prices and populations and heightened social mobility. Warwick is internationally renowned for the strength of its research on the Renaissance and early modern era, and this MA has been described as ‘the best of its kind in the UK’. You will follow a theoretically and methodologically challenging core module on the practice of historical research, together with option modules reflecting your interests, and also complete a dissertation.
MA in Comparative American Studies
Standard Duration: 1 year full-time, 2 years part-time
Warwick offers a unique and highly successful comparative, interdisciplinary and hemispheric approach to the history of the Americas. After completing a core module that introduces major themes in the study of the Americas, through the interrogation of source materials ranging from film and popular music to classic works of historical writing, you can pursue your interests in the history and culture of the USA, the Caribbean and Latin America. We offer particular expertise in colonial and independent Spanish American history and literature, the Atlantic world, slavery and race and contemporary US culture, in particular the world of cinema. You will also follow a methodologically and theoretically challenging core module on the practice of history, and complete a dissertation.
Podcasts
The age of renunciation: Men without fashion
