Disciplines and areas of study
History
Program Coordinator: Dr Philip Bull
The History Program offers a wide range of subjects covering aspects of European, British, North American, African, Australian and Pacific history, as well as some subjects concentrating on the history of ideas, society, or culture rather than on particular regions or countries. The History Program also specialises in colonial, post-colonial histories and transnational perspectives. It is therefore possible for students to select a major that allows them to concentrate to a considerable extent on certain areas (for example, European, American or Australian history) or themes (for example, culture contact, and social history, revolutionary movements in modern history, gender, and religion). Other relevant subjects, which may fit into such majors, are available in other programs in the faculty.
Prerequisites
Students who have passed only one semester subject of first year history can enrol in later-year subjects with the permission of the program coordinator (a C grade or better will normally be required).
All subjects are offered subject to the availability of appropriate staffing and minimum enrolments. Depending on staff availability, it may also be necessary to set quotas on some subjects.
Programs of study
History Major
To complete a major in History students must complete:
- a History core subject at each year level of their degree.
- 30 credit points at first year level,
- 40 credit points at second-year level and
- at least 60 credit points at third year level of History subjects from the list below.
Those students who think they might wish to pursue an honours degree in history are encouraged to take another 20 credit points of history in their second and third years. Students may take up to 205 credit points of history subjects as part of their degree.
| Teaching period | Subject title | Subject code |
|---|---|---|
| First year core subjects (15 credit points) | ||
| TE-SEM-1 | Migration Stories in a Global Context | HIS1GMS |
| OR | ||
| TE-SEM-2 | Myth, Legend and History | HIS1MLH |
| Second year core subject (20 credit points) | ||
| TE-SEM-2 | To be advised | |
| Third year core subject (20 credit points) | ||
| TE-SEM-2 | Uses of the Past | HIS3UOP |
| Teaching period | Subject title | Subject code |
|---|---|---|
| First year subjects (15 credit points) | ||
| TE-SEM-1 | Migration Stories in a Global Context | HIS1GMS |
| TE-SEM-1 | Modern Europe A: from monarchies to nations 1760-1890 | HIS1MEA |
| TE-SEM-2 | Monsters, Savages and Us: tales of others | HIS1MSU |
| TE-SEM-2 | Myth, Legend and History | HIS1MLH |
| Second or third year subjects (20 credit points) | ||
| TE-SEM-1 | America’s War in Vietnam | HIS2AWV/HIS3AWV |
| TE-SEM-1 | Anarchists, Terrorists and Freedom Fighters: 1850 to 2001 | HIS2ATF/HIS3ATF |
| TE-SEM-1 | Australia: Environment and Visual Culture | ARH2AAE/ARH3AAE |
| TE-SEM-1 | Australian Political Culture | POL2APC/POL3APC |
| TE-SEM-1 | Australians at War: gendered perspectives | HIS2AAW/HIS3AAW |
| TE-SEM-1 | Charting the Colonial Pacific | HIS2CCP/HIS3CCP |
| TE-SEM-1 | Civil War to Civil Rights in the USA | HIS2CWU/HIS3CWU |
| TE-SEM-1 | Discover Australia: current issues and debates | AUS2DAU/AUS3DAU |
| TE-SEM-1 | Ethnic and Civil Conflict in Southern Europe and Cyprus | EST2ECC/EST3ECC |
| TE-SEM-1 | European Cultural History | HIS2EUT/HIS3EUT |
| TE-SEM-1 | The European Union | HIS2EUU/HIS3EUU |
| TE-SEM-1 | Jesus: fact or fiction? | HIS2JFF/HIS3JFF |
| TE-SEM-1 | Native American Activism: Indians, Hollywood and history | HIS2NAE/HIS3NAE |
| TE-SEM-2 | Antiquity, Gender and Religion | HIS2AGR/HIS3AGR |
| TE-SEM-2 | Australian Aboriginal History | HIS2AAH/HIS3AAH |
| TE-SEM-2 | Australian Environmental History: Gondwana to global warming (online subject) | HIS2AEH/HIS3AEH |
| TE-SEM-2 | Genocides and the Holocaust: Europe, Asia, Africa | HIS2GAH/HIS3GAH |
| TE-SEM-2 | Imagining Contemporary Greece: cinema, song and text | EST2ICG/EST3ICG |
| TE-SEM-2 | Landscape and the Human World | SOC2LL/SOC3LL |
| TE-SEM-2 | Living with Colonialism: resistance and accommodation | HIS2LWC/HIS3LWC |
| TE-SEM-2 | Medieval Europe 600-1200 (online subject) | ARH2MEU/ARH3MEU |
| TE-SEM-2 | People, Power and Protest: transforming modern Australia | HIS2PPP/HIS3PPP |
| TE-SEM-2 | Revolutions in Central Europe | POL2RCE/POL3RCE |
| TE-SEM-2 | Riots and Rebellions | HIS2RAR/HIS3RAR |
| TE-SEM-2 | South Africa: Apartheid, Reconciliation and Beyond | HIS2SAA/HIS3SAA |
| TE-SEM-2 | Transterritorial Hellenism: a journey through some sites | EST2TTH/EST3TTH |
| TE-SEM-2 | US Civil Rights Movement 1954 -1968 | HIS2UCR/HIS3UCR |
| TE-SEM-2 | The World since 1945: historical justice in the modern world | HIS2WOR/HIS3WOR |
| TE-SEM-2 | Twentieth Century Europe | HIS2TCE/HIS3TCE |
| Third year subjects (20 credit points) | ||
| TE-SEM-1 | Reading Course A | HIS3RCA |
| TE-SEM-2 | Reading Course B | HIS3RCB |
| TE-SEM-2 | Reflective and Narrative History2 | HIS3RHB |
Key: 2 Students must apply to undertake this subject.
| Subject title | Subject code |
|---|---|
| Second or third year subjects (20 credit points) | |
| Ancient Israel | HIS2AIA/HIS3AIA |
| Andy Warhol’s America: pop art, politics and popular culture | HIS2AWA/HIS3AWA |
| Archaeology of the Modern World | ARC2AMW/ARC3AMW |
| Early Imperial Russia | HIS2EIR/HIS3EIR |
| European Travel and Art | ARH2ETA/ARH3ETA |
| Food, Drink and World History: ancient world to modern Australia | HIS2FDA/HIS3FDA |
| From Lenin to Stalin: Soviet society 1917-1941 | HIS2FLS/HIS3FLS |
| Ireland in the Nineteenth Century | HIS2IRL/HIS3IRL |
| Israel, Jews and the Nations | HIS2IJN/HIS3IJN |
| Late Imperial Russia 1812-1917 | HIS2LIR/HIS3LIR |
| Making America from Pocahontas to Prohibition | HIS2MAM/HIS3MAM |
| Making of Modern Italy | HIS2MMI/HIS3MMI |
| Memory, Myth and History | HIS2MMH/HIS3MMH |
| Nazi Germany and Europe | HIS2NGE/HIS3NGE |
| The Ottoman Empire (offered in Turkey) | HIS2OTT/HIS3OTT |
Other subjects approved for a major in history
Students qualifying for a degree by taking a major in history should note that no more than 15 credit points at first year and no more than 20 credit points at second and third year of subjects from this category might be credited towards a major in history.
| Subject title | Subject code |
|---|---|
| First year subjects (15 credit points) | |
| Ancient Mediterranean Culture – the Greek Achievement | ANG1AMC |
| Greece and the Balkans in the Twentieth Century | EST1GAB |
| Introduction to Asia: Japan and Indonesia | AST1IJI |
| Introduction to Asia: China and India | AST1ICI |
| Second or third year subjects (20 credit points) | |
| Historical Archaeology in Australia | ARC2HAA/ARC3HAA |
| Radio Theory and History | MST2RTH/MST3RTH |
Honours
An honours degree in history requires intensive study of the discipline during both third and fourth years. To be eligible to apply for the Honours year students are normally expected to have completed at least 130 credit points of history subjects with a B grade average. Students are encouraged to take at least 150 credit points of history subjects. Students who wish to undertake Honours may complete the special preparation subject HIS3RHB. However, this subject is not a prerequisite and there are other pathways into the Honours year. Students who wish to enter the honours program should discuss this with the history lecturers and tutors with whom they are studying and the Honours Coordinator. History honours at fourth year consists of two components of coursework, each of which counts for 20% of the final mark; an examination in the general seminar which counts for 10% of the final mark; and a thesis of 15,000 words, which counts for 50% of the final mark.