History - 2012 entry

Course content

The MA in History consists of four modules: a compulsory core module, two elective modules and a dissertation. Postgraduate diploma students take Modules 1, 2 and 3; postgraduate certificate students take Module 1 and one elective module. Modules may change from time to time; an indicative list is shown below.

Module 1: Key Concepts and Methods in Historical Research

Every student takes this compulsory core module in advanced historical studies, which is designed to help make the transition from undergraduate to graduate-level work. You will be introduced to a variety of perspectives on theory and method in history, and you will acquire the advanced study skills needed to develop the capacity to engage in independent research. You will also receive training in the use of electronic research resources. This module is taken in Semester 1 and is assessed by two written assignments.

Modules 2 and 3: elective modules

Master's students choose two elective modules, enabling the close study of topics in two different areas of historical analysis. The topics for these modules reflect the specific research expertise of the staff in the department and the programme offered varies from year to year and are as follows:

• Studying Civil War: Russia, Spain, Greece examines three case studies in civil conflict in the 20th Century. In analysing a variety of themes from international relations to the dynamics of clan violence, the module introduces students to the practice of comparative history, historical sociology and the analytical study of civil conflict.
• Irish Migrations from the 16th to the 20th Centuries explores the history of the Irish diaspora over the past five centuries. It will examine the impact of Irish migration on Ireland and on the countries in which the Irish settled. Different historical interpretations of the emigrant experience will be analysed with particular reference to issues such as assimilation, ethnicity and national identity.
• Behaving Badly: From Deviance to Modernity examines various comparative themes in the history of law, crime, deviance and 'bad behaviour' from 1500 to the present. Students will be given the opportunity to study the fundamental issues that have pre-occupied historians of crime, deviance and forms of behaviour society considers unacceptable and/or errant.
• The Protestant Reformation and the Arts considers the abstract theological debates of the Reformation that had a significant impact upon the lives of ordinary people. The churches in which they worshipped were remodelled, the traditional Catholic rituals and practices that governed their lives were reformed. This module will examine one of the key features of the Reformation that affected ordinary people across Europe, the changing attitudes towards the visual arts. Within a comparative framework this module will explore the impact that the Reformation had upon art, architecture, music and sculpture in the early modern period. It will consider contemporary debates on the role of images, the psychology of religious violence and the political implications of iconoclasm. The module will also explore the contradictions and differences that emerged across Europe and in different Protestant cultures.
• Terrorism in Context locates contemporary terrorism in its historical context by considering its evolution since the late 19th century when anarchists pioneered the use of violence directed against civil society and symbolic political targets as a technique for effecting revolutionary change. It then evaluates (testing their heuristic value in relationship to case-studies in four contexts that generate acts of terrorism) a variety of conflicting models of the phenomenon on: the politicisation of religion as a result of threats to traditional communities; the sacralisation of politics by secular ideological movements; the lone-wolf sense of a mission to help precipitate change; the state oppression of perceived ‘enemies’.
• Britain and Europe, 1950-1990. ‘Europe’ is a subject that has come to dominate post-war British politics, splitting political parties, bringing down governments and Prime Ministers, and dividing opinion more bitterly and deeply than any other subject. This course will attempt to assess why exactly the subject was so divisive, and examine the different views taken about ‘ever closer union’ since 1950.
• Race, Empire and Colonization investigates the development and influence of concepts of race in Europe – chiefly Great Britain - and overseas colonies, and examine the relationship of these to imperialism.
• Patients and Practitioners, 1700-1850 breaks neatly into two parts. In part one we will be dealing with the general theoretical and source issues that underpin an understanding of the doctor-patient relationship. We will also understand the early history of doctoring and doctor-patient relationships. In part two, we will move on to consider various aspects of the doctor-patient relationship, including the supply of doctors, patient networks, the role of institutions, doctoring as an art and regional differences in the strength and character of doctor-patient relationships.
• Body Politics: Health and Modernity in Britain, 1830-1914 examines the political and cultural dynamics of British public health during the period 1830 to 1914. Students will be given the opportunity to engage with the very latest historiography and explore how an ostensibly discrete and humanitarian field of governance raised broader questions about the meaning of urban civilisation, the limits of the state, the scope and organisation of expert authority, and the politics of gender, class and sexuality. It will encourage students to think about these issues in terms of the bigger picture of modernity and the practice and regulation of modern freedom.
• Medical Experience in the Countryside, 1500-1789 examines various comparative themes in the social history of medicine as it pertains to rural Europe during the Early Modern Period (1500 to 1789). Students will be given the opportunity to study the fundamental issues that have been explored by historians of rural society and the social history of medicine.
• Engineering Society: Eugenics and Biopolitics in Europe, 1800-1945 examines various comparative themes in the history of eugenics, genetics, biopolitics, anthropology and modernity from 1800 to 1945. Students will be given the opportunity to study the fundamental issues that have pre-occupied historians of biology, science and modernity since the 1800s and combine these with specific case studies from a wide range of European countries.
• Science, Magic and Religion introduces students to history of science based theories on the social construction of knowledge systems and alert them to the boundary issues involved in the construction of science, magic and religion. All three will also be looked at as cultural systems and implicated in the establishment of cultural and political hegemony. A further focus will be the historical specificity of the definitions of the boundaries between science, magic and religion. The second part of the course focuses on methodological issues, in particular primary source selection and interpretation.
• From Pills and Potions, To Penicillin and Prozac. Barely a week goes by without news of a medical breakthrough, and this often refers to a drug promising either a treatment for a disease previously unresponsive to medical intervention, or else a significant improvement over existing treatments. On the other hand, some times one also hears about disasters or abuses involving the testing, administering, or taking of drugs. On these occasions, the clinical researchers who test the drugs, the doctors who prescribe them, but more often the pharmaceutical companies who make them, are transformed in the public eye from heroes into villains, and become the subject of controversy, some times even legal prosecution. The objective of this module is therefore double: 1) to help students to make sense of this complex picture by placing it in a wider historical context; 2) to explain how drugs have come to occupy such an important place in our society, by examining their evolution not only in terms of scientific and medical progress, but also in terms of a complex, changing inter-relationship between consumers, producers, the medical profession, and the state.
• Ethics and Ideas: From the Hippocratic Oath to Informed Consent. Students will be given the opportunity to study the fundamental issues that have pre-occupied historians of medical malpractice and clinical research. This module will examine various comparative themes in the history of medical ethics from Hippocrates to the present.
• The History of Death and Dying in Britain, 1750-1900 introduces students to the social and medical history of death and dying in England, 1750-1900. It explores a variety of historiographical debates about the cultural meaning of death through a diverse range of funerary artefacts, as well as printed primary medical texts. In this way, it examines the social meaning of death, as well as efforts by the medical profession to alleviate the sufferings of dying patients appropriately.
• The Hospital in History provides a long-term analysis of the origins and transformations of the hospital in its social context. The course covers changing organisational forms, funding, medical specialisation, therapeutic innovations, patients, public perceptions, and the broader politics of hospital development within western and non-European contexts.

Each module lasts for one semester and is assessed by two or three written assignments. Full-time MA students take one elective module in each semester. Part-time MA students take their first elective in Semester 2 of the first year and their second elective in Semester 1 of the second year.

Module 4: Dissertation

This is the capstone of the master's course. You will have the opportunity to conduct a major in-depth investigation into a historical topic of your choice, leading to the production of a 15,000-word thesis. The topic may be related to one of your elective modules or may be chosen from another area of your interest. You will be supported in your research by individual supervision from a specialist tutor and by group workshops on advanced research design that take place in Semester 2 (for part-time students this is taken in year two). The dissertation is completed over the summer and submitted by 1 September.

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

Department

Department of History, Philosophy and Religion

Course length

Full-time: PGCert: 4 months, PGDip: 9 months, MA: 12 months
Part-time: PGCert: 2 semesters, PGDip: 3 semesters, MA: 24 months,

Teaching location

Headington Campus, Gipsy Lane

Start date

September 2012

UKPASS code

P008101

Entry requirements

You should normally hold an upper second class honours degree, or its equivalent, in history or in a related subject. If it is some time since you completed your undergraduate education and you do not meet the standard requirement, it may be possible to consider your application based on evidence of other relevant personal and professional experience, the support of your referees and examples of written work.

Applicants may be asked to send a sample of recent academic writing in English together with the application form. If this is not possible, you may substitute a 1,500-word essay reviewing a recent academic book on a historical topic. If English is not your first language, you will need to provide certification of your English language proficiency. For this course you will need an IELTS score of at least 7, or TOEFL 100 (internet-based).

Applications should be received no later than 1 August, although it is advisable to apply much earlier than this. If you are intending to apply to the AHRC for a studentship award we must receive your application before 1 March.

Applicants for research degrees should normally hold a master's degree in a subject appropriate to the proposed research topic and the same level of English language proficiency as required for the master's programmes. Before submitting an application you are advised to contact the senior postgraduate administrator to arrange an informal discussion of your research plans with the tutor for research students.

Scholarships and funding

For general sources of financial support, see:

• funding for students from the UK and EU
• funding for students from outside the EU

Why Oxford is a great place to study History

Oxford is an ideal city in which to study history at postgraduate level, with an exceptional wealth of libraries, archives and historical buildings as well as a thriving arts scene, including theatres, cinemas and museums.

Students have access to the world famous Bodleian Library, a copyright library, which houses all books published in the United Kingdom and Ireland. In addition to the Bodleian and its unparalleled collection of books and rare historical manuscripts, there are affiliated libraries such as Rhodes House, home to the Bodleian Library of Commonwealth and African Studies, and the Vere Harmsworth Library of the Rothermere American Institute, where students will find one of the finest collections of publications on the Political, Economic and Social History of the United States from colonial times to the present.

Oxford is a lively centre for events, exhibitions, seminars and open lectures in various specialist areas of history, which staff and students at Brookes regularly attend. 

It is also an easy bus or train ride to London for convenient access to an even wider resource of historical materials. These include various seminars and lecture series offered by the University of London and the Institute of Historical Research. In addition, The National Archives at Kew, The British Library and other specialised libraries will be of particular interest to students. Oxford is also within easy reach of other archival collections in Birmingham, Cambridge, Reading and Bristol.

As home to over 40,000 students, Oxford combines a stimulating learning environment with a wealth of leisure opportunities, from sports and cultural activities to quiet parks and waterways. Nearby places of interest include Blenheim Palace, Stratford-upon-Avon and the Cotswolds.

Support for students studying History

With over half a million books, DVDs and CDs, a vast range of databases, ejournals and reference materials, the library provides all the resources you need for your study of history. We have a dedicated History librarian who is on hand to answer your enquiries, teach you information skills and guide you around the electronic resources on offer. The library also offers regular training sessions on accessing and making the best use of key resources in your specific subject area.

How Brookes supports postgraduate students

Supporting your learning

From academic advisers and support co-ordinators to specialist subject librarians and other learning support staff, we want to ensure that you get the best out of your studies.

Personal support services

We want your time at Brookes to be as enjoyable and successful as possible. That's why we provide all the facilities you need to be relaxed, happy and healthy throughout your studies.

Departmental research highlights

The department boasts a wealth of research expertise and is home to two important research centres:

Centre for Health, Medicine and Society

The centre seeks to promote the study of the social and cultural history of medicine. It has an established reputation as one of the leading research groups of its kind in the UK and has research links with a wide network of associates, both national and international. The centre also provides associate status opportunities to researchers from outside the university who wish to advance their studies and gain experience in the field.

Centre for the History of Welfare

Providing a base for collaboration between all those with an interest in the history of welfare both within Oxford Brookes and across the wider academic and professional communities, the centre acts as a focus for research in this field. It aims to support and disseminate research which makes connections between historical research and current welfare policy, and thereby fosters links between historians of welfare and policy makers.

Current research highlights include: 

• Dr. Marius Turda has been awarded a Cantimir Senior Fellowship (Berendel Foundation) of £115,779  to research the scientific careers of leading Central European eugenicists and the scientific rationalisation of their particular eugenic theories. The project aims to reveal the extent to which eugenic philosophies of identity based on the modern biological knowledge of heredity and evolution were influential in each chosen country.

• Professor Roger Griffin is carrying out a pilot study to evaluate the feasibility and practical implications for launching, realising, and maintaining an internet resource for the international promotion of Transcultural Humanism. The aim is to use the power of the internet to help generate an empirically and historically based counter-narrative to extremism. This project is funded by the Berendel Foundation with a £38,239 grant.

• With a Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship of £79,084, Dr Jane Stevens Crawshaw is leading a ground-breaking research project into the underexplored relationship between people and place in early modern Europe. This research melds social, urban and environmental history to create a new framework for understanding early modern social policies, urban design and environmental cleansing.

Research excellence

Oxford Brookes historians were rated among the top 14 departments in the country in the latest research assessment exercise (RAE 2008), with 65% of the department’s research judged either world leading or internationally excellent.

Our historians are regarded as experts in their field and their research informs some of the key debates in society. For example

•  Professor Roger Griffin, who teaches an MA special subject on terrorism in History, has been advising the Home Office in London on initiatives to combat terrorism. In February 2011, he gave a presentation at the Home Office on the dynamics of recruitment to terrorist causes in order to influence the Prevent strategy for counteracting terrorism.
• Dr Glen O'Hara, Reader in the History of Public Policy, has been contributing to current policy debates about long term care for patients. In February 2011, he spoke at a London conference on politics and patients’ rights within the NHS.  

Research areas and clusters

Our thriving research and postgraduate culture will provide you with the ideal environment in which to undertake a research degree on a broad range of topics from the 16th century to the present day, and to engage in interdisciplinary research. Research skills are developed in preparation for your dissertation and provide a potential pathway to PhD study.

You will have the opportunity to work alongside scholars of international standing as well as receiving comprehensive training in research methods.

Principal research areas in which our teaching staff specialise include:

• history of medicine

• history of fascism

• social history

• history of crime, deviance and the law

• history of religion from the Reformation onwards.

As well as meeting to discuss and analyse central texts in the field, each group undertakes a number of activities including organising work-in-progress seminars, and offering support and feedback for external grant applications.