How will I learn?
History modules are predominantly taught by lectures and seminars. Lectures provide an opportunity for tutors to guide your learning and to focus on particular issues and debates; seminars offer a less formal means of discussing ideas, in a structured environment, with fellow students. Group discussion, based on individual research in the Library, is a hallmark of the Sussex teaching system. Our students appreciate the opportunity this form of instruction gives to interact closely with fellow students and tutors.
Our confidence in your ability to tailor your degree to your interests – subject to intellectual coherence and with the guidance of tutors and lecturers – is matched by our belief that students should be encouraged to excel in different ways. Assessment is therefore tailored to evaluating your strengths in diverse ways. In addition to formal exams, you are assessed by coursework essays and a research dissertation. Our aim is to help you to develop a wide range of analytical and research skills and to promote competence in oral communication as well as writing. History at Sussex is a demanding degree but students continue to prove their ability to meet our high expectations: in recent years some 90 per cent of History students have been awarded first- or upper-second-class degrees.
What will I learn?
History can be focused on the study of particular societies, nations, regions or individuals. There are also many different kinds of history. These include the study of cultural and social development, of politics, of science and technology, of human interaction with the environment, and of the evolution of philosophy and ideas. Curiosity about who we are, and how we have got to be where we are, is part of what makes us thinking human beings. The study of history helps to explain the most significant areas of human life over time. It provides the means to recover and interpret the past and to understand it in a structured intellectual environment.
What skills will I develop?
- a sound knowledge of the history of different societies and peoples
- an appreciation of the diversity of historical specialisms and approaches
- the skills to analyse and reflect on key events, ideas, institutions and practices
- awareness of the importance of expressing your ideas logically, and in clear written or spoken form.