Modern European History & Politics

Subject description

Modern European History and Politics is a thematic course, combining a study of historical events and change with political thought and the study of politics. The aim of the course is to introduce students to major aspects of European political culture and history as well as contemporary issues affecting Western democracy and international relations.

It is an optional subject on the Undergraduate Preparatory Certificate for Humanities (UPCH) pathway.

The course explores how the past is interpreted in different ways. During this Modern European History course, you’ll question the writers of history and their motives. You’ll also explore competing political theories, and how they understand ideas such as the state, systems of government and citizenship.

Topics include:

• The Enlightenment & The French Revolution 1748-98
• Nations and nationalism (Europe) 1789-1919
• Modern political thought
• Democracy and populism
• The Cold War/International relations

How we teach Modern European History & Politics

Teaching includes a weekly mixture of lectures and seminar sessions. You’ll write a 3,000-word research project on a course-related topic of your choice. You’ll have regular tutorials in which you can discuss course content and your research projects.

There are two field trips: one to the Houses of Parliament, the other to the historic town of Margate.

Intended learning outcomes

By the end of the subject, you should be able to:

• work on research projects, developing these with independent research, from proposal through to the final submission stage
• engage with debates on modern European history and politics
• think critically about the nature and limitations of different evidence and form convincing arguments from this
• deliver convincing and well-argued presentations about relevant topics on this Modern European History subject
• understand different approaches and methods used specifically in history, politics and international relations, and more generally in the humanities and social sciences

Overview of Summative Assessment

Recommended reading

If you would like to do some reading before starting the subject, we recommend:

• David Mason, A Concise History of Modern Europe: Liberty, Equality, Solidarity, 2011 (for students who have no background in European history).
• William Doyle, The French Revolution: A very short introduction, 2001.
• Timothy Baycroft, Nationalism in Europe: 1789-1945, 2010
• Adam Swift: Political Philosophy: A beginners’ guide for students and politicians, 2006
• Jan Wener Muller, What is populism? 2017
• Robert McMahon, The Cold War: A very short introduction, 2023