BA HISTORY AND HISTORY OF ART

This module is designed to provide an introduction to medieval history. We survey the history of medieval Europe, including England, from c.1000 to c.1300, and also examine some archaeology, literature, art, and architecture from the period. We also aim to introduce you to a range of primary sources, including some of the physical remains to be found in East Anglia.

An introduction to key themes in early modern history, such as: gender, rebellion, religious conflict, the reformation, warfare, state formation, and other key aspects of the period 1500-1750.

You will gain a wide-ranging introduction to the political, social and economic transformation of Britain and Europe from the late eighteenth century to the First World War. Among the themes, you will consider industrialisation and its impact, revolution and reform, nationalism and imperialism, gender and society, great power relations, the impact of war and the collapse of the old Europe in 1917-18.

This module conveys the rich complexity of twentieth-century Europe, encouraging you to look afresh at the period. In hindsight, the epithet ‘age of extremes’ best describes the contradictory characteristics of a century during which total war and genocide were accompanied by growing humanitarianism, state health care and the advance of human rights. Naturally, developments during the first decades of the twenty-first century have forced historians to reconsider and revise once-accepted narratives about European modernization. Just as the trend toward increasing integration, harmonization and homogenization seems questionable in light of the crisis of the European Union, Islamism and Islamophobia believe the idea that modernization resulted in secularization and tolerance. Similarly, the demonstrable power of international finance and supranational assemblies counters narratives of popular empowerment through the triumph of representative democracy. The lectures examine themes in their respective chronological contexts: the age of catastrophe; the age of the post-war ‘economic miracle’; and the making of contemporary Europe. Rather than dwelling on familiar aspects of the century that you may have previously studied, the module will also expose you to the history of Europe after 1945, Central and Eastern Europe, and developments in the US and colonies that shaped the continent. Instead of focusing narrowly on high politics, international relations and warfare, the module also aims to allow you to re-examine the century through the study of the history of population movements, land uses, urban planning and attitudes toward the past.

This module challenges you to reflect on the nature of history: what it means for historians; what it means for the wider public and contemporary society; and what it has meant in the past. You’ll explore the key approaches to the study of history and the conduct of historical research. You’ll consider how historians have written history in the past and how they engage with it in the present, the relevance and challenges of sources and evidence, how historians present their interpretations, and the ways in which they debate amongst themselves. You’ll come away with an understanding that history is rarely about the ‘right’ answer, but rather a series of ways of understanding and interpreting the past. You’ll focus in particular on historical debate and how you can effectively analyse and interpret it. Through a mixture of both historical interpretation and historiography, you’ll develop key study and transferable skills.

The fourteenth century represents a major watershed in the course of global history, and the major contours of change are explored through this outline study of events in England between c.1300 and c.1400. Foremost among those changes stands the Black Death of 1348-9, which is now recognised as the worst single catastrophe in documented history. The second plague outbreak of 1361-2 represents the second greatest health crisis of the second millennium. The pathogen that caused both epidemics has the dubious honour of being the worst killer in history. It is still present in five continents of the world, and, if antibiotics do become ineffectual during the course of our own century, then the Black Death will represent the greatest pathogenic threat to humanity. Historians have long debated whether the Black Death was a major turning point in history or a mere accelerator of trends already in motion. Part of the difficulty in assessing its impact is that it was just one of a number of major catastrophes to strike during the fourteenth century. The others were the Great Famine of 1315-17, the worst famine of the last millennium; the great cattle epizootic of 1318-19, the worst livestock disease of the millennium; and the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381, the worst civil uprising in English history. Modern science has cast new light upon the causes of these extreme epidemics and famines, and in doing so has revealed the dramatic instability of the climate as world temperatures cooled and the Little Ice Age began. Catastrophes of this magnitude and frequency reveal to the historian a great deal about human society, its beliefs and responses, and the resilience of its institutions. This was also a period of political turmoil. In 1326 Edward II was the first king to be removed violently from the throne since Harold in 1066, and a similar fate befell Richard II in 1388. Both were murdered subsequently. Despite these catastrophic events, English kings waged war as if nothing had happened and the English government greatly extended its powers to regulate the life of ordinary people in new and contentious ways. The foundation stones of modern state finance and labour legislation were laid in the fourteenth century. Central institutions of English life—such as the pub and the magistrate—also emerged. Catastrophes create opportunities, too, and the English response to those opportunities was markedly different to many other parts of Europe. At the start of the century, its society, economy and political institutions all lagged behind developments in the leading regions of Europe. At the end of the century, however, England was one of the regions diverging from the rest of the continent and taking the first tentative steps towards modernity. Some historians argue that women’s work and marriage patterns were transformed after the Black Death, and the modern nuclear family emerged. This module provides you with an entertaining, fresh and fascinating introduction to medieval history, whilst revealing how some of the most significant institutional features of modern Britain began to take shape during this period. The assessment regime includes a group presentation to encourage collaboration with other first year historians.

The objective of this module is to understand how human rights developed as a global and transnational idea and set of practices in the post-1776 period. The module looks at the emergence of human rights as a set of ideas from their conception in the eighteenth century, through the development of political rights and humanitarianism in the nineteenth century, through to the United Nations of Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and into the post World War Two period of decolonisation and sustainable development goals. In the seminar discussion, we will focus on key texts, examine crucial political events and following the ideas of important thinkers.

We live our lives surrounded by material objects. In many ways, our lives are dictated by the consumption of goods. How then, should we understand our relation to materiality? In this module, you'll learn about contemporary archaeological and anthropological perspectives in the study of material culture. Questions that come up include: why the Summer Solstice is celebrated at Stonehenge; how houses differ across cultures; why we give each other gifts and wrap them; and how clothing gives us identity? Studying human-object relations from a range of perspectives, this module equips you to understand the role of materiality in your life and to think in nuanced ways on our consumer society.

Born, bathed, dressed, worshipped, sexed, cut, bruised, ripped, split, buried: the human body offer historians a gateway onto understanding the cultures of the past. On this course you will examine several groups of objects from the visual culture of medieval Europe and the Middle East through this contemporary theoretical lens, building up a body of medieval artistic practice piece by bodily piece, and examining how the techniques and society of the medieval craftsman at once idolised and distorted the medieval body's forms. In previous years this course has also featured a study trip to museums and galleries in London to meet with curators and handle objects.

Your main objective in this module will be to develop your critical skills as they pertain to thinking, reading, writing and looking. To enable this, the module will fall into two main sections. In the first section, you’ll focus on one particular methodology – object biographies – used in archaeology, anthropology, museum studies and art history. You’ll examine this methodology in detail, breaking it down into its component sections. You’ll then consider its strengths and its weaknesses, as we subject it to a thorough critical evaluation. In the second half of the module, you will study a range of theories and methodologies used in the study of material culture. In this part of the module, you will focus more broadly on what critical thinking is, both in general and within each of the four disciplines taught in the Department of Art History and World Art Studies. You’ll be taught through a combination of two weekly lectures and one discussion seminar. The lectures will offer you an introduction to the relevant topic, and will end with an opportunity to discuss/debate the issues raised. During the discussion seminars, you’ll consider key issues raised in preceding lectures and the weekly class readings which accompany them.

You will examine how contemporary artists have explored the way in which contemporary galleries and museums function. Since the 1960s artists have adopted the museum as both subject and medium in their artworks. These seminars will examine how such projects impact on our idea of what galleries and museums are, how they operate, and what role they have in public life today. Throughout, key ideas regarding aesthetics, politics, memory, and audience participation will be approached by way of specific artworks and exhibitions. These sessions will be supplemented by workshops exploring art criticism, as well as a study trip to London.

You will examine the relations between art and photography in the United States in the first half of the 20th century. The central debate in American modernism has concerned the role of the medium, and considering photography in relation to the other visual arts permits a reassessment of this debate. Artists and photographers examined include Alfred Stieglitz, Georgia O’Keeffe, Marcel Duchamp, Diego Rivera and Walker Evans.

You will begin by analysing what is meant by Indigenous arts and peoples. In particular, we shall consider the link between the anthropology of art and Indigenous identity. The inter-disciplinary approach continues, by examining issues related to the interpretation of indigenous arts in wide-ranging geographic and cultural contexts from North America, to India and Australia. It then questions Indigenous peoples' engagement with notions of ethnicity and heritage, as well as the formation of an ‘Indigenous media’ through film-making.

On this module you’ll study the development of the English landscape from early prehistoric times to the late Anglo Saxon period. You’ll learn to identify and interpret key landscape features from the Neolithic, Bronze and Iron Ages before moving on to study Roman and Anglo Saxon landscapes. Lectures, seminars and field trips will provide you with an introduction to the approaches and sources used by landscape historians and landscape archaeologists. You’ll develop your understanding of landscape history through the study of key sites such as Stonehenge, Hadrian’s Wall and Sutton Hoo. The chronological approach of the module will provide you with an understanding of long term landscape change, telling the story of the English landscape from prehistory to the eve of the Norman Conquest.

The Anglo-Saxon period spanned 600 years from the end of Roman Britain to the Norman Conquest. It was a period of turmoil, seeing waves of immigration, the clash of peoples and religions, and kingdoms jockeying for control. Out of this crucible England emerged. This is the story of how it came to be. Using contemporary sources, you will learn to handle evidence and reconstruct the worldview of people who lived over a thousand years ago. Anglo-Saxon history teaches you to go a long way with a little evidence; to use your imagination to fill in the gaps. Whether it's new to you or something you've studied before, you'll achieve a deeper and richer understanding of how the nation was formed. Via lectures, seminars and private study, you'll discover the Romans, Saxons and Vikings; the strange treasure they left behind; the cryptic and conflicting chronicles (learning to read between the lines), and debates we still haven't resolved today. Developing your powers of argumentation, you'll run into questions with no certain answer. Building with fragmentary evidence will boost your creativity, and you'll encounter ancient artefacts. (Trips have included West Stow Anglo-Saxon village and Norwich Castle Museum.) At the end of the module you'll command an overview of how England came into being. You'll also have built your ability to see other people's points of view, even if they lived a thousand years ago. This is a crucial ability whether in personal or professional relationships. Also learning to argue with evidence as fragmentary as the evidence we'll explore will hone your problem-solving skills to an unusual degree.

You will examine Britain's expansion and decline as a great power, from the end of the Napoleonic Wars to the mid-twentieth century. During this module, you will consider the foundations of British power, the emergence of rivals, Britain's relationship with the European powers and the USA, and the impact of global war. You will also investigate the reasons for Britain's changing fortunes, as it moved from guarding the balance of power to managing decline.

We will introduce you to German history in the twentieth century, which was characterised by various radical regime changes and territorial alterations. Topics include German world policy and nationalism in the late imperial period; imperialism and expansionism during the First World War; the challenges of modernity in the Weimar Republic; the rise of Hitler and the formation of the Nazi empire in Europe; the post-war division of Germany and the legacy of the Third Reich; the nature of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) dictatorship and the problem of West German terrorism; as well as the fall of the Berlin Wall and reunification. Special attention will be given to questions of nationalism and national identity, issues of history and memory, and Germany’s role in Europe and the world. On completion of this module you will have developed a solid understanding of one of the most dramatic periods of German history when the country oscillated between the two extremes of war and repression, on the one hand, and the return to peace and democracy, on the other.

What shapes our view of history and heritage? How do we balance academic approaches with the need to engage an audience? How do we assess the significance of historic buildings and sites? On this module you’ll explore these questions by studying the ways in which history is presented in the public sphere, in museums and galleries, at heritage sites and historic buildings, in the media and online. Through lectures, seminars and field trips you’ll gain an understanding of different current approaches to history and heritage, exploring themes such as the role of museums, the commemoration of historic events and the development of digital heritage.

You'll explore the experiences and fortunes of the peoples of the western peninsula of Eurasia between the rule of the Emperor Constantine I in the 330s and the call to crusade in the 1090s. At the beginning of the period, the lands centred on the Mediterranean and much of its hinterland were situated within the Roman empire. Yet, within three hundred years, this empire had disintegrated and been replaced by a number of successor states, ruled by competing dynasties. These states included Visigothic Hispania, Vandal Africa, and Merovingian Francia. Another—in fact, the longest lived of all the successor states—was the eastern empire centred on Constantinople, long known to historians as ‘the Byzantine empire’. By the close of the 7th century, many of these states had themselves been conquered by Arabic and African warriors committed to the new religion of Islam and been incorporated in the Caliphate centred on the city of Damascus—an empire which easily rivalled the might, spread, and power of Rome before its own collapse and fission in circa 1000. What Islamic rulers could do, so too could Christian ones. In 800 the son of a Frankish usurper, Charlemagne, was crowned emperor of the West. The actions and ambitions of this emperor were as formative and as formidable in the history of 9th and 10th century Europe as those of Napoleon in the 18th and 19th. The heirs and successors of Charlemagne—whether Frankish, Ottonian, or Scandinavian—were long compelled to negotiate his legacy and memory. By the 11th century, even the Roman pontiffs, now advancing a new programme of reform and renewal, were looking to situate themselves in relation to his Salian successors. The summons to liberate Jerusalem and rescue the Greek empire in the east, carefully tailored to the aspirations of the new élites of Francia and Catalonia, was perhaps the most explosive strategy advanced by these Roman pontiffs. This course is thus broad in chronological scope, covering more than eight hundred years, and extensive in geographical range, taking us from the Atlantic to the Euphrates, from the Atlas mountains to the North Sea. In the course of this journey we'll meet many warriors, saints, and rulers, both female and male.

Between the sixteenth and the early nineteenth centuries, the English crossed the oceans and claimed territory on every continent other than Antarctica. This module surveys the creation and growth of British Empire, examining its origins and its impact on an array of peoples. In the context of studying how the empire spread and functioned, we will consider the varied experiences of Africans, Native Americans, Aboriginal Australians, Protestant refugees from the continent of Europe, the peoples of India, the Irish, and British settlers across the globe. The complex, intimate, and often violent interactions of these groups led to ideological battles pitting loyalism against republicanism, for example, and imperial “civilization” against an array of indigenous cultural revivals. At first glance these struggles may seem to place the British against the subject peoples of their empire, but on closer examination it becomes apparent that they fractured nearly every population within the imperial domains. The creative energy of the British Empire stemmed in large part from collaborations between British groups and individuals and segments of their purported imperial subjects in building, reforming, or in some cases seeking to destroy the structures of imperialism

You will be introduced to an eventful period of history during which France exercised a preponderant role over European affairs and culture. The module will provide you with the essential background knowledge of political events, revolutions and wars but it will also encourage you to explore deeper social and cultural trends. In the first weeks we will reconsider ‘Old regime’ France, drawing attention to its dynamism and cultural richness before turning to the crises that discredited Bourbon absolutism. In subsequent weeks we will focus on the Revolutionary-Napoleonic epoch: our endeavour here will be to explain why the Revolution was revolutionary in theory, violent in practice and dictatorial in consequence. We will then reflect on the Restoration. Using extracts from Hugo’s Les Misérables as our starting point, we will look at how rapid industrialization generated social tensions that successive ministries tried to diffuse through repression and reform. Next, we will look at the France of the Second Republic and Second Empire; our focus here will be Napoleon III’s modernization initiatives and dramatic remodelling of Paris. Finally, we will approach the history of the Third Republic between 1870 and 1914 from three angles: its success in making the populace feel French; science, art and culture; and its nationalistic foreign policy, which contributed toward undermining the general European peace. The seminars for this module will provide us with an opportunity to analyse and discuss in depth an eclectic range of primary sources, including textual documents (in English translation) ranging from constitutions to period fictional writings, maps, advertisements, artwork, extant material and architectural evidence, and music.

This module examines the issue of gender in European history, between 1500 and 1750. Using a variety of written and visual sources, and including a comparative element, we focus on the following themes: definitions of femininity and masculinity; marriage, family and life cycles; queens and queenship; honour and sexual identities; charity and welfare; women and work; material culture; women in the new world; education and learning; early feminists.

The beginning of the twentieth century witnessed a period of immense instability and change with the emergence of the United States as an international actor in the West and the Japanese break from the Chinese sphere of influence in the East. This was underpinned by technological developments, the expansion of global empires, extreme economic dislocation and two global wars. You will examine the conduct and content of the foreign policies of the major powers from the 1890s, with the Sino-Japanese War and the Spanish-American War, to the Japanese occupation of Asia. This will include assessing the interplay of the political, military, economic, strategic and cultural forces that shaped the beginning of the twentieth century and which continue to resonate in the contemporary world.

In just a few decades Japan emerged from its feudal and isolationist condition and became a thriving capitalist nation-state with imperialist ambitions on the world’s stage. From the mid-nineteenth century onwards, the country re-invented itself, combining the strength of its traditions with Western models of government, economic management, social structure and culture. Samurai gave way to elite bureaucrats; a skilled industrial workforce gradually displaced the peasantry; education expanded with remarkable speed; new infrastructure transformed the physical landscape. New patterns of daily life, social tensions and cultural aspirations accompanied these changes. The aggressive expansionist policy and authoritarianism of the 1930s precipitated the country into a war with devastating consequences, only for Japan to resurrect itself as a global industrial power and stable democracy in the post-war era. This module examines this process of transformation from circa 1850, when Western powers pressured Japan into opening to international trade, to the oil shock of the 1970s that brought an end to Japan’s high growth phase. You will pay attention to the intellectual and cultural trends that informed Japan’s development, and investigate concepts such as revolution, national identity, civilizational discourse, late imperialism, and historical memory. You will also explore social and economic change as reflected in lived experience, for example in farms and villages at the turn of the century; on the home front during the Russo-Japanese War; in bustling cities during the Taisho era; in colonial outposts before and during the Pacific War; and in occupied Japan afterwards.

The Tudors are England’s most famous royal dynasty. This module seeks to move beyond the traditional stories of Henry’s turbulent marriages and Elizabeth’s stunning victory over the Spanish Armada. You'll gain a better understanding of the change and turmoil the Tudor century caused, not just to the monarchs themselves but to the lives of their subjects, the everyday people of England. Beyond establishing a strong chronological knowledge of the 16th century and its religious upheavals, the module will consider issues of gender; the changing construction of the social order; the importance and developing role of local elites; problems caused by poverty and dearth; and the position of England within Britain itself and within Europe.

You’ll examine the development of the English countryside during the Middle Ages. You’ll discuss the nature of rural settlement, high status buildings and landscapes and 'semi-natural' environments.

This module provides an introduction to the linguistic skills in medieval Latin which enable students to read administrative documents such as charters, accounts, court rolls, etc. It is particularly suited for those who intend on proceeding to postgraduate study in aspects of the past, such as medieval history, which require a reading knowledge of Latin. This course is not intended for students who have already studied Latin to A level or equivalent.

This module examines a critical period in English History. We begin with the Conquest of England by the Normans and look at the ways in which as a consequence England was drawn into European affairs. The mid point is the loss of those continental lands in 1204 and the Magna Carta crisis of 1215. We then explore the domination of Britain by the English kingdom and end with the start of England’s next great European adventure, The Hundred Years War.

You will explore one of the most turbulent and dynamic periods in English history: c.1400-1485. In addition to exploring the narrative of events as it unfolded chronologically you will also learn about topics such as: theories of medieval kingship, the relationship between church and state, the relationship between England and Continental Europe, medieval warfare, chivalry and knighthood, the relationship between national and local concerns, and the opportunities for people of all genders to participate in political struggle. You will have the opportunity to read a wide range of primary sources as well as considering key historiographical debates. Upon completion of your module, you should have a more nuanced understanding of the exercise of power in the 15th century and how the deeds and decisions of those in charge impacted the lives of people further down the social spectrum. You should also have honed your skills in primary source analysis and historiographical scrutiny.

This module deals with the rivalries of the Great Powers from the end of the Napoleonic Wars to the onset of the Cold War and its end with collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. We shall be examining topics such as the Vienna system; the Crimean War; Italian and German unification, the origins of the First and Second World Wars and the Cold War period.

We will look at the modern history of the Middle East, primarily concerning the political history of the region as well as relations between Middle Eastern countries and Western powers. Our aim is to encourage you to think critically about historical processes of state formation, the legacy of colonialism/imperialism, the role of culture and identity, and the significance of natural resources and economic factors.

This module introduces you to the history and theory of propaganda, and its role in society. You’ll consider what constitutes and defines propaganda. Focusing on the 20th century, we examine propaganda in a range of political settings, both totalitarian and democratic, in the local context of the relationships of power and communications. The module is structured chronologically, starting with the development of propaganda during World War I and finishing with a consideration of propaganda in the 21st century.

The Great War transformed domestic expectations and ushered in an age of Mass Democracy and economic hardship. After 1945 the welfare state and full employment saw rising affluence, accompanied by the emergence of youth cultures, a sexual revolution and new forms of radicalism and identity politics. The economic crisis of the 1970s sped-up deindustrialisation whilst the neoliberalism of Thatcher and her successors deepened inequalities and stoked nationalist sentiment. We explore the social, political and economic history of these tumultuous years.

Since the unification of the states of the Italian peninsula, the history of modern Italy has been the subject of intense historical debate. Modern Italy has often been cast as a ‘weak’ state and ‘fragile’ nation, riven by particularism and by competing secular and religious ideologies, ‘economically backward’, less successful than its national neighbours, and ‘the least of the Great Powers’. More recent historiography has sought to challenge or modify these perceptions in a number of ways, and this course examines modern Italian history from unification to present day, in the light of these ongoing historiographical debates. a) Italian nationalism, the process of Italian unification and the attempts to create national unity after 1870; b) the relationship between socio-economic change and political development in Liberal Italy; c) the impact of the First World War on Italian society and politics; e) the nature of the Fascist regime and its impact on Italian society; f) the radicalisation of the regime, its racial policies and the quest for Empire; g) Italy’s role in World War II, the reasons for the collapse of the Fascist regime, and the emergence of civil war. h) Italian history since 1945

We will explore female involvement in politics, from the Duchess of Devonshire’s infamous activities in the 1784 Westminster election until 1919, when Nancy Astor became the first woman to take her seat in the House of Commons. We will examine topics including the early feminists, aristocratic female politicians, radical politics and the suffragettes, and will investigate the changes and continuities with female engagement with the political process from the eighteenth century through to the twentieth century.

World War II and the immense sacrifices the Soviet people made in defeating Nazism left multiple long-lasting legacies that shaped the multi-ethnic Soviet and post-Soviet Russian state, society and economy. This module aims to give you a better understanding of the state of contemporary Russian politics, society and economy through detailed historical enquiry of Russia’s path since 1945. It is divided into two main parts: in part one you will examine key periods of post-war Russian history in chronological order, and in the second part you will look more closely at key contemporary in their historical perspective. These will include the question what it meant to be Soviet and its legacy; geopolitical imperatives, which only recently led Putin to invade Crimea; identity politics and historical commemoration; the transition of the economy from a planned economy to a market economy; and the complex mutations and adaptations of power structures in Russia that gave birth to Putin’s ‘managed democracy’.

Through this module, you will encounter the largest, most dynamic city in the wealthiest and most populous nation in eighteenth-century Europe. Against a backdrop of France's fraught politics between the age of Louis XIV and the Revolutionary-Napoleonic era, you will gain an intimate sense of Paris as a changing urban space that provided a stage for radical experimentation in everything from art and fashion through to high finance and luxury lifestyles. You will grasp how Paris during the enlightenment functioned at different levels, from the removal of garbage to enforcement of justice. This will involve delving into a rich variety of textual and visual sources alongside extant material evidence from the city itself.

We will explore the dramatic century of Stuart rule in England. This ‘century of revolution’ included the union of the English and Scottish crowns, the dramatic upheaval of the civil wars, and the continued political instability that led to the birth of political parties and the Glorious Revolution. While exploring these political themes we will also consider developments such as: the birth of modern news culture, crowd politics, civil society and coffee shops, the origins of empire, state formation, and the emergence of England as ‘a nation of shop keepers’ and Europe’s great ‘constitutional monarchy’.

Positioned at the hub of trade routes which spanned out across the known world, the city of Venice was a major commercial and political power during the medieval, renaissance, and early modern periods. It also grew to be one of Europe's most important centres of artistic production, with Venetian painters, sculptors, glassmakers, and architects channelling their city's diverse multiculturalism into a vast range of influential artworks. You will examine the development of art and architecture in the city from its earliest foundations through to the present day, tracing the aesthetic and urban history of what its inhabitants came to call 'La Serenissima,' the most serene city on earth. In previous years this module has featured a study trip to Venice.

Using a range of case studies from the Mediterranean World, this module introduces students to some of the most significant themes and debates in the archaeology of the Mediterranean and archaeology more generally. Case studies will be drawn from a range of time periods and will address ‘the big themes’ in archaeology, such as cultural transmission, cultural development, societal collapse, trade and exchange, conflict, migration, empire and expansion, the emergence of urban societies, climate and society and ritual and religion. Often more than one theme will be included in a case study and the aim will be to understand how they relate to each other. For example, how does conflict or climate change contribute to migration or societal collapse?

You will explore the rich history of art made after 1945, with a particular emphasis upon the problem of the relationship between the idea of art's autonomy and claims for its capacity to engage directly with social and political conditions. You will be introduced to key tendencies in art and a wide variety of artistic media made since 1945, with a (non-exclusive) focus upon Europe and North America.

An anthropological approach to the arts and music of Amazonia and Andean Indigenous peoples. You’ll discuss the subjects through key Amerindian themes with a special focus on tangible and intangible cultural heritage, cosmology, shamanism, ritual, and cultural identity. In many Amerindian societies, ritual itself is a major artwork combining music, dance, body art and artefacts into an integrated oeuvre. You’ll read anthropological texts and watch ethnographic films to analyse the relationships between ritual, material culture and music and its socio-cosmological meanings. Documentary film will also be covered as an important and innovative art among Native South Americans, with a special focus on the Kuikuro Indians of Southeastern Amazonia.

This module explores the relationship between art - a human mode of creative production par excellence - and the vast realm of non-human organisms and entities on which human life is founded and with which it develops. How have artists and cultural institutions reflected on their relationship with the environment, with other animals, and with material aspects of life not reducible to human categories and structures?

This module will provide you with the opportunity work within a creative/cultural/charity/ heritage/media or other appropriate organisation in order to apply the skills you are developing through your degree to the working world and to develop your knowledge of employment sectors within which you may wish to work in the future. The module emphasises industry experience, sector awareness and personal development through a structured reflective learning experience. Having sourced and secured your own placement (with support from Careers Central), you work within your host organisation undertaking tasks that will help you to gain a better understanding of professional practices within your chosen sector. Taught sessions enable you to acquire knowledge of both the industries in which you are placed as well as focusing on personal and professional development germane to the sector. Your assessment tasks will provide you with an opportunity to critically reflect on the creative and cultural sector in which you have worked as well as providing opportunities to undertake presentations, gather evidence, and articulate your newly acquired skills and experiences.

Representations are not unconditional or without engagement. In this module, representation is not merely understood as praxis, but as praxis with agency. Following Alfred Gell's notion of the agency of art, we will consider representation as a process that not merely describes, displays and communicates, it also does. Clues to its agency lie in the processes from which it emanates and in which it eventuates. We will discuss contemporary views on the Pacific by particularly focusing on the role of visual and material culture in these representations. The aim of this module is to promote a critical awareness of what artefacts socially do in the Pacific, to understand how they materialise relationships, are condensations of knowledge and how people use these forms to engage with their life worlds.

You will learn about the role of modern art in the making of India’s national identity and address probing questions, notably ‘When was Modernism in Indian Art?’ Since the beginning of the 20th century, artists and other cultural producers in India, such as film-makers, educationalists and anthropologists, sought to dismantle the colonial concepts that once framed their histories and identities. You will explore how artists such as Nandalal Bose, Ramkinkar Baij and Rabindranath Tagore established cultural exchanges with diverse national and international communities in the early to mid 20th century. You will consider the many new artistic and cultural formations that emerged via the Bengal School and related movements, raising important questions concerning the meaning of the relationships between the local and the national, the future and the past, and the visual and the spatial. Including debates on issues as diverse as identity/difference, visual display, internationalism, cultural heritage, and the politics of representation This module is of potential interest if you have a specific interest in art history, anthropology and museum studies.

Mapping helps us to conceive of abstract concepts in tangible visual form. Be it geographical notions of the globe and the heavens, or more complex outlines of the body, the mind, time, even history, a map helps to bound and give features to otherwise inexplicable space and knowledge. This course uses historical maps and modern theories of cartography as the jumping-off point for an in-depth investigation of the visual and imaginative cultures of Europe and the Middle East from the prehistoric and classical eras through to the Middle Ages and Renaissance. In previous years this course has also featured a study trip to museums and galleries in London to meet with curators and handle objects.

This module explores a variety of practical and conceptual considerations in Gallery and Museum Studies by focusing on specific aspects of these institutional structures: from building, housing and caring for collections, to curating shows and exhibitions, and producing texts and writing criticism. You will develop your engagement with the practice of conceiving, designing and mounting exhibitions, exploring both the conceptual demands of putting on a successful show and the practical considerations involved in doing so. Finally we consider the role of interpretation and learning in galleries and museums practice, thinking also about how texts of various sorts operate in exhibitions and collections displays. The module has previously involved a study trip to London or Cambridge.

We will consider the history of the Crusades and the Crusader States from 1095 to 1291, covering a broad range of themes, religious , military and social, and taking into consideration the relations between Christians and Moslems in the Holy Land. Particular attention will be paid to primary sources, which are abundant and available in English translation.

Fieldwork is a key part of landscape history and this module will give you hands-on practical experience of a range of landscape survey methods. Our fieldwork week takes place during the summer and will provide you with training in various survey techniques that can be applied to earthworks and buildings. Your surveys will form the basis for site drawings and a research project on the site we have surveyed. Seminars and field trips take place in the Autumn semester and will cover topics such as drawing earthwork plans and carrying out original research using archive maps and documents. By the end of the module you will be able to recognise and interpret historic landscape features in the field and use a combination of survey work and original research to understand them.

You will examine in depth the history of nationalism in Europe from the late eighteenth to the twentieth century. The central theme is the relationship between the rise and development of nationalism and the shaping of images and discourses about Europe. You will consider and compare the strength of nationalism to the weakness of Europeanism in order to improve your historical understanding of identity formation processes in the modern age. In this sense, it does not consider the nation and Europe as being one the denial of the other, but as forces interacting in complex ways and, in given instances, feeding upon one another. Centred on this theoretical concern, you will be offered a broad survey of the history of nationalism from the Age of Enlightenment to the European integration process, explaining how it has developed into a mass movement and an ideology affecting so deeply the life of millions of individuals across Europe. The perspective used will be that of the cultural historian and the historian of ideas and ideologies. A variety of different primary sources – including pictures, novels, private correspondence, newspaper articles, political tracts and pamphlet, history books, films, songs, etc… – will be used to highlight, on the one hand, the ambiguities of modern nationalism, to explain its quasi-religious nature and explore its strength and resilience. On the other hand, they will help us investigate how and to what extent discourses about Europe affected, after the Second World War, one of the greatest projects of political engineering ever attempted, highlighting the economic success of EU integration and considering its incapacity to create a strong attachment to EU institutions. The course is interdisciplinary in nature. While it is essentially addressed to historians, especially if you are interested in cultural history and in the history of ideologies, it also considers sociological issues and topics that would appeal if you are interested in politics.

This module explores the eventful and troubled history of modern Iraq. Taking its starting point in the nineteenth century, when Iraq was part of the Ottoman Empire, the module explores how the country came under British tutelage following the Great War and how it subsequently experienced a turbulent history as various political actors sought to wrest control of the newly established state. The module pays special attention to key moments when the course of Iraq’s history changed, such as wars, military coups, and revolutions, but also periods in between when society returned to some sort of normality. It will particularly focus on the rise of political ideologies, especially Arab nationalism, and its local counterpart, Iraqi nationalism – but also other ideologies such as socialism, communism and Baᶜthism. Saddam Hussein’s domination of the country (1979-2003) is also an important element of the module.

The importance of youth as a driving force for social change has been recognised by many historians. Young people were often at the forefront wherever revolutions took place, wars were fought and tensions in society erupted. However, the historical study of youth is still a relatively young discipline. This module uses ‘youth’ as a prism to study key themes in 20th century European history, such as the experience of war, life under dictatorship and the longue durée of social change. We shall examine the diverse experience of youth in Western and Eastern Europe during war and peace times, including the Communist and Nazi state-sponsored youth systems, and also the way in which generational experience and conflicts became underlying forces for social and political change. The module employs a strong comparative approach and countries studied include France, Britain, the Soviet Union, West and East Germany, Poland, Hungary and Czechoslovakia. The seminars will be accompanied by several film screenings.

You will be introduced to the darker side of life in Victorian Britain. Though this was undoubtedly a period of economic prosperity, not everyone shared in the gains. You will look at those who, for reasons of poverty or ‘deviance’ were confined to the margins. Topics include the criminal and insane, gender and insanity, prostitution, drink, slums, the London Irish, and Jack the Ripper. By looking at the margins and the misfits, we will seek to gain a deeper understanding of British society in the 19th century.

We will examine the wider subject of resistance to royal authority by men who become outlaws and their portrayal in popular legend from the Norman Conquest of England to the twentieth century with its focus being the outlaw for whom the name Robin Hood has become an archetype. We will examine the stories of medieval outlaws before going onto look at the Robin Hood tales in particular. We will then follow Robin Hood into the early and modern periods, through children's literature and on into the modern renditions of Robin Hood in film and in pantomime.

This module begins by surveying African, Native American and European labour regimes in the fifteenth century in order to establish a foundation for studying the transformations that followed European imperial expansion and the inauguration of the transatlantic slave trade. We will examine the process of enslavement in Africa, North America, and the Mediterranean; the ransom, exchange and sale of captives; and the development of slave markets in the European colonies in the Americas. We will study childhood and family life in various enslaved communities; the material lives of slaves; and the rise of distinct cultures within the African diaspora. We will compare the Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch, French and British Empires with regard to the practice of slavery. We will also trace patterns of slave resistance, escapes, rebellions, and the creation of maroon communities. The semester will end with an examination of the tangled international politics surrounding the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade and the end of plantation slavery across the Atlantic World.

The First World War was the 'seminal catastrophe' of the twentieth century (George F. Kennan). It was, perhaps, the most crucial event in the self-elimination of Europe as the power-house of international politics. It also marked the beginning of the decline of Britain as a great power. We seek, through the study of relevant case studies, to examine Britain’s changing relations with the other Great Power relations during the period between the close of nineteenth century and the July crisis 1914. The primary focus will be on diplomacy and strategy in action, on arms races on land and at sea, on foreign policy-making and on the factors, internal and external, which influenced decisions.

The late philosopher Zygmunt Bauman called the 20th century 'a century of camps'; for him, camps were testing grounds for totalitarian regimes. In this module, we will study the history of the violent last century through the unique lens of camps: concentration camps, forced labour camps, POW camps, refugee camps, and others. Through diverse material selected for the course, we will analyse the well-known events of the 20th century by looking at camps as places of detention, indoctrination, re-education, labour exploitation, and extermination. This unique angle provides insights into the politics of great totalitarian powers, as well as their models for organising and governing society and interacting with other nations of the world. Camps did not appear out of nowhere; each place of detention was part of an institutional network driven by divergent aims: to contain, correct, re-educate, punish. We will study these networks within their historical contexts, using diverse materials specific to each case. Also, a study of camps cannot be limited to camp walls and barbed wire; while static themselves and built to limit people's movements, camps were ironically dependent on the movements of people from place to place. Thus a study of camps inevitably involves the study of forced migrations. To acquaint you with the less studied side of global, regional and transnational interactions, this module will use a variety of sources, analyses, and methods in order to make sense of international regimes of detention, control, and punishment.

The figure of the artist has for centuries been the object of celebration, curiosity and myth-making. Since World War II powerful narratives have developed around some of the most prominent artists. You’ll explore the construction of such “makers’ myths” and ask: How is an artist’s public persona constructed and what bearing does it have on the interpretation of specific artworks? What idea of art’s social role do different personae imply? How do these roles relate to our idea of what art can or should contribute to the contemporary world?

This module addresses modernism in the first part of the twentieth century. It explores the work of male and female artists and also considers how gender structures representation and art practice. The module provides an opportunity to reconsider key works by Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Paula Modersohn-Becker, Suzanne Valadon, Hannah Hoch and Claude Cahun, amongst others.

Intense debates rage around monuments that represent historical figures as our most celebrated heroes. But why are our monuments epicentres of public debate and political contestation? This module examines how and why public art and performances commemorate historical events. To find answers to these questions, you'll study the monuments that remember the First World War, the Holocaust, the Slave Trade and Colonialism. But you will also be encouraged to ask how memorials makes us remember and, indeed, whether there are alternative ways of remembering. You'll study commemoration in spirit possession, pilgrimage, and popular music. Considering case studies from across the world, you will review the role of memory and commemoration in the constitution of our society. This module encourages you to consider why alternative forms of memory are required for a more just society.

Ancient Mesopotamia, what is now Iraq and parts of Iran, is recognisable today by two of its most impressive and powerful cultures, the Sumerians and the Assyrians. Situated between the Euphrates and the Tigris Rivers, Mesopotamia remained largely autonomous for nearly 3000 years, during which time its power and influence over neighbouring regions ebbed and waned. At the heart of Mesopotamian society was competence and skill in a broad range of arts and crafts, but it is most famous for being the world's first literate society. Along with writing, the glue of Mesopotamian society was cultic practice and religious belief, most visibly attested to in the art of temples and burials. At all periods art was fundamental to Mesopotamian culture; it coloured their rituals and beliefs, it was integral to their writing system, and was used in both politics and warfare. You will explore the significance of artistic practice in the development of Mesopotamian society.

The invention of photography in 1839 changed the historical imagination forever. The new technology – and the new visual forms it helped create – became a tool used in so many contexts, and by so many people, that no study of art, history, or science since the mid-19th century can ignore it. This module will challenge you to think about photography in a global perspective, covering more than 150 years of its use. You’ll encounter different approaches to the study of photography, drawing on the work of visual anthropologists, art historians, and historians of science. This module will equip you with a historical and critical perspective on how, and why, photography became such a persuasive and pervasive medium. You’ll have the opportunity for an in-depth exploration of a specific topic. To give just a few examples, these could include the use of photography in archaeological fieldwork, surveys of art and architecture, or scientific racism and criminal profiling, as well as genres such as portraiture, photo-journalism, snapshot or everyday photography. You’ll also consider the care – and the future – of photographic archives, such as the School’s own photographic collection here at UEA.

More than a century after Lenin's Bolsheviks proclaimed the world's first socialist revolution in Petrograd, the events of 1917 retain their power to fascinate, inspire, bewilder and repel. How can we understand the Russian revolution, why did it happen, and what did it mean for the people who made and lived through it? On this module we'll use a range of sources, including contemporary documents, newspaper reports, and memoirs - some translated specially for this module - to answer these questions. We start with the run-up to the revolutionary events of 1905, when the whole empire was convulsed with strikes, uprisings and armed clashes. We then take the story through the Tsarist regime's attempt to shore up its authority through limited consitutionalist concessions, before looking at World War One and the fall of the monarchy. We'll look in detail at what happened in 1917 and why - not only in the Russian heartland but also in certain non-Russian parts of the empire. Finally, we'll examine the civil war and why the Reds won. Throughout, we put the story in its historical, political and geographical context, always with an eye to its impact on later developments up to today. By understanding the events of a century ago, you'll gain insights into the Russia of today and the troubled and turbulent post-Soviet area. You'll also gain invaluable experience of carrying out in-depth independent research and presenting your findings.

You’ll explore key themes and topics in the history of twentieth century sport, from the founding of the modern Olympic Games in Athens in 1896 to the impact which the collapse of socialism had upon sport at the end of the century. Sport’s interaction with empire, nationalism, fascism, socialism and capitalism will be considered, demonstrating that the political history and international relations of the century are deeply entwined with it. As an aspect of social history, issues of gender, race and disability are inseparable from this topic, as are the harnessing and exploitation of sport as a means of war or reconciliation at various periods throughout the century.

We will explore the impact of the First World War on European and non-European states, societies, and cultures. Our aim is to broaden and deepen the students’ knowledge by introducing some of the lesser known aspects of the conflict, such as the campaigns on the Eastern front, in Africa, or the Middle East. You will investigate the role and perception of colonial troops in the European theatre of war and examine the war efforts of such countries as Italy, Serbia, the Ottoman Empire, and Australia. Further topics to be discussed include alliance politics and the role of neutral states, psychological effects of ‘industrialised slaughter’, atrocities against non-combatant civilians, captivity and occupation, state propaganda and the spiritual mobilisation of intellectuals, as well as processes of social change with regard to home and family life, ethnicity and class. We will draw on a wide range of primary sources, including poems, paintings, and film. In their coursework, students will have the opportunity to study more specific issues, such as naval and aerial warfare, British military strategy, civil-military relations in democratic and autocratic states, medical innovations, the war experiences of children, or questions of memory and commemoration.

In medieval England, death and what lay beyond were constantly visible. Parts of the landscape were given over to the dead: there were barrows, haunted by the pagan dead; cemeteries for the Christian dead; and lonely hermitages, whose occupants spoke with the dead. ‘King Death’, shown as a skeleton with spear or bow, would strike down the living at any age. Ghosts wandered forth from the grave, and vivid images of the dead were painted in churches, haunting churchgoers every Sunday, dancing before their mind’s eye in their dreams. Visions of the dead were not uncommon, and sometimes they made such demands on the living that the latter spent their lives serving them. Studying death, you will learn about the impact of this universal and timeless fear, and you'll discover the role of belief systems in combating deep anxieties that are part of the human condition. The module is designed as much for beginners as for those who have studied medieval history before. Through lectures, seminar discussion, and private study, you'll develop an understanding of beliefs about death and the otherworld in medieval England; how medieval people prepared for death; how ghosts and the undead irrupted into their world; the role of those who served the dead or acted as mediators between the dead and the living; demons, the evil dead and saints (the holy dead); and how death was represented in medieval art. Our trip around East Anglian churches explores tombs and wall paintings. At the end of module, you'll have gained the capacity to reflect on human belief systems; and by studying death you'll also discover strategies for coping with the fears which have accompanied life in every age and culture.

In this module, you will explore how the past is constantly constructed and reconstructed in the present. In the first part of the module we will consider how mnemonic processes are created, by who, and for what purpose. Commemoration, memorialisation, and visual representations form a key part of this process. In the second part of the module, we will study the ways in which individuals and groups remember and how this often differs from official or mediated discourses. In the third and final part, we will explore various ‘memory conflicts’ and their present day consequences. Throughout, film, photography, visual and audio media, and oral history will form key components of our studies.

The end of the First World War witnessed both the expansion of the British Empire to its largest extent, covering a quarter of the globe, and the destruction of its colonial rivals. However, the First World War also unleashed nationalist forces that would challenge the British imperial system. This resulted in outbreaks of riots and resistance against British rule in Ireland, India, Mesopotamia and Egypt. Weakened economically and socially by the gargantuan effort of winning the war how would Britain maintain her far-flung lines of empire? You will examine how Britain attempted to secure her strategic interests both within an era of growing nationalist resistance from within the Empire and against external threats from a resurgent Japan, Germany and Italy. You will be introduced to the high-tide of war imperialism; inter-war imperial defence; the crisis of empire Britain faced in Ireland, India and the Middle East; the ‘family-network’ of the ‘white’ Dominions; colonial development in Africa and the Caribbean as well as what it meant to fight the Second World War on an imperial footing during the campaigns in the Mediterranean and North Africa, finishing with the strategic abyss that was the fall of Singapore in February 1942. By examining the pressures policy-makers faced from within the Empire and from outside you will seek to gain a deeper understanding of how the British Empire functioned during this pivotal period of the imperial project.

For all people, from kings to commoners, daily life in the early modern period revolved around the consumption of food. Preparing, presenting, and eating food was central to social lives and had cultural significance. Food played a major role in political developments at international, national and local levels, with concern focused on regulation, the avoidance of contamination, agricultural improvement, nutrition, and imperialist expansion. During the early modern period economic cycles were dependent on the weather, which affected local harvests. For centuries before the European discovery of America, cannibalism had served as a marker of evil. It figured prominently in mythic depictions of distant, dangerous peoples, and accusations of cannibalism accompanied widespread attacks against Jews. The early European adventurers who explored Africa and the Americas were often preoccupied by cannibalism, and their fears were cited to justify conquest, colonization, the displacement of indigenous peoples, and slavery. Many exotic new foodstuffs arrived in Europe during this time. Spices from the East such as cinnamon and nutmeg gave flavour to products which would become staples, such as rice and potatoes. New fruits and vegetables such as tomatoes and pineapples were often initially greeted with skepticism. The impact of sugar on western diets cannot be over-emphasized, expanding waistlines, rotting teeth (it was even used as a tooth cleaning agent) and being moulded into sweet sculptures to show-off at fancy banquets. This was edible conspicuous consumption. Sugar refineries were established across Europe, and sugar was sold in cones wrapped in blue paper. Initially a food of the rich, it was eventually considered a staple food. However, the poor did not merely emulate the rich in their consumption of these products. Like many other products, sugar has a dark history too, and its production relied on slavery and the manipulation of diets elsewhere. Coffee, tea and chocolate changed during the early modern period from medicinal substances, to luxuries, to habitual products. This module will allow students to consider the venues of consumption – the coffeehouses and the alehouses, as well as taverns, markets and inns. It will also consider the surviving material culture of food – oyster shells, cutlery, crockery and cookware. The history of food trade and middlemen will, inevitably, form part of this module. The European countries with the most extensive trading networks had the most varied diets. Initially, this was the southern part of Europe – the Iberian Peninsula and Italy, where ports were supplied from the East and across the Atlantic. Eventually, the Dutch and the English overtook Mediterranean countries, allowing their citizens better diets with more exotic goods. In the London parish of St Giles Cripplegate in the late-seventeenth century there were over four hundred victuallers, many cooks, confectioners, a wafer maker, a gingerbread maker and a noodleman. Food and ways of eating were loaded with moral significance. In the minds of many commentators, diets continued to distinguish civilized peoples from savages, and humans from beasts. Closer European contacts with Native Americans and East Indians in the seventeenth century triggered a re-examination of good and bad diets, and helped inspire the first concerted efforts in England to promote vegetarianism. This module will consider the history of food from various perspectives: production, distribution, regulation, preparation, consumption, and conflict. It will draw upon a variety of historical and geographical contexts to examine how people came to eat what they ate – with Europe being the main focus, but also widening the scope to take in foodstuffs transported from right across the globe. The primary source material will also be varied, and will include export lists, diaries, travel accounts, images, surviving material culture, didactic manuals by people such as Thomas Tryon and Eliza Smith and fiction by the satirical pub landlord Ned Ward and the novelist Tobias Smollett. Twelve substantive sessions will be on these subjects: • Economies of eating – from banquets to domestic frugality • Cannibalism • Flavouring: sugar and spice • The bread of life: grains and carbohydrates. • Fridays, Fish and Empire • Preserving: fats and salt. • The fattened cow and fat pigs in clover – the agricultural revolution (fieldtrip to Holkham Hall) • Cooking – domestic, fast food and mass catering. • God and vegetables, savagery and vegetarianism • This Little Piggy went to market. Provisioning: market regulation, dearth, and riots • Beer Street and Gin Lane: Excess and intoxicants. • Wilful waste makes woeful want: Leftovers, adulteration and mouldy food.