History And Politics

History and politics are disciplines that belong together. To understand political systems and institutions without a sense of how they developed historically is to mistake the contingent for the inevitable. And to study history without attending to the political forces that shaped events is to miss what is often most important about the past.

Together they offer a genuinely integrated way of thinking about power, governance, conflict, and change across time and across the world.

At Edge Hill University, this programme allows you to place the study of politics in its historical context, combining the analysis of political systems, institutions, and policies with an exploration of modern history from across the globe. You will engage with political theory, comparative politics, and the study of international relations alongside historical investigation of revolutions, wars, empires, democracies, and social movements. The combination develops your ability to use evidence from the past to illuminate the present, and to understand contemporary political events as the products of longer historical processes.

Research methods and critical thinking skills are developed throughout, and you will learn to construct arguments that draw on both historical and political evidence.

The programme is offered part time, which suits students who have work or other commitments alongside their studies. It includes a sandwich year, a year abroad, and work placement opportunities, making it a particularly varied programme for a part-time degree.

Graduates from history and politics programmes go on to careers in the civil service, politics, journalism, international organisations, think tanks, education, research, the charity sector, and community organisations. The analytical skills, cultural literacy, and capacity for sustained argument that the degree develops are valued across many professional contexts. Further study options include postgraduate degrees in political science, history, international relations, and public policy.