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Why Study History at Lancaster?

The Department provides a curriculum of great breadth and diversity, covering a wide range of chronological periods and geographical areas. It encompasses distinctive interests like the history of science, technology and medicine, social history, visual culture, institutional politics, right wing political movements and the history of popular culture.

Among the distinctive features of studying history at Lancaster University are:

Flexibility

We offer programmes in History and Medieval and Renaissance Studies. You can also combine History with other subjects: English Literature, Politics, Philosophy, International Relations, Religious Studies, Music, French, German or Spanish. You can also include a year spent abroad or study part-time. Find out more about our degrees

Coherence

A wide range of courses exists in this and other departments to enable you to construct an intellectually-coherent and challenging scheme of study. This is a great way of maintaining an interest in a subject you've studied before, or just trying something new. Our courses are also designed to equip you with a range of special skills as you make your way through our degree programmes. 

Specialisation

Our range of specialised courses allows you to concentrate on specific areas in medieval, early- modern and modern/contemporary history. You can also research topics in depth with our dissertation module and ‘special subjects’.

Synthesis

Combined degrees, and minor courses, encourage you to explore links between history and other subjects, such as literature, economics, religion or science.

Quality of Teaching

Most teaching in our department is in small group tutorials or seminars, backed up by lectures, most of them held weekly. Lectures introduce key historical questions, discuss historians’ different approaches to these questions, and the ways in which they have used evidence to support their arguments. Discussion, group work and the joint investigation of prepared topics give you the opportunity to think and talk through an issue, and to explore your own and others' arguments.

Every course also has a dedicated website as part of the University’s Virtual Learning Environment. This is used for posting resources such as bibliographies, documents and images, but it also allows you to communicate with other students in the group, facilitating discussion and the sharing of ideas and information.

Study Resources

You will have exclusive access to an expanding wide range of both library and specialised digital resources to which the university subscribes. These have revolutionised both the teaching and researching of the subject. Not only are study rooms on campus networked but you can access these resources from anywhere in the world, with your own unique username and password. Our resources include online access to academic journals and online databases; historical collections; newspapers archives; and a wide selection of multimedia resources. 

Skills

Your studies of history should enable you to develop the skills listed below. You may wish to draw attention to them later when applying for jobs, and to consider them in the light of your Personal Development Plan.

• Literacy skills: Use of a large library and catalogues; ability to ‘use’ (as well as read) printed and electronic books, articles and other sources for essay and seminar preparations; skill in summarising; efficient note-taking; planning of written work; composition of clear prose and cogent argumentation; bibliographical method; ability to compose shorter reports, as for seminar presentations.
• Oral and social skills: Clear presentation of seminar papers; participation in class discussion; constructive interaction with tutors and other students.
• Intellectual skills: Ability to listen and concentrate intensely (as in lectures); to read rapidly and with absorption; to adjudge arguments and weigh (often incomplete) evidence; to deliver information and argument rapidly, clearly and convincingly - verbally in class and in written form in essays and examinations.
• Personal and management skills: Working under pressure, in coping with a demanding coursework load and meeting a series of tight deadlines; presenting neat and readable copy; managing complex university timetables and keeping appointments with tutors; fitting in personal and recreational life; working alone for protracted periods; in some cases working with a team.
• Breadth of intellectual capacity: Acquiring wide historical knowledge and some familiarity with other cognate disciplines, e.g. economics, international relations, cultural studies, religious concepts etc; encouraging intellectual flexibility; developing the ability to marshal much information (and sometimes to speculate intelligently) and to distinguish the wood from the trees; obtaining a sense of human culture and civilisation, and a ‘humane’ education.
• Technical and other skills: Acquiring and developing skills in location, retrieval and analysis of electronic information and resources; word processing and other presentational IT skills; use of email and interactive websites in study management.

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