History: Early Modern A Level (Strode)

Please note: you will make your selection of three A Levels once you have progressed into the application process.

Studying History provides an insight into how historians investigate and interpret the past, equipping you with the tools to evaluate historical and contemporary sources for reliability, utility and perspective.

Our modern History pathway focuses on the development of the modern world through three major themes: the Later Tudors, the Cold War in Asia, and Civil Rights in the USA. You will explore major political, social, and international changes while developing skills of historical analysis, critical thinking and essay writing.

This course enables you to develop the skills of a working historian through the key historical concepts of change, continuity, causation, consequence, significance and historical interpretations.

In the second year, you will also complete an independent coursework module on a topic of your choice, where you will engage directly with differing historians’ views.

Beyond the classroom, students are encouraged to take part in community outreach and may be offered the opportunity to participate in enrichment visits, including university taster days and residential trips abroad.

Topics may include:

• The Later Tudors, 1547-1603: a study of Edward VI, Mary I, and Elizabeth I, with a focus on religious change, rebellion, foreign policy, and the management of government and parliament.
• The Cold War in Asia, 1945-1993: an in-depth look at American foreign policy in Korea, Vietname and Cambodia, as well as the global context and consequences of Cold War conflict in the region.
• Civil Rights in the USA, 1865-1992: a thematic study of the African American struggle for civil rights across over a century, as well as developments in Native American, women’s, and labour rights.