Bachelor of Arts (BA)

BA History and Sociology

Examine societies past and present from historical and sociological perspectives.

  • Duration: 3 years
  • Year of entry: 2025
  • UCAS course code: VL13 / Institution code: M20

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Fees and funding

Fees

Tuition fees for home students commencing their studies in September 2025 will be £9,535 per annum (subject to Parliamentary approval). Tuition fees for international students will be £26,500 per annum. For general information please see the undergraduate finance pages.

Policy on additional costs

All students should normally be able to complete their programme of study without incurring additional study costs over and above the tuition fee for that programme. Any unavoidable additional compulsory costs totalling more than 1% of the annual home undergraduate fee per annum, regardless of whether the programme in question is undergraduate or postgraduate taught, will be made clear to you at the point of application. Further information can be found in the University's Policy on additional costs incurred by students on undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes (PDF document, 91KB).

Scholarships/sponsorships

Course unit details:
Moving Stories: Migration and Modern European History

Course unit fact file
Unit code HIST32412
Credit rating 20
Unit level Level 6
Teaching period(s) Semester 2
Available as a free choice unit? No

Overview

This course examines the history of modern Europe through the lens of migration history. It begins with the First World War and traces how mobilities of different kinds have shaped Europe’s social, cultural, political and economic history over the course of the twentieth century. We will take a broad view of European history, ranging from Europe’s connections to colonial territories in North Africa and the Middle East to the Eastern and Southern edges of the Soviet Union. The course will address different forms of migration, from forced displacement during wartime to labour migration and cold war border crossings and examine the intersections between them. The experiences of ‘people on the move’ are at the heart of this course, but we will also consider the multiple ways that states and international organisations have sought to manage migration. Throughout the course students will be encouraged to consider the consequences of historical episodes of migration for contemporary society in Europe.

Aims

To challenge dominant, nationally-framed histories of modern Europe by adopting transnational perspectives To engage with the different ways that historians have approached the history of migration To demonstrate how different forms of mobility have shaped the cultural/social/political/economic history of modern Europe To reflect critically on how histories of migration continue to shape European society, culture and politics.

Syllabus

Indicative topics include: Concepts and theories in Migration History Prehistories: An Age of Migration? WWI: Mobilisation and Mobilities Inter-War: A Refugee Regime WW2 Expellees, Evacuees and DPs Defectors and Cold War Border Crossings Guestworkers and Labour Migration Homecomings? Decolonisation and the End of Empire Collapse and Post-Soviet Migration Fortress Europe? The EU, Brexit and People on the Move

Teaching and learning methods

1 x 1-hour introduction lecture per week  1 x 2-hour seminar per week incorporating whole class discussion and structured small group tasks. This will include analysis of primary sources (text, film, visual sources),  discussion of articles read in advance by students and preparatory work for assessments. Course Unit Office Hours where students can discuss individual progress Seminar reading lists will be made available on Canvas, as will links to digitised material and other online source/databases All Coursework will be submitted and returned via Turnitin

Knowledge and understanding

Understand the emergence of new state practices of displacement, resettlement and border-management in the twentieth century Understand the multiple ways that mobility and migration shaped experiences and identities across this region; from lives lived and communities connected across borders to experiences of forced displacement. Understand the aftermaths of migration/displacement and its consequences for memories, identities and social relations in the modern world.

Intellectual skills

Understand how recent historiography which adopts transnational perspectives/focuses on migration has challenged dominant frameworks for understanding Europe’s history Apply conceptual and theoretical perspectives from other disciplines (anthropologies of displacement, refugee studies) to this region and period. Engage with the question of understanding the experiences of or ‘hearing’ the voices of refugees, migrants and populations ‘on the margins’ in the historical record.

Practical skills

Plan and carry out research using online and library based resources Critical analysis of primary and secondary source material Construct and communicate arguments effectively Contribute to group discussions in an effective and constructive manner.

Transferable skills and personal qualities

Developing fluent written communication skills Developing confidence in oral communication skills Working independently, managing time and meeting deadlines. Engaging with questions of migration in contemporary society in a nuanced, sophisticated manner.

Employability skills

Other
Collaboration/group working Analysis of complex and contested arguments and evidence Articulating a clear, fluent argument in written or oral form Drawing on historical evidence to reflect on contemporary policy/social/cultural questions around migration and displacement.

Assessment methods

Method Weight
Other 50%
Written assignment (inc essay) 50%

Public Engagement:  Blog post or policy brief (Summative) 1000 words

Feedback methods

Ongoing oral feedback in response to class discussion and small group tasks during seminars (Formative)Written feedback (‘feed-forward’ comments on how to develop future assessments) on coursework submissions, provided via turnitin (Summative)Additional one-to-one feedback on assessments or general progress in office hours (Formative)

Recommended reading

Peter Gatrell, The Unsettling of Europe (2019) Erik Scott, Defectors (2023) Lewis Sigelbaum and Leslie Moch, Broad is my Native Land (2015) Pamela Ballinger, The World Refugees Made (2020) Matthew Frank and Jessica Reinisch (eds) Refugees in Europe 1919-59 (2017)

Teaching staff

Staff member Role
Joanne Laycock Unit coordinator

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