Undergraduate

Availability

You may study History as a major sequence in the Bachelor of Arts and the Bachelor of International Studies, as specified studies in the Bachelor of Commerce, Bachelor of Archaeology, Bachelor of Education, Bachelor of Theology, or as an elective in any degree.

Scope and style

History topics are taught in the fields of Australian, European, American and international history, mainly since 1700. Not all topics are available in any given year. See Topics offered in 2007 and the extended description of further details of History topics, as well as the general statement in course program for options and topic descriptions at all levels.

The topics taught by the History Department provide an introduction to the modern world. They deal with big issues: global migration, the population explosion, famine, great religious movements, technological change, the development of science, the human impact on the environment, the explosive consequences of nationalism, war and society, the rise and fall of empires, revolution, decolonisation, democracy, fascism and communism.

Special emphasis is placed on methods of analysis and a critical understanding of the use of historical evidence.

The Department stresses the communication of ideas, arguments and controversies in a clear and literate style. It fosters the development of research skills in an atmosphere of free intellectual inquiry.

Structure

You can specialise in History. You can complement your vocational courses. All History topics can be taken as electives.

You may specialise in one of the areas, or study a combination of topics on different parts of the world.

First-Year Topics

First-year topics assume no previous historical studies. They introduce students to the nature and evaluation of evidence, conflicting interpretations of events, and the role of individuals and chance in history. Topics available are:

Semester 1
HIST 1201 Convicts, Race and Gender
HIST 1703 Turning Points in World History
HIST 1801 Modern Europe 1900 – 1945

Semester 2
HIST 1203 Brief History of Australia
HIST 1704 History’s Killing Fields
HIST 1802 Europe 1945 to the Present

Upper-Level Topics

History’s topics are taught so that you progress in each year from one form of learning to another. A pass in any two of the first-level topics entitles you to do a Major in History. The History Department does not distinguish between second-year and third-year topics.

Upper-level topics investigate in depth major historical problems, emphasising the use of contemporary source materials such as pamphlets, autobiographies, the visual arts, audio-visual materials, novels, parliamentary debates, company records, newspapers and collection of manuscripts.

All History topics at first to upper-level are available as electives without prerequisites. Try them and add more depth, interest and enjoyment to your studies, subject to the rules of your degree.

One of the Jim Main Prizes is awarded to the best upper-level student in History annually.

The upper-level topics taught by the History Department are:

Semester 1
HIST 2023 Nazi Germany
HIST 2053 Maps and Dreams
HIST 2054 Globalisation in World History
HIST2055 Revolutionary China 1925-1946
HIST 2061 Imperialism and its Discontents
HIST 3042 Twentieth Century Freedom Struggles


Semester 2
HIST 2051 War and Society
HIST 2057 Film and History
HIST 2059 Colonies, Empire and Revolution: North America 1500-1800
HIST 2060 India 1857-1947: The Road to Freedom
HIST 2063 Memory and the Politics of Difference
HIST 2064 Australian Environmental Histories
HIST 3021 Culture in Victorian England, 1851-1901
HIST 3041 The Great Powers and the Origins of the Modern Middle East