Historical Studies at Bristol consist of two subject areas, History and History of Art, which each have their own degree programme, though students are encouraged to treat staff from the whole department as a collective resource. What is distinctive about both in combination is the way in which their research is made outward-looking, directed both into the activities of students and to audiences and partners outside as well as within the academic system. This characteristic is manifested in a number of different ways:
Research in the Department of History encompasses a wide range of historical approaches, operating in both the Arts and the Social Sciences, and focus mainly on these areas:
Staff and research students from the department engage widely in the activities of Bristol Institute for Research in the Humanities and Arts (BIRTHA) and the Worldwide Universities Network.
Close links also exist with national scholarly institutions such as the British Academy, the Institute for Historical Research, the Economic History Society, and other such institutions.
The Department's History BA is one of the most popular in the UK in terms of the ratio of AAB applicants to places offered. The research interests of the staff are fully represented in our undergraduate degree programmes.
Teaching, from the first year onwards, is delivered chiefly through small research-orientated seminar groups and one-to-one research supervision, and the training programme is designed to equip our students with the knowledge, technical tools and intellectual training that they need to think and act like historians.
At postgraduate level, we offer a History MA (Master of Arts), with pathways available in:
Staff in the Department also supervises postgraduate students taking research degrees (MPhil, MLitt and PhD).
The students in the Department are of the highest academic potential and come from a wide range of educational, social and ethnic backgrounds.
There are currently 114 postgraduate students taking an MA in History or doing research in the Department.
The Department of History is actively involved in academic and social activities both within the Department and the wider academic community of the School of Humanities in the Faculty of Arts.
History research seminars are held weekly during term time and feature presentations by guest lecturers, departmental staff and postgraduate students, and the Historical Studies 'Lunchtime lecture' series gives students the opportunity to hear lectures of general interest.
Staff and students also widely participate in the Medieval Studies and the Colonialism research seminars.