Drama and History
Drama and history is a combination that offers two distinct but complementary ways of understanding human experience: through the analytical study of the past and through the art of performance. History examines evidence, constructs argument and seeks to understand how societies have functioned and changed over time. Drama explores how human experience is represented, embodied and communicated through performance, and how theatre has served social, political and cultural functions across different periods and places.
Studying both means developing critical and creative capacities that reinforce each other and open a wide range of professional possibilities.
At Liverpool Hope University in Liverpool, a city with a rich and distinctive performing arts tradition, this three-year full-time degree develops your skills in both disciplines simultaneously. The drama component introduces the origins of theatre and develops your creative and critical practice, supporting you in making new work and refining your own artistic skills while studying the history and theory of performance. The history component develops your skills in research, argument and the close reading of historical evidence, giving you a rigorous analytical foundation alongside your creative work.
The programme includes a sandwich year with work placement opportunities and a year abroad, giving you both professional experience and an international educational context. Typical entry is around 88 UCAS tariff points.
Graduates from drama and history combinations move into careers in theatre, education, arts administration, museum and heritage work, broadcasting, journalism, community arts, politics and public policy. The combination of performance confidence and historical understanding is particularly valuable in heritage interpretation, living history, educational drama and any role that requires the ability to communicate complex ideas to diverse audiences. Further study in theatre studies, history, heritage or education is available for those who wish to develop specialist expertise.