History

History at Sussex is about challenging convention. Our historians explore unfamiliar histories, understand what we can learn from them and share them with the world. 

Our students work collaboratively with researchers and lecturers to discover new ways of doing history. These might include environmental history or diplomatic history, or the history of ideas, emotions, sexuality or youth culture. We explore these histories in a global context, encompassing the Middle East, North Africa, and Asia, as well as Britain, Europe, and the United States. The department has a rich legacy of disciplinary innovation, and currently houses the Centre for World Environmental History, the Centre for Intellectual History, and the Centre for German-Jewish Studies. 

The history we do and teach at Sussex is engaged history. Our research illuminates the historical roots of contemporary injustices and probes expressions of resistance to power. We believe in recovering the voices of those forgotten in mainstream histories.  

History at Sussex is a transformative discipline which fosters global engagement and social responsibility. Our students are immersed in cutting-edge historical research from the outset and gain a critical, adventurous mindset which can be applied to a wide range of careers. Graduates have gone on to roles in documentary production, historical and factual TV programming, corporate relations in the heritage sector, marketing, digital and tech entrepreneurship and much more. 

The History department is a close-knit community of researchers, teachers and students. We run a lively programme of seminars where we share our ‘work in progress.’ We also collaborate with numerous local, national and international institutions, including Brighton’s ‘Queer the Pier’, the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, the Black Cultural Archives in Brixton, and the Museum of the History of Migration in Paris. Students here have access to the world-class archives housed at The Keep, including the German Jewish Family Archives, the Kipling Papers, and the Archive of Resistance Testimony.