American History

Study the historical development of the United States, from the first encounter between Europeans and Native Americans in the colonial period through the end of the Cold War.

Course description

Contemporary politics shows that there is more need than ever for critical understanding of the formative political, social, economic and intellectual trends in American history. We have a long tradition of research in American history and this MA programme gives you the opportunity to study the historical development of the United States from the first encounter between Europeans and indigenous Americans in the colonial period, through the Vietnam war and the Black Power movement of the 60s and 70s, to the end of the Cold War.

Our MA programmes are designed to help you carry out specialist research under expert supervision in a friendly and supportive environment.

The core module develops your understanding of key historiographical and methodological approaches and your skills in using relevant sources, while the Dissertation provides you the opportunity to further develop your skills and apply your knowledge in an independent research project. This is supported by the Research Presentation module which develops your skills in presenting research to a non-specialist audience.

Our range of option modules allow you to focus on the particular skills and knowledge that are most important to you. You can choose from a wide range of modules focussing on particular historical themes, supporting specific history research training and public history modules. All of this helps you build a broad range of transferable skills that will be desirable to future employers both inside and outside of academia.