BA History and Sociology / Course details

Year of entry: 2024

Course description

The History and Sociology degree is designed to give students a unique training in two academic disciplines. 

By combining the skills and insights of History and Sociology, students achieve a thorough induction into studying the past alongside the approaches and theoretical frameworks relating to the study of society. 

This Joint Honours degree is designed to develop students knowledge of both disciplines, especially through core modules such as History in Practice, which equips students with the key intellectual tools for historical study at university level, and Researching Culture and Society, which develops student's understandings of a range of quantitative and qualitative research methods. 

Taught by Faculty members, who are both dedicated teachers and world-leading experts in their fields, and with whom students interact daily in lectures, seminars and one-to-one meetings, the course aims to develop a range of essential and transferable skills. 

By writing essays, projects and dissertations on both subjects, students learn how to develop their ability to write, present and discuss complex ideas and arguments. 

By engaging with an exciting and demanding course, students also develop habits of self-management, independence and collaborative work. 

History and Sociology students can develop further their interests by joining a wide range of student-led societies, including the Sociology and History Societies, as well as many others focused on politics, media or sport.

Special features

Placement year option  

Apply your subject-specific knowledge in a real-world context through a placement year  in your third year of study, enabling you to enhance your employment prospects, clarify your career goals and build your external networks. 

Study abroad  

You can apply to spend one semester studying abroad during the second year of your degree. Exchange partners are offered through the Erasmus Exchange scheme (in Europe) and the Worldwide Exchange scheme (eg USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Singapore). 

Connect with like-minded students  

Join the History Society, which plays a key role in building a community among History students at Manchester by organising trips (in the UK and on the continent) and hosting social events, and get involved with the student magazine, The Manchester Historian .

Teaching and learning

Most course units feature formal lectures supported by smaller tutorials, seminars or web-based seminars, in which you will be able to explore the contents of lectures and recommended reading in greater depth. 

Tutorials and seminars are also key elements in improving your written and oral communication skills through group discussions, essay-writing and presentations. 

You will spend approximately 12 hours a week in formal study sessions. 

For every hour spent at University, you will be expected to complete a further two to three hours of independent study.

You will also need to study during the holiday periods. 

A significant part of your study time will be spent reading, taking notes, preparing presentations and writing essays (which examine aspects of a subject in greater depth). 

Classroom time is frequently supplemented by new media, such as the virtual learning environment, Blackboard. 

You will also have access to other digital resources to support your learning. 

For some course units you'll join in group work and other forms of collaborative learning.

Coursework and assessment

You may be assessed in various ways, including:
  • written and oral examinations;
  • coursework essays;
  • research reports;
  • practical tests;
  • learning logs;
  • web contributions.

Many course units are assessed through a mixture of techniques.

In your final year, you will write a dissertation that constitutes 22% of your overall final mark.

Course content for year 1

Designed to assist students with the intellectual transition to university study, level 1 modules focus on introducing students to key conceptual and methodological issues in relation to History and Sociology. 

All students take History in Practice, in which students learn important skills in research and writing to equip them for historical study at university level and Researching Culture and Society that introduces students to the core issues of sociological methods and research.

Course units for year 1

The course unit details given below are subject to change, and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.

TitleCodeCredit ratingMandatory/optional
History in Practice HIST10101 20 Mandatory
Researching Culture and Society SOCY10440 20 Mandatory
From Reconstruction to Reagan: American History, 1877-1988 AMER10002 20 Optional
Constructing Archaic Greek History CAHE10011 20 Optional
From Republic to Empire: Introduction to Roman History, Society & Culture 218-31BC CAHE10022 20 Optional
The Odyssey CAHE10101 20 Optional
The Making of the Mediterranean CAHE10132 20 Optional
The Story of Britain CAHE10141 20 Optional
Discoveries and Discoverers: Sights and Sites CAHE10282 20 Optional
Introduction to the History and Culture of Pharaonic Egypt CAHE10651 20 Optional
Decoding Inequality: Reimagining Digital Culture DIGI10031 20 Optional
Modern China: from the Opium Wars to the Olympic Games HIST10151 20 Optional
Histories of the Islamic World HIST10172 20 Optional
Capitalism in Historical Perspective: 1700-1913 HIST10182 20 Optional
Imperial Nation: Empire and the Making of Modern Britain, 1783-1902 HIST10191 20 Optional
An Introduction to the Medieval World HIST10261 20 Optional
Manchester's Migration Story: Race, Ethnicity and Belonging in the Industrial Metropolis HIST10272 20 Optional
Forging a New World: Europe c.1450-1750 HIST10302 20 Optional
States, Nations and Empires. Europe, c.1750-1914 HIST10311 20 Optional
Science and the Modern World (20 Credits) HSTM10721 20 Optional
Bodies in History: An introduction to the History of Medicine HSTM10772 20 Optional
History and Civilisation of Japan JAPA10111 20 Optional
Empire and Culture in East Asia JAPA13222 20 Optional
Exploring Enterprise MCEL10001 10 Optional
Entrepreneurial Skills MCEL10002 10 Optional
The History and Sociopolitics of Palestine/Israel (1882-1967) MEST10042 20 Optional
Cultural Anthropology of the Middle East and North Africa MEST10092 20 Optional
History and Politics of the Middle East and North Africa MEST10711 20 Optional
Travel and Migration in Arab Cinema MEST10911 20 Optional
Introduction to Judaism RELT10192 20 Optional
Bible in Ancient and Modern Worlds RELT10711 20 Optional
The Making of Modern Russia: Empire and Nation RUSS10251 20 Optional
Standing on The Shoulders of Giants: Foundations for Study in The Arts SALC10002 20 Optional
Humanities in Public: The Politics and Value(s) of Knowledge SALC10411 10 Optional
Environment and Society SOCY10202 20 Optional
Inequalities in Contemporary British Society SOCY10402 20 Optional
Contested Foundations of Social Thought SOCY10421 20 Optional
Contemporary Social Thought SOCY10432 20 Optional
Media, Culture & Society SOCY10441 20 Optional
Global Social Challenges SOCY10461 20 Optional
Getting Personal: Intimacy and Connectedness in Everyday Life SOCY10471 20 Optional
Work, Organisations and Society SOCY10912 20 Optional
Understanding Social Media SOST10012 20 Optional
Measuring Inequalities (Unequal Societies) SOST10021 20 Optional
Displaying 10 of 44 course units for year 1

Course content for year 2

Modules become increasingly specialist and the programme offers significant choice and flexibility. 

Students get to choose between a History or a Sociology Independent Research Project, which is an extended piece of coursework supervised on a one-to-one basis on a topic of the student's choice.

Course units for year 2

The course unit details given below are subject to change, and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.

TitleCodeCredit ratingMandatory/optional
Independent Research Project HIST20392 20 Mandatory
From Jamestown to James Brown: African-American History and Culture AMER20141 20 Optional
The American Civil War AMER21001 20 Optional
The Conquering Hero: The Life, Times and Legacy of Alexander The Great CAHE20041 20 Optional
The Roman Empire 31BC - AD313 Rome's Golden Age CAHE20052 20 Optional
Politics and Society in Classical Greece CAHE20061 20 Optional
Roman Women in 22 Objects CAHE20532 20 Optional
Weimar Culture? Art, Film and Politics in Germany, 1918-33 GERM20261 20 Optional
Making of the Modern Mind: European Intellectual History in a Global Context HIST20181 20 Optional
Winds of Change: Politics, Society and Culture in Britain, 1899 -1990 HIST20251 20 Optional
Late Imperial China: the Great Wall and Beyond HIST20422 20 Optional
The Cultural History of Modern War HIST20481 20 Optional
Colonial Encounters: Race, Violence, and the Making of the Modern World HIST21121 20 Optional
The Stuff of History: Objects Across Borders, 1500-1800 HIST21151 20 Optional
Back to the Future: The Uses and Abuses of History HIST21182 20 Optional
Histories of the Islamic World HIST21192 20 Optional
Capitalism in Historical Perspective: 1700-1913 HIST21202 20 Optional
A Transnational History of Europe in the Short Twentieth Century, c.1917-1991 HIST21211 20 Optional
Silk Roads: Eurasian Connections from the Mongols to Manilla, 1200-1800 HIST21242 20 Optional
Revolutionary Cities: The Urban World of the Middle Ages HIST21252 20 Optional
From Cholera to COVID-19: A Global History of Epidemics HSTM20081 20 Optional
The Crisis of Nature: Issues in Environmental History HSTM20592 20 Optional
In Frankenstein's Footsteps: Science Fiction in Literature and Film. HSTM20801 20 Optional
Aesthetics and Politics of Italian Fascism ITAL20501 20 Optional
The Italian Renaissance ITAL21012 20 Optional
Themes in the Histories of Arab and Jewish Nationalisms MEST20272 20 Optional
History of Modern Islamic Thought MEST20501 20 Optional
Religion, Culture and Gender RELT20121 20 Optional
End of the World and Apocalypticism RELT21082 20 Optional
100 Years of Revolution: Russia from Lenin to Putin RUSS20242 20 Optional
The Revolutions of 1989 and their Aftermaths: Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia RUSS20471 20 Optional
Between East and West: Culture, Empire and Nation in Russia RUSS20842 20 Optional
Work, Economy and Society SOCY20032 20 Optional
Education and Society SOCY20051 20 Optional
Qualitative Research Design & Methods SOCY20091 20 Optional
Sustainability, Consumption & Global Responsibilities SOCY20231 20 Optional
Social Change in China SOCY20282 20 Optional
Decolonising Sociology SOCY20302 20 Optional
Youth, Politics & Activism in Contemporary Europe SOCY20412 20 Optional
Family, Relationships and Everyday Life SOCY20701 20 Optional
Gender, Sexuality and Culture SOCY20892 20 Optional
Racism and Ethnicity in the UK SOCY20961 20 Optional
The Survey Method in Social Research SOST20012 20 Optional
Essentials of survey design and analysis SOST20022 20 Optional
Answering Social Research Questions with Statistical Models SOST20131 20 Optional
History of Latin America SPLA20361 20 Optional
Entrepreneur: Innovator and Risk-Taker UCIL24002 10 Optional
Displaying 10 of 47 course units for year 2

Course content for year 3

Students may specialise in the periods and subjects that they have found most interesting. 

Students get to choose between a History or a Sociology Dissertation, which is an extended piece of coursework based on independent research and supervised on a one-to-one basis on a topic of the student's choice, which our students generally find to be the most enjoyable and fulfilling part of their studies.

Course units for year 3

The course unit details given below are subject to change, and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.

TitleCodeCredit ratingMandatory/optional
American Hauntings AMER30811 20 Optional
The Roman Army and the North-West Frontiers CAHE30882 20 Optional
Greece in Britain CAHE39352 20 Optional
Culture and Society in Germany 1871-1918 GERM30722 20 Optional
Empire, Gender and British Heroes, c.1885 - 1985 HIST30622 20 Optional
History Dissertation HIST30970 40 Optional
Gender and Sexuality in Modern Africa HIST31002 20 Optional
Wealth and Welfare: Reconceptualising British Economy and Society between 1832 and 1942 HIST31051 20 Optional
China and the West: the Age of Empire and Beyond HIST31202 20 Optional
Heroes and Holy Men: The Irish Sea World in the Viking Age, c. 780-1100 HIST31362 20 Optional
The Holocaust: History, Historiography, Memory HIST31491 20 Optional
The Comparative and Transnational History of Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany HIST31522 20 Optional
John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, and U.S. Foreign Policy in the 1960s HIST31552 20 Optional
The Aftermath of War in France, Britain and Germany: Violence and Reconstruction after WW1 and WW2 HIST31671 20 Optional
Ceaseless Revolution: France, 1781-1871 HIST31721 20 Optional
War, Memory and Politics of Commemoration in Eastern Europe HIST31842 20 Optional
Pirates: The Sea, The Empire and The Other HIST31941 20 Optional
The Normans in the Mediterranean World (1000-1200) HIST31991 20 Optional
Curating War and Human Rights: methods in cultural and public history HIST32012 20 Optional
Spatial History: Mapping the Past HIST32112 20 Optional
Black Britain: Power, Neighbourhoods and the Everyday, 1948-1990 HIST32171 20 Optional
Collecting and Exhibiting the Empire in Britain, c.1750-1939 HIST32212 20 Optional
Africa and Development: A Political History of the Social Sciences HIST32221 20 Optional
Cultural Entanglements: Life & Death in Colonial America HIST32242 20 Optional
The Anglo-American Connection & National Identity in the long C19: Race, Reform & National Identity HIST32251 20 Optional
Mixing It Up: A Global Intellectual History of Race and Miscegenation HIST32321 20 Optional
Vanished: Histories of Extinction from the Mammoth to Extinction Rebellion HIST32341 20 Optional
Global China in the Second World War HIST32351 20 Optional
Revolution, Conflict, Democratization: East Central Europe, 1848-1939 HIST32362 20 Optional
Democracy and Authoritarianism in Latin America’s Twentieth Century HIST32372 20 Optional
Islam in China HIST32381 20 Optional
"The Root of all Evil": Capital, Religion, and Empire, 1550-1701 HIST32492 20 Optional
The Nuclear Age: Global Nuclear Threats from Hiroshima to Today HSTM31712 20 Optional
From Sherlock Holmes to CSI: a history of forensic medicine HSTM32511 20 Optional
Climate Change & Society HSTM33501 20 Optional
Madness and Society HSTM40332 20 Optional
Tools and Techniques for Enterprise MCEL30001 10 Optional
Enterprise Feasibility MCEL30052 10 Optional
Culture, Media and Politics in the Soviet Union and post-Soviet Russia RUSS30601 20 Optional
Sociology of Human Animal Relations SOCY30042 20 Optional
Racism and Resistance in Education SOCY30102 20 Optional
Power and Protest SOCY30461 20 Optional
Social Thought from the Global South SOCY30501 20 Optional
Dissertation B (40 credits) SOCY30930 40 Optional
Theory & Method in Demography SOST30012 20 Optional
Network Analysis SOST30022 20 Optional
History of the Spanish Atlantic World: Empire, Trade, War SPLA31151 20 Optional
Displaying 10 of 47 course units for year 3

Facilities

The University of Manchester works in partnership with the Ahmed Iqbal Ullah Race Relations Resource Centre and owns the Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester Museum and Tabley House, giving you unique access to outstanding cultural and historical resources. 

Find out more on the Facilities  page for History.

Disability support

Practical support and advice for current students and applicants from the Disability Support Office. Email: disability@manchester.ac.uk